BURGOS, Spain—Two years ago, two smaller churches in Burgos merged to form Comunidades Unidas Anabautistas (United Anabaptist Communities). The newly formed church soon outgrew its small building. On Jan. 13-15, after years of planning and months of Saturdays spent finishing the building’s interior, the community dedicated its new building—the first free-standing Protestant church building in Burgos.
While a construction company erected the building, everything else, including the floors, interior walls, all the plumbing and electricity, a kitchen, the bathrooms, the stairs, the ironwork railing, the doors, the ceiling, the parking lot, landscaping, and the walkways were done by church members in their free time, mostly by working together long hours every Saturday morning for many months.
The building and the community in Spain have many ties to various agencies of the American Mennonite Church:
• Connie and Dennis Byler and the Brian and Noelia Fox family are Mennonite Mission Network workers living in Burgos who support this church community.
• Some of the money the church used for the building came from a Join Hands grant from Mennonite Men. (See related article.)
• Carlos Romero, the executive director of Mennonite Education Agency, attended the building dedication ceremony on behalf of Mennonite Church USA.
“We were literally floating on a cloud of glory, God’s glory, for a couple of weeks after this!” Connie wrote in a prayer letter. “And now what’s happening? Brothers and sisters who had broken off from the church are now coming back to fellowship. Several neighbors are coming to our meetings. Friends are also visiting. There is such a sense of gratitude to God!”
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.
