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Wollongong, Australia
Anabaptists meet down under


The Anabaptist Association of Australia and New Zealand met in Wollongong, Australia, June 11-14 for its second national conference and its first meeting since its incorporation as a religious association.

About 20 adults and eight children attended the conference. They came from Western Australia, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. New Zealand was linked by teleconference.

Graeme Chatfield, a Baptist church history professor from Sydney, presented two talks on 16th century Anabaptism. He also told about his personal journey to Anabaptism. Mark and Mary Hurst, mission workers with Eastern Mennonite Missions in the US, gave two talks on peacemaking and one on “Anabaptist perspectives for the church today.” The Hursts were in Australia and New Zealand on a seven-week trip visiting people throughout the association and speaking in churches and schools.

AAANZ was born as the Anabaptist Network at a similar gathering in Tasmania, Australia, in 1995. AAANZ has a newsletter as well as a web site.

The gathering gave opportunity to people who had been communicating via phone and e-mail to meet each other for the first time. Participants chose regional coordinators and decided to hold conferences every 12-18 months. The next meeting is scheduled for Melbourne sometime after the Olympic Games in Sydney.

Currently there are 80 people in AAANZ. There are no congregations. Membership is made up of individuals identifying with anabaptist belief and practice.

From reports by Mark Hurst and Ian Duckham, Mennonite World Conference.

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Last modified September 28, 1999.

© 1999 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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