Resource Topic: Immigration

Thanksgiving is bittersweet when celebrated with people looking for a place to belong

Joseph and Rachel Givens serve with Mennonite Mission Network in Calais, France, at Maria Skobtsova House, where they, with other volunteers, offer temporary shelter to people fleeing persecution and poverty. In the United States, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on life and all the things that we’re thankful for. It’s a time when people […]

Immigration. Service. Justice.

Moderated by Wil LaVeist, Mission Network Senior Executive of Advancement, this panel of members of the Mission Network community share their first-hand accounts of the human suffering and loss experienced at the United States-Mexico border. These stories highlight the unjust conditions faced by many individuals and families attempting to cross the border. The panelists discuss […]

Three churches experience Christ at the Borders in 2024

Over the past summer, members of three churches took part in Chapter 1 of Mission Network’s Christ at the Border Just Peace Pilgrimage, at the United States-Mexico border: Members from each of the churches shared their experiences on the pilgrimage in this video. Over seven days, each group traveled to several locations along the border […]

Say, “Bonjour!” to Joseph and Rachel

Find out what a “typical” day looks like for Joseph and Rachel Givens, the facilitators for the Maria Skobtsova House in Calais, France. Together with their family, the Givens welcome people who are on the move through Europe and seeking refuge en route to England. The Skobtsova house offers temporary shelter and meals.  “[Our job is] […]

Meet Ben and Laurel—named co-directors of the Paris Mennonite Center

Ben and Laurel Woodward-Breckbill are eager to continue the ministry of the Paris (France) Mennonite Center. For more than half a century, the center has served as an Anabaptist witness to French communities and scholars from around the world. The Paris (France) Mennonite Center (PMC) has named Ben and Laurel Woodward-Breckbill as their new co-directors […]

Journeys of hope “all through the night”

A child in a light house

SOOPers Barbara West and Kathy Howell spent six weeks volunteering at Maria Skobtsova House, a sanctuary for refugees, that maintains a prayerful presence in Calais, France. Upon their return, they shared reflections with their home congregation, Corvallis Mennonite Fellowship in Corvallis, Oregon.  Identifying information about Skobtsova House guests has been changed, including their names. We went into this […]

Casa del Abuelo: Navigating crisis and compassion in La Guajira

“There are many problems here in La Guajira,” said Maria del Rosario Peña de Melo, a social leader and pastor of a Mennonite church in Riohacha, as she looked around the entranceway of the Casa del Abuelo (House of the Grandparent). She sat at a table with four chairs around it and paused before continuing, […]

Mennonites in Ecuador reach out as their country struggles

This story first appeared on the Canadian Mennonite website. In August, Iglesia Cristiana Anabautista Menonita de Ecuador (ICAME) published a statement calling for prayers amid escalating violence in the country. Alexandra Meneses, who coordinates the Women’s Group and the Discipleship and Liturgy Group at ICAME, explained that the call for prayers and peace followed the […]

I have felt welcomed here

Naun Cerrato and Charles Geiser talk outside Sunnyside Mennonite Church. Photo by David Fast.

Hispanic Heritage Month began in the United States in 1968 as a week-long observance and was extended to a full month in 1988. There are several terms that have been adopted to refer to immigrant communities in the United States, particularly the Spanish-speaking communities from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and other places. […]

Just Peace Pilgrimage—Group tours explore peace and justice issues

​Mennonite Mission Network invites you and your congregation or group on pilgrimages that explore what God is doing to bring about justice and peace in the world and ways in which we can participate in such movements. Mission Network invites your Sunday School class, youth group and friends to join us as we learn together […]

Choosing community in a globalized world

This story is the second in a three-part series that explores a vision for the Anabaptist church from Julián Guamán, an Indigenous Mennonite author in the Ecuadorian Andes. Read the first story. This article first appeared in Anabaptist Climate Collaborative’s The Climate Pollinator newsletter. Julián Guamán is an Indigenous Kichwa man from the mountains of […]