At MCC, our advocacy is rooted in our local partnerships and in bringing the perspectives and voices of those we work with globally into policy discussions in the United States. Our partners have knowledge of their particular context and what is needed for their communities. 

In February, I had the opportunity to visit Lebanon and Palestine. The work of MCC partners in Lebanon and Iraq is forward-thinking. I was deeply encouraged by projects related to psychosocial support and climate change. While there, I worked with coalition partners in Washington, D.C., to draft a letter calling for better humanitarian aid access in Syria, particularly for responding in the aftermath of a recent series of earthquakes.

Being in Palestine was a deeply moving experience. Our partners’ work informs how our U.S.-based advocacy highlights the current conditions in Palestine under Israeli occupation, the escalation of both state and settler violence, and the endemic encroachment of climate change.

--Zachary Murray, legislative associate

Read more about MCC in Palestine and Israel 

By Charles Kwuelum, senior peace education and advocacy associate, international. 

As we are each part of a web of systems and subsystems, what affects others, affect us. So, our peacemaking work must not neglect broader systemic issues. Read more on p. 9 of Shalom! A journal for the practice of reconciliation. 

The people of Cuba continue to suffer from shortages of basic necessities such as food, clean water and medicine. Faith-based organizations like MCC can sometimes have difficulty sending humanitarian aid or financial support to Cuban churches. The U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, on spurious grounds, is one obstacle. 

Take action: Urge the Biden administration to remove Cuba from the state sponsor of terrorism list! 

On February 17, Charles Kwuelum moderated a Senate Foreign Relations Committee congressional briefing on Nigeria’s electoral environment ahead of the country’s general elections on February 25 and March 11. The presidential and parliamentary elections have been highly criticized by international election observers and Nigeria’s civil society organizations as being fundamentally flawed and threatening Nigeria’s democracy.

On March 9, President Biden released his annual budget request for fiscal year 2024, requesting an increase of 3% for all defense spending and 7% for non-defense discretionary spending, as compared with FY2023 levels. The budget request proposes $70.7 billion for international affairs and foreign assistance, including for the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and other State and Foreign Operations programs. 

Take action: Urge Congress to support a robust international assistance budget 

The Biden administration recently proposed the implementation of an asylum ban which would require migrants to seek safety in the countries they travel through before reaching the U.S. (in violation of U.S. and international law) and mandate use of a glitch-plagued phone app known as CBP One. You can register your opposition to this policy before March 27, by submitting a public comment, which the administration will be required to review before the policy is enacted.

MCC and MCUSA partnered in a four-part webinar series, Beyond incarceration: A hard look at dismantling the prison system and building healthy communities, over February and March. Practitioners with a depth of knowledge, expertise and practical experience shared powerfully about the ways the faith community is actively understanding and working against complex systems of confinement. View all four webinar recordings. 

Registration is open for Ecumenical Advocacy Days, an annual gathering of advocates supported by nearly 50 Christian denominations and organizations, including MCC. This year, the conference theme is “Swords into Plowshares – Achieving Enough for All and Pursuing Peace,” based on Micah 4:3-4. The virtual conference will feature keynote speakers, worship, workshops and advocacy opportunities for all attendees. Register for the conference.  

Creation Justice Ministries (an MCC partner) is holding a training for Christian leaders on climate change. The training serves to empower church leaders to understand and draw upon science effectively, foster sustainable, regenerative initiatives in a congregational or other ministry setting, and lead communities from political inaction and denial to faithful action and advocacy. Read more and apply. 

MennoCon will be held July 3-6, in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by a youth and young adult climate summit on July 7. Join our team for interactive young adult workshops on immigration, mass incarceration, Palestine and Israel, climate change and more! Register for MennoCon.

Saulo Padilla participated in the Andean Anabaptist Gathering in Quito, Ecuador, Feb. 18-21. He presented for 35 pastors and laypeople from Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia on Christian hospitality, migration and the church. 

On Feb. 21, eleven students from an Eastern Mennonite University Environmental Risk and Policy class, along with NPJM staff, advocated on Capitol Hill for legislation to improve critical mineral mining practices. Students met with the offices of representatives and senators from Virginia, Illinois and Iowa. 

Alongside other Messiah University alumni, Galen Fitzkee presented at the annual Messiah University humanities symposium on Feb. 24, sharing about current trends in migration policy from an Anabaptist perspective.  

From Feb. 24-25, NPJM and West Coast MCC partnered with Addressing the Impact and Trauma of Migration (AITM) to hold a migration trauma seminar for 25 graduate students and professors from the Family and Marriage Therapy department at Fresno Pacific University. Participants recognized the importance of being trauma informed while living and working amongst newcomers and a longtime Latino(a) community. 

On Feb. 26, Daniela Lázaro-Manalo preached online for Faith Mennonite Church of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the desert, connecting with what it meant for Jesus to stand in opposition to empire and for the Anabaptist community to practice decolonization.  Request NPJM staff to speak with your church or group.

At the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington, D.C., on March 3, Anthony Khair, Zachary Murray and Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns staff member, Susan Nchubiri, presented on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. On March 12, Anthony gave a sermon at Washington Community Fellowship (D.C.) about the parable of “The Good Samaritan” in connection with his experience of growing up in Palestine.
 

In early March, Galen Fitzkee spent time in Guatemala learning from MCC staff and partners about the historical context of violence and exploitation and the Guatemalan people’s continued resilience. MCC’s partners want to see more Anabaptists and U.S. policymakers stand in solidarity with them as they work in their local communities supporting migrants, improving education and empowering indigenous women.
 

Jes Stoltzfus Buller continues to engage church leaders on Peaceful Practices: A guide to healthy communication in conflict. In February, she gave workshops during Pastors and Leaders week at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and at Central Mennonite Church in Archbold, Ohio, and presented virtually for Anabaptist pastors in Puerto Rico. In March, Jes facilitated online trainings for Mennonite Mission Network’s Latin America-based learning cohort, Pacificadores, and in Florida with Covenant Mennonite Fellowship. 

MCC East Coast seeks a detail-oriented and teachable person to serve as the Climate Communications Intern. The communications position will highlight urban Anabaptist BIPOC-led responses to the climate crisis within MCC’s East Coast region, with a strong emphasis on storytelling and photography, focusing on environmental racism, green spaces and urban gardening and food systems. Read more and apply.

Sarah Fuller of Pasadena Mennonite Church (California) created this linocut, Incarceration Stations of the Cross, to invite viewers to meditate on the sufferings of human beings incarcerated in the United States penitentiary system.