Finding shalom with hunter-gatherers
CINCINATTI, Ohio (Mennonite Mission Network) – At the start of their seminar, ‘Changing the Narrative: Climate What?’ Jane and Jerrell Ross Richer passed out papers to each table with a single word printed on them. Environmentalist. Conservationist. Agriculturist. Hunter-gatherer. Then the questions started. What does your table’s word mean to you? What kind of response […]
God delights in uncut stones
This blog post is adapted from a sermon Faith Bell gave at Fairhaven Mennonite Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she is a member. In the beginning, God created everything. When God created humans, God described this creation as very good. Despite God’s beautiful declaration of goodness, I have often considered being called human as […]
Hygiene kits help restore dignity to young women in Congo
The socioeconomic situation of our country, Democratic Republic of the Congo, is precarious. The unemployment rate is very high, and in many cases, a family can afford to send only one or two children to school at a time. Often, boys are selected first, which means girls are left at home. Many of these girls […]
Mission Network ministries address refugee needs
In a sad coincidence, Father’s Day and World Refugee Day fell on the same date this year, June 20. As we honored fathers and their role in building homes and structures to nurture their families, we also remembered those families who bravely struggle through the unimaginable forces that rip fathers from their loved ones. Mennonite […]
Sharing stories of healing, seminars of hope
Editor’s Note: Here is a roster of times and places where you will find the in-person and virtual seminars listed below. The first chapter of the Gospel of John warms our hearts with the reality of God’s incarnational embodiment in our world: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us" John 1:14 (NRSV). God […]
A dad gives and receives
Editor’s Note: Ken Regier, director of Program Human Resources for Mennonite Mission Network, was invited to write this personal reflection on Father’s Day. I began working for Mennonite Mission Network as a personnel counselor in 2002. In my role, I encouraged hundreds of young adults to consider taking time from their normal routines to serve others. Often, […]
Mission Network undergoing anti-racism re-evaluation
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Mission Network) — Mennonite Mission Network is renewing its commitment to be an anti-racist organization. In response to the heightened awareness of systemic racism in the United States and abroad, the mission agency is reevaluating its current internal culture and practices to become more effective and caring in its ministries. Mission Network […]
Fulfilling the heart
Looking at the scriptures with an eye toward mission. Joe Sawatzky shares a Missional Meditation titled "Renewal for mission." It is based on the Revised Common Lectionary for Sunday, June 13. The desires of our hearts do not go unnoticed, and God brings them to fruition at the appointed time. Psalm 20 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 2 Corinthians 5:6-17 Mark […]
SOOP celebrates 30 years
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — As Janice Graber strummed "Jesus Loves Me" on the harp for an Alzheimer’s patient in Carlsbad, New Mexico, the woman, having been catatonic for months, lie still. The woman’s family gathered around; some held her hand, others prayed, waiting for the end. Suddenly, in the middle of the first […]
Urban service term upends Conservative Mennonite girl’s world
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — When Arloa Bontrager, a conservative Mennonite 20-something, left her family’s Indiana chicken farm to serve in a childcare center in Philadelphia, her world turned upside down. Three-plus decades down the road, Bontrager, director of SOOP (Service Opportunities with Other People), said in a recent interview that she has been […]
Recapping the beginnings of SOOP
In the Mid-1980s, as many as 90 people were serving with Mennonite Board of Missions (MBM), a predecessor agency to Mennonite Mission Network. At this time, SOOP (Service Opportunities with Our Partners) was known as Winter Voluntary Service (VS). MBM staff witnessed how retired adults offered many gifts, and had significant life experiences, greater flexibility […]
MVS unit ends, service legacy lives on
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) —After two-plus decades of housing Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) participants such as Jessica Penner, the New York City unit closed earlier this year. Yet, Penner believes the closure will never obscure the new vistas that the Mennonite Mission Network program opened up for her ongoing life’s journey. In a recent interview, Penner […]