Staff updates
Decolonizing peace in Puerto Rico
 Puerto Rico Peace Camp participants act out hunting and gathering in an activity on the history of the world. MCC photo/Saulo Padilla |
In October, 18 young adults gathered for a young adult Peace Camp in Puerto Rico to spend a week reflecting on peace and justice as it relates to colonization. Run entirely in Spanish, participants embraced the unique and complex context of Puerto Rico while grappling with systems of oppression and discovering concrete, faithful responses to bring about an alternative world, where peace and justice reign.
Malone University students learn about a call to advocacy
On October 20, a group of students from Malone University of Canton, Ohio — a receiving university for young Anabaptists in the Evana Network — visited the MCC office in Washington, D.C. Zachary Murray, a Malone alum, shared about his calling to peace and justice work, and about MCC’s history and current global work.
Eastern Mennonite University staff visit Washington, D.C.
On November 1, Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) faculty and staff from the Harrisonburg and Lancaster campuses visited our D.C. office. The group was in Washington, D.C., to learn about EMU’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC) which places students in internships while taking classes. MCC staff shared about their advocacy work and Aidan Yoder shared about his experience as a current WCSC student and MCC intern.
Does the United Nations matter in peacebuilding?
.png) MCC UN Office Student Seminar participants pose in front of the UN Headquarters in New York City. MCC Photo/Serim Park |
Serim Park participated in the 2023 MCC United Nations Office Student Seminar, Peacebuilding: Does the UN matter? in New York City, November 1-3. Forty young adults from 11 countries attended sessions on the role of the UN in peacebuilding, including “Lessons from the Ground” with MCC staff representing East Africa and “Engaging UN Diplomatic Missions” with a representative from the Swedish mission to the UN.
Art exhibit for peace on the Korean Peninsula
Zachary Murray and Serim Park visited the Drawing Hope Exhibit in Los Angeles organized by ReconciliAsian to view drawings from two decades of exchange between Korean children on both sides of the peninsula. The children’s art work brings hope that one day children from both sides can meet.
Just(ice) storytelling for peace workshop
On November 8, Jes Buller and Daniela L á zaro-Manalo facilitated a staff enrichment day for MennoMedia which focused on just(ice) storytelling as a medium for peacebuilding. Participants were invited to reflect on the value of oral history, shifting power dynamics, and how curiosity, creativity and intuition can help disrupt dominant narratives and speak across difference.
NPJM annual planning days
All eleven MCC U.S. National Peace & Justice Ministries (NPJM) staff met in Akron, Pennsylvania, for three days of reviewing, sharing and planning. Highlights included a circle of grief and prayer for world events, plans for collaboration, a ping-pong tournament, and making Korean kimbap. Through it all, we affirmed our eagerness to spend time with you in 2024! Request an NPJM speaker for your congregation or group.
Seminar on the trauma of incarceration
Pastors and social workers accompanying those experiencing the system of mass incarceration gathered for a two-day seminar, Addressing the Impact and Trauma of Incarceration. Facilitated by Saulo Padilla and Elena Zook Barge, the seminar focused on increasing awareness, mitigating harms, healing wounds, and transforming systems through promoting healthy reentry integration.
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