Yesterday, January 21, was the big anniversary, 500 years. On that day in 1525, a small group gathered in a home in Zurich, Switzerland.  The City Council had just passed an ordinance forbidding further deliberation on baptism, requiring dissidents to have their children baptized and join the official Reformed church.  Those who didn’t comply would be deported from the city. 

This group of 14 in the home of Anna Mantz did not comply.  After asking Conrad Grebel to baptize him, the young priest George Blaurock proceeded to baptize the others.  It was an act of religious faith and civil disobedience at a time when church and state were enmeshed. 

This group and others like them would soon be called the Anabaptists, re-baptizers.  Depending on how widely one casts the net, Anabaptists ranged from apocalyptic street preachers to spiritualists to peasant uprisers to fervent pacifists.  A sympathetic priest by the name of Menno Simons served as a shepherd to scattered Anabaptist groups that emphasized Bible study, mutual aid, and the peacefulness of Jesus.  They came to be known as the Mennonites, experiencing times of persecution, migrations, settlements, splits, and renewal.

This is the movement whose name we still bear.  Like any movement with a history, we continually choose which parts to live out.   

Our Columbus Mennonite Church Membership Commitment statement says:

The Spirit calls us from where we are
       to walk with Jesus
       toward a more just, peaceful, and merciful embodiment
       of God’s love in this world.

Ours is a story
       of those who journeyed by faith,
       whose questions opened fresh possibilities.

Ours is a story
       grounded in scripture, centered on Jesus,
       re-envisioned by Anabaptists, ever-expanding in our time.

And here we are, in our time.  Today Anabaptism has been a living movement for 500 years and 1 day.  Glad to be part of this story with you and many others around the globe.

Joel