Gifts of grace and gratitude

I’m told there are four rules for success in white-water rafting: 1) rest during calm spots because there are always more rapids ahead; 2) when a rock looms ahead, lean into it, not away from it; 3) whatever else you do, never, ever stop paddling; and 4) let everything else but your life jacket go if you fall into the water.

While I’ve never pursued this activity, I have found these guidelines both descriptive of and instructive for my journey of the past nine years as executive director of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). They capture some of the sense of breathtaking adventure, risk and pace of a calling I’ve described as “working with wonderfully committed people on critically important issues.”

This assignment is just the latest of a lifetime journey. My parents, grandmothers, extended families and then-future wife Gudrun were all recipients of MCC emergency relief and were eventually brought to Canada as refugees after WWI or WWII. Gudrun and I spent almost a decade in Africa with MCC as educators and administrators, and during many of the intervening years in Canada, while pursuing other professional activities, were involved in MCC’s governance bodies.

All these have been rich gifts of grace. Thanks be to God.

Let me briefly reflect on these last nine years in four categories.

MCC aid being distributed in Iraq in 2004. Photo courtesy of MCC Iraq

Global church

The growth to prominence of the “Third Church” – the church of the global south – is one of the major historical phenomena of the 20th century. It now has the majority of living Christians, and will have a significant impact on the future shape of Christian mission. At least two important factors will determine whether the global church, through God’s grace, will optimize this shift.

Will the church of the affluent part of the world be able to learn from the vitality, commitment and courage of those in the poorest part of the world? Will the enormous economic gap between these two parts of the world church be bridged? These two questions are essential to the survival of the church in the North in the first instance, and of the South in the second.

During MCC’s 85-year history, there has been a close relationship with the congregations and denominations of the Anabaptist community of faith at the local country level, and with the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) on the global scene. There has been increasing interaction between MWC and MCC in the last decade, as witnessed in a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation, in the seconding of MCC personnel to MWC, and in financial support for its activities.

It is the global church that has offered us the gift of entree to and understanding of different faith traditions. These Christians have taught us ways to witness with respect, integrity and authenticity, in dialogues of life (living, laughing and crying together), social action (working together on survival issues), theological exchange (analyzing each other’s traditions) and personal faith testimony.

Assignment opportunities

One of the rich gifts of this position has been the window on the world it has offered me. Internet communications allow for instant contact in some 60 countries where MCC has programs. I’ve lived in five countries, travelled in over 80. One learns to pray the daily news. Discussions, reading and reflection cover topics as varied as international affairs and development, management and leadership, theology, ecclesiology and missiology.

Another of the profound gifts has been interaction with the global community of faith, in all its Anabaptist, evangelical and ecumenical dimensions. Gudrun and I have worshipped with, ministered in and been blessed by congregations across Canada, United States and internationally. We’ve been part of various Mennonite denominations (General Conference, Mennonite Brethren and currently Mennonite Church), as well as Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian congregations. In each of these, we’ve witnessed God’s Spirit at work in the realities of the church: its agony and ecstasy, its fragmentation and unity, its weakness and strength.

The MCC mission has allowed interaction and service with a whole range of Amish, Brethren in Christ and Mennonite denominations, as well as the spectrum of Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. And what a powerful witness this has been.

Shortly after the tsunami hit the Indian Ocean rim, a stranger entered the office of a Mennonite church, offered a donation, and said simply, “I know you people help others.” In a visit to a mosque in China, government officials introduced MCC and local Christian agency personnel to the local Imam with, “They are believers in God, and followers of Jesus.” In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The most profound witness of the church in the world will be prayer and righteous action, not just proclamation. Christian spirituality is marked by ‘participation in the suffering of God in Christ’.”

Lessons learned

In addition to the observations already made, three other learnings.

• I celebrate the generosity, goodwill and commitment of so many colleagues, partners and supporters. While MCC has 1,200 staff members, and the same number of short-term workers annually, there are at least some 75,000 volunteers and tens of thousands more donors and intercessors who make this mission possible.
• I lament the growing polarization around ethical, theological and missiological issues within the North American Christian community.
• This vocation, with all its ambiguities and complexities, is impossible without the daily gift of being able to commend people, places and issues to God’s care and keeping.

Tough issues

One of the most difficult issues for those involved in this mission is to discern where to allocate finite resources in the face of overwhelming need. All the resources MCC gathers could well be used within any given region or country, at home or abroad.

The well-being of workers and partners, many of them in situations of political unrest or community violence, is cause for daily concern and intercession. Remarkably, in MCC’s history only three workers have been killed in situations of war: Clayton Kratz in the Ukraine in the 1920s; Marie Fast in Europe during WWII; and Daniel Gerber in Vietnam. The remaining 33 MCC workers who have died in service had their lives cut short by accidents or illness.

The expectations, sometimes contradictory, of the supporting constituency can be difficult to negotiate. Should MCC accept all applicants for service recommended by their home congregations, or only those whose faith is more “mature”? Should MCC act as an umbrella organization and bless and support any project requested by a constituent body, or be more narrowly focused on program plans previously approved? Is the church a safe place to talk about and work at injustices of gender, racial and ethnic discrimination?

Our peoplehood, indeed each denomination represented, incorporates a wide diversity of opinion on ethical, theological and missiological matters, and interpretations of statements of faith vary. Consequently MCC has always received rigorous analysis and spirited counsel from its supporting constituency. Much of this has been graciously given and the feedback received in like manner. The most frequent critique has come on issues of social justice (perceived by some as being too political) or inter-faith interaction (seen by some as being pluralist).

Conclusion

One of the first letters received by MCC for food sent to Ukraine in the early 1920s includes these words of gratitude: “Our thanks, dear friends, a thousand thanks! May God in grace reward your deed through all your life.” Gifts of grace, given and received. Thanks be to God.

Ronald J.R. Mathies has just retired as executive director of MCC, after serving in the position since 1996. He and Gudrun have moved from Akron, Pa. to Waterloo, Ont.