_{2007-11-06 issue:}

John Byers, MWC Koinonia member, dies

by Mennonite World Conference

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STRASBOURG, France—On Oct. 16, John A. Byers, 73, a longtime leader in the Brethren in Christ Church (BICC), died in Lancaster, Pa., after suffering a heart attack at his home.
In August, Byers was part of the eight-member international Koinonia Delegation sent to Zimbabwe by Mennonite World Conference. The team visited churches, institutions and projects and attended the national BICC conference there.



At the end of the visit, Byers said: “I am changed in how I live my life from now on as a member of a very privileged society. … The challenges for me are how to be most helpful to those sisters and brothers [in Zimbabwe].”

Back home, Byers reported on his Zimbabwe experience to the meeting of the General Conference Board of the BICC.

During Byers’ 43-year ministry, he served on the boards of several educational institutions, in congregations in Ohio, California and Pennsylvania, and as a bishop beginning in 1978.
In May he joined the ministry team at the Messiah Village BICC in Mechanicsburg, Pa., as pastor of congregational care.

Byers is survived by Esther, his wife, four children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.—Mennonite World Conference

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