Canadian Mennonite
Abbotsford Assembly Special Report
July 4-7, 2007
Jesus loves us—in any language
A favourite children’s hymn proved to be a powerful lesson for adults at the MC Canada assembly’s Wednesday evening worship service.
“Jesus Loves Me” may never have been through so many variations. Worship leader Heidi Epp began with an original soulful piano arrangement of the hymn, but it didn’t stop there. With help from a trio singing a jazz version and then youngsters from Peace Mennonite Church in Richmond, B.C., playing it on piano, trombone, violin and trumpet in their own styles, Epp and her crew managed to make the simple point: Jesus loves all and accepts genuine expressions of love in return, no matter how the “song” is sung. A number of adults found themselves singing the simple children’s hymn with new appreciation as they also joined in.
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“Built in Love” was the theme of the evening, with speaker Siaka Traore of Burkina Faso presenting the message. Traore talked of the importance of loving one’s neighbour, while admitting this was often a challenge with difficult people. “Do we love God with all of our strength, heart and being?” he asked. “If so, we will also love our neighbour. Where there is no love, there is no life.”
Traore’s wife Claire also shared a story of a Christian woman whose next-door neighbour repeatedly threw garbage in her yard, but who won the woman for Christ by choosing not to get angry, but by loving her and praying for her instead. “What are we doing to show love to our neighbours?” she concluded.
Again the worshipers were reminded of the international character of the church. The Traores’ testimonies were presented in French with translation. A group of musicians with Latin American backgrounds led the congregation in learning Spanish versions of a number of familiar hymns.
The evening’s offering went for ministries in Burkina Faso.