MCC Annual Meeting approves planning framework, discusses security

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) board members from across the United States and Canada gathered here June 11–12 for the MCC Annual Meeting. Highlights included the approval of a new International Program Department planning framework and discussion of how terrorism and security issues affect MCC’s work around the world.

Held alternately at MCC headquarters in Akron, Pa., and various locations in North America, Annual Meeting is a forum for board members to give input as well as to review and give or withhold approval of MCC program plans and budget for the upcoming year.

MCC’s International Program Department is engaged in a multi-year process to strengthen planning, monitoring and evaluation procedures. During the past two years, discussions with board members and service workers have addressed questions at the heart of MCC’s identity.

A “strategic directions” document approved by the board affirmed the following:

• that MCC remain structurally accountable to its constituency (Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches) in Canada and the United States, while consulting and collaborating with Anabaptist churches in other countries;
• that opportunities for service in both short- and long-term positions be increased;
• that MCC continue to rely primarily on its constituents for resources, while also seeking grants and resources from other sources “not in conflict with MCC principles”; and
• that MCC seek to work primarily with local partner organizations.

The planning framework also includes program values, goals and operating principles, all designed to stem from previously established principles that guide MCC’s work.

In addition, there were workshops on “The Dilemmas of the Militarization of Humanitarian Aid” and “Haiti: Case Study of How MCC Operates in a Crisis,” and a symposium on “The Role of the Church in an Age of Terrorism.” Participants wrestled with MCC’s response to the changing global security situation.

During the recent U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the lines between military operations and humanitarian aid have been blurred, noted Willie Reimer, director of MCC Food, Disaster and Material Resources. As military personnel and government-associated civilian contractors take part in aid efforts designed to secure “hearts and minds,” the neutrality of all aid workers has become suspect.

These changes have made aid workers more vulnerable to attacks by those who associate them with perceived U.S. efforts to dominate and conquer. In this context, it becomes even more important for Anabaptists to offer an alternative vision for mission and outreach, said MCC Executive Director Ron Mathies.

Drawing from her own experiences as an MCC worker in war-torn Colombia, Bonnie Klassen during morning devotions offered insight into how to shape this vision. She reflected on Luke 8:40–56, in which Jesus heals a sick woman and raises a girl from the dead. Like Jesus, Klassen said, we are called to respond to both ongoing, chronic misery and to emergency situations.

She described examples of “everyday resurrections” in Colombia, such as the forgiveness and love she witnessed recently between Colombians and North American visitors, while also noting that true hope and security come only from faith in the ultimate resurrection.

“I believe that Jesus will not let the violence go on forever,” she said. “Jesus’ beloved children will be gathered up, and all tears will be wiped from their eyes.”

—Rachel B. Miller Moreland