Editorial: MCC association doesn't mean we discount allegations

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

In this issue, we are including an investigative article covering allegations made by former Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) staff about unjust terminations by MCC. It is unlike anything we normally print, and this may raise questions about our reason for including it.

MCC is deeply ingrained in the psyche of North American Mennonites, particularly those with memories or stories of its early days. It was formed more than 100 years ago in response to fellow Mennonites starving in Russia (now Ukraine) during the Russian Revolution. MCC has been rooted in values we’ve shared—feeding the hungry, responding to disasters, working to alleviate poverty, working for peace, and generally thinking and acting at a grass-roots level. Its past is earthy, communal and agricultural.

In the past decades, MCC has increasingly fallen out of favour in conservative Mennonite circles over its approach to social and cultural issues and its move in a liberal direction. The Sommerfeld Church and Christian Mennonite Conference ended their formal association with MCC in 2012 and 2019 respectively. Several EMC churches have also disconnected from MCC. Trust between conservative churches and MCC at the organizational level is low. However, there is continuing support at the individual level for MCC thrift shops, for example, and for specific projects. Excellent cooperation continues between EMC missions and MCC Nicaragua where MCC staff on the ground have been essential.

“Involuntary: Terminated MCC workers call for accountability and change,” our lead article in this issue, is written by Will Braun, editor of Canadian Mennonite. It responds to an open letter sent by former MCC workers on May 3, 2024, and was published after an investigation supported the claims. In later issues, Canadian Mennonite published a response from the executive directors of MCC Canada and MCC U.S. (reprinted on p. 30 of this issue), along with multiple letters from constituents who care deeply about MCC but are calling for change.

The article focuses primarily on the accounts of four people willing to be named. Since the open letter, additional people have come forward with their own stories of mistreatment for a total of 43 at the time of this writing. The additional information is of such a nature that investigation is called for.

A knowledgeable HR person we spoke to, and a supporter of MCC, expressed disappointment that MCC has not acknowledged the harm or expressed willingness to be held accountable.

Back to the original question—why publish this? EMC is one of MCC Canada’s four sponsoring conferences and we have been associated with MCC for decades. We publish stories from MCC in almost every issue of The Messenger and lean on them when we need help with sponsorship initiatives such as the most recent Afghan Christian sponsorship program. People of EMC have served on MCC boards, served locally and overseas with them and supported fund-raising efforts. Our association is not one to take lightly.

Although EMC has been rethinking our relationship with MCC, at this point we’re at the table; it is important that we are informed.

Updated link to the open letter: https://online.fliphtml5.com/rcyuu/lcvv/ and petition: https://www.change.org/p/mcc-stop-harming-your-workers-and-partners-now