7,500 Mennonites from 80 countries gather in Harrisburg
Photo by AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
In this July 21, 2011 photo, volunteer Joe Klink, from Massillon, Ohio, works with the Mennonite Disaster Service to rebuild a building destroyed by a tornado which tore through Joplin, Mo., May 22, 2011. Mennonites gathering in Harrisburg are also assembling two home frames for families in the U.S.
(Harrisburg) — Thousands of Mennonites are gathering in Harrisburg for an event that’s rarely held in the U.S.
The Assembly of the Mennonite World Conference takes place every six years, and rotates among regions of the world – it was last in the U.S. in 1978.
About 7,500 Mennonites from 80 countries gather at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex to worship, volunteer, and discuss topics like how to object to war.
The assembly could’ve been held anywhere in the U.S., but Janet Plenert, vice president of the Mennonite World Conference, says the Harrisburg – Lancaster area made the most sense.
“Because we are a global people, and we are people that historically have been rooted in the land in the United States and North America, many of our Mennonite people have come through a rural-type existence,” says Plenert.
“The connection to the land and the connection to global realities where people are less comfortable in a fancy hotel and more comfortable in a hospitable, simple environment, made this a good option for us,” she adds.
Plenert says it also helps that the Farm Show Complex hosts the largest Mennonite Central Committee sale in North America every year.
Plenert says Mennonites have been volunteering at the Farm Show Complex while visiting, canning vegetables, building frames for two houses, and quilting.
She says Farm Show officials say the Assembly is the greenest event they’ve had at the facility, and may borrow some strategies to reduce waste and pollution during future events.
The Assembly wraps up on Sunday.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
