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Equipping leaders at home and around the world
People often say that young people are the future. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is working with partners in Canada, the United States and around the world to invest in opportunities for young people to serve. It is committed to nurturing and developing the leadership skills of a new generation, with a focus on Anabaptist values…
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To serve and to give
I was born in Santander in north-central Colombia. My husband and I married when he was 17 and I was 15, and we decided to come to Bogotá to look for a better life. In about 2005, Iglesia Cristiana Hermanos Menonitas El Progreso had an evangelism campaign, and my husband went. That’s how I got…
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Faces and stories from the Alberta MCC relief sale
The Mennonite Central Committee Relief sale is a more than a fundraiser for Alberta Mennonites, it is an anticipated social event. Creating an atmosphere of fellowship and common purpose, the annual sale unites Mennonites from LaCrete to Pincher Creek (a distance of 1,176 kms) as well as inviting local communities to join the fun. On…
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Supporting uprooted people around the world
There are more than 65 million displaced people worldwide—nearly double the population of Canada. The United Nations says this number is unprecedented and the need for humanitarian assistance is only growing. The crisis isn’t isolated to one region. People are being displaced all over the world, testing the resources and resilience of populations from Europe…
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MCC U.S. boosts its immigration work with churches
As the U.S. government increases immigration enforcement, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) U.S. has been expanding its legal training, resources and educational opportunities for immigrants and advocates. People living in the U.S. without official documentation are increasingly fearful that they will be separated from their families by detention or deportation, says Saulo Padilla, MCC U.S. coordinator…
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Sponsors provide a welcome into their community
There are 23 million refugees around the world, with 1.2 million in need of resettlement outside of their home country or region. In 2017, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) helped groups resettle 442 people through the Blended Visa Officer Referred (BVOR) program. That was about one-third of all people who arrived in Canada in that category.…
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True connections
Walk into Hagar Association, a school in Be’er-Sheva, Israel, and it looks like almost any other school. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear children speaking both Hebrew and Arabic, and see them playing together—uncommon sounds and sights in the region. Hagar is a bilingual school for 330 children of Jewish-Israelis and Palestinian citizens of…
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A-ha moments in the Holy Land
David Chow recalls sitting in Sunday school as a child and learning about what the nation of Israel meant for Christians in a traditional Christian Missionary Alliance congregation in Calgary, Alberta. Chow grew up believing that the current state of Israel is a continuation of the biblical people of Israel, and that building up the…
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Displaced Somalis receive school kits, comforters
Many Somali refugee families returning home after years in refugee camps lack basic items, like blankets and school supplies. In the summer of 2017, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) shipped 10,120 school kits and 2,930 comforters to Somalia, which were distributed by Lutheran World Federation (LWF), an MCC partner, at five schools in Kismayo, the capital…
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Open letter on Syria
“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it” (I Cor. 12:26). In February, we were part of a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) delegation to Syria, including Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo. We witnessed the devastation of war and heard testimonies of faith from people who have been living in difficult circumstances now for seven…
