Webinar: Climate and Peace, Stories from around the World

Mennonite Central Committee, the Church of the Brethren, and the Friends Committee on National Legislation will be hosting a webinar on climate and peace. This is an opportunity to hear directly from people working around the world on how climate change is driving conflict within local communities and what work is being done to address…

Reflections on breaking relationship and breaking bread together

I’ve been reading a book by J. Nelson Kraybill titled Stuck Together: the Hope of Christian Witness in a Polarized World. It’s a very inspiring book that speaks to the kind of presence I personally believe Christianity should have in the world. Nelson writes from a lifetime of experience and seamlessly weaves together contemporary real…

Please welcome Esther, Harleysville area friends

A few months ago I shared that Esther, a young Cambodian woman, would be volunteering at the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, Pennsylvania through MCC’s IVEP program. I’m happy to share that she received her visa, attended orientation at the MCC office in Akron, and is now in the Souderton area. For our friends in…

Worship Guides from MCC Peace and Justice Ministries

I wanted to share two new worship guides from MCC U.S. National Peace and Justice Ministries. These are intended for fall church services or personal/family prayer time. Each contains prayers, song suggestions, Bible readings, and informative reflections. Climate Action for Peace: International Day of PeaceThis year, MCC’s Peace Sunday packet centers on the theme of Climate Action…

What is Seek?

Seek is a new cohort discipleship program from Mennonite Central Committee that had it’s first pilot earlier this year in Israel/Palestine. The second pilot is planned for next year in Cambodia. It is a 6 month discipleship program meant to engage Anabaptist youth (ages 18-20) with the core tenants of Anabaptist faith, MCC, and the global…

Article: In Memory of American Grandpa

I recently shared a news article from Dhaka about Art Defehr’s early work with MCC Bangladesh and thought that I’d share another one. I don’t plan to do this too often so don’t worry that this will become an article blog. Currently, MCC Asia and MCC Europe are launching initiatives to strengthen our connection with…

2023 YAMEN/IVEP Alumni Gathering

Every year (when there aren’t COVID-19 gathering restrictions) we host the Cambodian YAMEN and IVEP alumni at our home. This also includes the current SALT and YAMEN participants serving in Cambodia, as well as the outbound Cambodian IVEP/YAMEN participants who will be leaving in July. This isn’t just a social gathering – though it’s wonderful…

Youtube: Introduction to Mennonite Central Committee

Our Peace Coordinator shared a Youtube video from MCC that explains the organization’s background, work, and supports. I appreciate the in-depth look at the thrift stores and material resource centers in North America that support MCC’s work around the world. It also features a photo from me back in 2009 – the team here couldn’t…

Prayer for Peace, from Cambodia to Ukraine

Monika, from Cambodia, served in Ukraine with MCC’s YAMEN program from 2019 to 2020. I shared some of her social media posts in an earlier post and I wanted to follow-up by sharing her prayer for peace. The Lord of peace, the Lord of love, I kneel here, crying and pleading, waiting for the miracles…

Ukraine and Colonialization

This week, I’ve been thinking back to a conversation I had during our MCC orientation in 2019. This occurred during a session on colonialism. The facilitator split the participants into two groups based on their skintone – people of color were to discuss the legacy of being colonized and white people were to discuss the…