Spring 2026 issue
The Spring 2026 issue of Vision is available! Vision Vol. 27 No. 1 (2026): Decolonial Discipleship as an Intercultural Church
From the editorial:
The intersection of decolonization and interculturality presents both an urgent challenge and a transformative opportunity for the twenty-first-century Mennonite churches in North America. As we grapple with the ongoing legacies of colonialism on Turtle Island (a name used by many Indigenous Peoples to describe what is called North America) and witness the increasing cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity of our faith communities, we find ourselves called to a discipleship that is simultaneously rooted in practices of decolonization and committed to genuine intercultural engagement. This special issue of Vision explores how these two discourses, often discussed separately, need to be understood as deeply interconnected aspects of our collective journey toward peace, justice, and reconciliation.
The contributions to this issue approach the intersection of decolonization and interculturality from different angles. Some writers focus primarily through a decolonial lens—examining settler complicity, treaty relationships, and Indigenous justice—while others foreground intercultural engagement, exploring how diverse cultural traditions enrich and challenge Mennonite communities. Yet the issue as a whole seeks to hold these two frameworks in generative tension, embodying the conviction that neither can be pursued faithfully in isolation. What emerges is not a single method but a chorus of voices, each using personal narrative, sermon, letter, and even poetry as theological method. This storytelling approach is itself significant; it models how decolonial discipleship emerges from particular stories rather than abstract principles.
Across these contributions, we see immigrants of color, white converts to Anabaptism, those reconnecting with Indigenous heritage, and multigenerational settlers each navigating distinct relationships to Turtle Island—a complexity that any adequate account of decolonial discipleship must address. Taken together, these stories stretch Mennonite identity across continents and generations. Korean, Cree, Paraguayan, English, Egyptian, Swiss, Chinese, and Hmong landlines, bloodlines, and songlines are not peripheral to the tradition but rather integral to it. These are Mennonite stories, carried by communities who now live on Turtle Island and who reckon, in different ways, with their responsibilities to this land and its peoples. What binds these diverse accounts is not sameness of origin or method, but a shared call to discipleship: to follow Jesus in ways that seek justice and peace, practice restorative solidarity, and remain accountable to the places and relationships in which faith is embodied.
As we present this collection of voices, we do so with humility, recognizing that the work of decolonial discipleship in an intercultural church is not a project to be completed but an ongoing journey of transformation. We offer these contributions not as final answers but as invitations to deeper engagement, honest reckoning, and faithful action. May they serve as resources for individuals and communities seeking to live more justly on this land and in the right relationship with all their relations.
