Border prayers, vigil voice solidarity with persevering migrants
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — On a frigid early morning last November, participants of Mennonite Mission Network’s alumni service-learning tour struggled to pray through their lament and grief at a 15-foot-high border wall separating Douglas, Arizona, from Agua Prieta, Mexico. Talks by Jack and Linda Knox, migrant advocates and members of Shalom Mennonite Fellowship […]
A missed opportunity
Why are the overwhelming majority of Black and Brown students on campus, athletes? That’s a thought I had as a freshman in college in the mid-1980s. I was one of the athletes at that predominantly White, small, religious college I attended in the northeast. I was recruited from Brooklyn, N.Y., to play basketball. Out of […]
Journeys through the unfamiliar: reflections on life in Service Adventure
I’m three months into my Service Adventure year, and I believe it’s an incredible program. Taking young, ambitious teenagers with the will to serve others, sending them to a new home with new people, and making them figure out how to do life together. For me, this is one of the best decisions I’ve ever […]
A tale of two cities
On the day the G7 Summit began in Biarritz, France, another international gathering, a few hundred miles to the north, proclaimed the powerful message of reconciliation and healing of the nations. PARIS, France (Mennonite Mission Network) – A tale of two cities runs throughout human history: the city of Babel, resulting in the scattering of […]
Streams of formation create a river of ministry in global mission
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — As he prepares for retirement in July 2020, Stanley W. Green, longtime executive director of Mennonite Mission Network, faces a transition that evokes memories of how his boyhood shaped a half-century of adult ministry. Reflecting on the evolution of his faith journey, from being born in apartheid South Africa […]
How to decide about graduate school
"What is retirement? Do I sign up now?" "Credit? What is it? How do I get it?" The above questions came from volunteers of Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) at their annual retreat last month. I asked those present to give me some suggestions for the Career Corner column and the responses made me smile. Another […]
The Mennonite, Mennonite Mission Network launch Spanish-language podcast
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — For those who want to nibble sound bites for the soul while sipping evening tea with friends, listening to a new Spanish-language podcast, Merienda Menonita, may be the perfect match. The new podcast, named after the Spanish term for a light dinner or tea in the evening, is being co-hosted […]
Traveling to the Arizona deserts where others have trod
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — From the comfort of two vans, participants in Mennonite Mission Network’s alumni service-learning tour traveled through Arizona to gain greater understanding of the perilous journeys that migrants and indigenous people take through the same terrain. From Nov. 9-17, 16 people — mostly alumni of Mission Network’s SOOP and Mennonite […]
Proclaimers gift Toba Qom with entire New Testament recording
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — When the full Bible in the Toba Qom indigenous language became available in 2014, pastors treasured their new Bibles and the opportunity to read the Scriptures in their heart language during their church services. Yet the culture is predominantly oral, and pastors like Eliseo López longed for the day when […]
Mennonite Church in Argentina celebrates 100 years
Since the Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Argentina (Argentina Evangelical Mennonite Church) celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first baptisms on Sept. 27–29, its commitment to spreading the good news of Christ has grown stronger. During the festivities, church members and visiting North American partners reviewed the denomination’s history: from the first Mennonite missionaries, Mae and Tobias […]
Practical and profound
The growth of a vibrant movement of voluntary service is an inspiring story of simple, youthful, practical Christian idealism applied to human suffering and struggle. Many Mennonite voluntary or alternative service programs birthed sincere discipleship convictions and unleashed the latent talent and skills of thousands of young men and women engaged in peaceful service. […]
Walking in peace through perplexing times
Though they grew up in different eras, many young people in the past seven and a half decades have shared a similar dream: In a world of militarism, materialism and me-ism, they desired to seek a road less traveled. Instead of marching to the beat of the times, they wanted to follow Jesus into a […]