Coins count, and so do bottles
Every Saturday in May, Rosthern Mennonite Church members drove the streets of Rosthern, picking up bottles and other refundable beverage containers. The church’s Christian education committee normally collects $700 to $800 in loose change each May for Mennonite Central Committee’s My Coins Count project. Since the church wasn’t able to collect coins at church on Sunday…
What is nature to you?
If you’ve ever invited me to go camping with you, you’ll know I’m not exactly what you would call “outdoorsy.” I enjoy nature, but I don’t really see the need to sleep in it, much less in a stuffy tent with sticks and rocks poking into my back. I feel the same about hiking—I’m just…
MCC announces program cuts, changes due to COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has scaled up its work to respond to the global crisis, increasing projects related to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), local health initiatives and food relief. But given the negative economic effects of COVID-19, including funding uncertainties, travel restrictions and other factors, it has made strategic decisions…
The gift of giving time
Many people have given their time to volunteering, but few have a record of volunteering for the same organization for 46 years. Margie Steingart has that distinction. She has volunteered for the Christian Benefit Thrift Shop in St. Catharines, Ont., since it opened in January 1974, making her, at the age of 93, the oldest…
MCC set to address COVID-19 threats
As COVID-19 spreads and worsens, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) continues its worldwide work while attending to the health and well-being of its staff. MCC is well positioned through its ongoing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health and food programs to address the threats of the novel coronavirus for some of the world’s most vulnerable people,…
We need more Peters!
“We need more Peters! He’s only one man,” exclaims ex-offender Kayel Truong, when asked about the Bridges Ministries program run by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta to help prisoners of faith successfully reintegrate into the community. Peter Worsley, MCC’s offender reintegration chaplain, loves his job. “I get to experience the joy of seeing God work…
Four ways MCC is responding to COVID-19
Things like frequent handwashing and social distancing have become the new normal. This is life during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures help reduce the spread and keep everyone safe. We’re all in this together. But the hardships we bear are not the same. Some of our neighbours will be faced with impossible choices like staying…
MCC invites community to participate in day of prayer
Kitchener, Ont.—In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mennonite Central Committee is inviting supporters to join the organization in a day of prayer on Wednesday, March 25. “Times of uncertainty call us to reach out to the most vulnerable in our community: those locally and globally who will be most affected by this crisis,” MCC Ontario…
Water from stone
With a series of quick, practiced strokes, Aïchatou Hamidou clears the area around a newly built latrine with a long broom made from dry grass. After the trash and waste are swept into a tidy pile and safely disposed of, she unties the brightly patterned red handkerchief over her nose and mouth and adjusts the…
Compelled by Christ to serve
“At the railroad stations, the sight was appalling. The moment the train halted it was besieged by living skeletons. From out of the rags were lifted bare arms, the wasted fingers extended toward the car windows in entreaty for food. “‘Bread, in God’s name, bread!’ ” These were the words of A.J. Miller, penned in southern…
