By Jessica Griggs for Mennonite Church USA ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Church USA) — For the months of April and May, Mennonite Church USA will focus on addressing climate justice concerns, through the “Learn, Pray, Join: Climate Justice: Seeking Shalom” initiative. This campaign seeks to bring awareness to intertwining climate and social concerns, such as extreme weather events, agricultural challenges, species extinction and human suffering, while offering hope and ways to join in the efforts to bring about climate justice. “Our vision, as Mennonite Church USA, is to be vessels of healing and hope for the world. When we join together... read more →
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If you are not happy with the results below please do another search The Center for Community Justice in Elkhart, Indiana, honored Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, Mennonite Church USA’ denominational minister for Peace & Justice, for her work in restorative justice at an October 21 event celebrating the 45th anniversary of its Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP), the first restorative justice program of its kind in the U.S. Irwin Larrier, executive director of the Center for Community Justice, presented Stutzman Amstutz with the VORP Founding Partner Award for her outstanding work with the Center as a recent college graduate in... read more →
By Jessica Griggs and Sarah Werner for Mennonite Church USA Elkhart, Ind. (Mennonite Church USA) — Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has hired a climate justice intern, Sarah Werner, as part of an effort to provide a continual emphasis on creation care. This internship is funded by a Schowalter Foundation charitable funding distribution awarded to MC USA in late 2021. Werner is working with the denominational minister for peace and justice, Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, through July 2023 to plan the Youth and Young Adult Climate Summit — a one-day event July 7, 2023, immediately following MennoCon23, in Kansas City, Missouri. She... read more →
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This post is part of our Learn, Pray, Join: Mass Incarceration series. Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz is Mennonite Church USA’s denominational minister for Peace and Justice. For more than 25 years, she served as the coordinator of Mennonite Central Committee’s Restorative Justice program. She also co-authored “The Little Book of Restorative Discipline for Schools” and “What Will Happen to Me?” Lorraine graduated from Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work, and earned a master’s in Social Work from Marywood University, Scranton, Pennsylvania. She and her husband attend Blossom Hill Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. _________________________________ Here... read more →
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Church USA) — Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has named Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz as denominational minister for Peace and Justice, starting May 23, 2022. In this role, she will resource conference ministers, conferences and pastors with opportunities to strengthen capacity and engagement in Christ centered peace and justice, as well as serve as a liaison and coordinator for peace and justice initiatives throughout MC USA. “I am excited to welcome Lorraine as the new denominational minister for Peace and Justice,” said Iris de León-Hartshorn, associate executive director of MC USA. “Lorraine has vast experience in working... read more →
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This article is part of Mennonite Church USA’s Cost of Poverty: Learn, Pray, Join initiative. Douglas Kaufman is the director of pastoral ecology at the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions, a partnership of Goshen College, Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern Mennonite University, and pastor of Benton Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana. He is a biker-rider, as well as a climate activist, most recently joining the climate ride in visiting his senators’ offices in Washington, DC. ____________________________________________________________ When people think of an environmentalist, they often think of a white person with a high income. Some even worry that being an environmentalist is a privilege... read more →
Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) continues to support congregations that are confronting injustices in their communities. Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Colombia (IMCOL-Colombian Mennonite Church) is the most recent recipient of a $5,000 Justice Fund grant, which will be used to help congregations dismantle racism and build peace. The Justice Fund provides a way for individuals and congregations to support churches, primarily within MC USA, that are actively dismantling racism, addressing police brutality, reimagining policing in our society or combating poverty. “We thought it would be appropriate to send a small grant to the Colombian church, due to the fact that many of our congregations have connections with Colombian Mennonite churches, in addition... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s MennoCon21 #BringThePeace series. Safwat Marzouk is the associate professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He is an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church in Egypt and is a member of the Wabash Valley Presbytery. He has pastored in Alexandria, Egypt, as well as in Jersey City, New Jersey, while he was finishing his doctorate at Princeton (New Jersey) Theological Seminary. In addition to writing numerous articles and book chapters, he is the author of two books: Egypt as a Monster in the Book of Ezekiel and Intercultural Church: A Biblical... read more →
Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has awarded grants to 10 congregations in support of their social justice work. Ranging from $1,000 to $2,500, the grants are the first from the denomination’s Justice Fund, established in June 2020 to support MC USA conferences and congregations actively working to combat poverty, dismantle racism, seek immigration justice or address police brutality/reimage policing. “This is a way for us to engage locally in our communities and be a part of a narrative that advocates justice, love and kindness to counter hate and violence,” said Iris de León-Hartshorn, MC USA associate executive director. The... read more →
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This post is part of a blog series on racial justice where writers reflect on what it means to do anti-racism work in their context. Bryan Ward has been working with the missions organization Novo for 30+ years in the U.S., Russia and South Africa. He and his wife Daleen are currently on a team called ReWire, where he serves as the City Director for Minneapolis/St. Paul. ReWire creates discipleship processes that couple a contemplative/reflective inner life and a mission-oriented outer life with a bent toward the poor and marginalized. Bryan and Daleen have two adult children who also live in... read more →
Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has introduced a new way to contribute to its peace and justice work. The denomination launched a T-shirt fundraiser this week to support its Justice Fund, a mutual aid fund that assists MC USA congregations engaging in their communities to dismantle racism and build peace. “The T-shirt fundraiser is a fun and tangible way for individuals and families to connect with and support the social justice work of the church,” said MC USA Event Services Coordinator Sarah Chase, who helped organize the fundraiser. “Our goal is to raise $30,000 for the fund, which can... read more →
By MC USA staff Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) recently released five brief videos featuring first-person narratives from immigrants and immigration advocates speaking about their experiences and work. The videos are intended to encourage individuals and congregations to engage in immigration justice. They are part of the denomination’s “Learn, Pray, Join” initiative that focuses on “Immigration Justice: Radical Hospitality.” “We hope that our ‘Learn, Pray, Join’ videos help to put a face on immigration justice,” said Sue Park-Hur, MC USA’s denomination minister for transformative peacemaking. “These people are part of our church. These are our stories – stories... read more →
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This post is part of Mennonite Church USA's Immigration Justice: Radical Hospitality Learn, Pray, Join initiative. Safwat Marzouk is associate professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He is an ordained pastor with the Synod of the Nile and a member of the Wabash Valley Presbytery, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., and author of the books Intercultural Church: A Biblical Vision in an Age of Migration and Egypt as a Monster in the Book of Ezekiel. _______________________ There is a dissonance between the advocacy for welcoming the stranger to cross the border and the efforts for integrating... read more →
(Mennonite Church USA) — In August and September, Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is working to focus awareness on the treatment of immigrants through its new “Learn, Pray, Join” initiative – Immigration Justice: Radical Hospitality. “Many of us have a migration story,” said Sue Park-Hur, MC USA’s denomination minister for transformative peacemaking. “Some of us are recent immigrants to this country, others came generations ago and still others were forced to come. There are still many in our communities who are seeking refuge. Our churches have opportunities to welcome and advocate for today’s immigrants – and to be transformed... read more →