Emergency Response, Capacity Building, and Peacebuilding - Rolando Santiago
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DownloadThe early church confronted directly the age-old dilemma between evangelism and social ministry. In Acts 6:1-7, the apostles selected a committee of seven to organize the distribution of food among the neglected Helenist widows. This enabled the apostles to devote themselves “‘to prayer and to serving the word’” (vs. 4). Over 89 years, Anabaptist Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish churches have chosen the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) for ministry with those who suffer social and economic injustice in the world. The main programmatic role of MCC is to assist the church to fulfill its biblical vision of jubilee by building just relationships with fellow human beings and with God’s creation.
I have reviewed many of the New Wine, New Wineskins results about the priorities of MCC for the next two decades. I am not the one to summarize or finalize what has been said. My comments reflect my personal top three priorities. They emerge from an understanding that MCC should receive joyfully the many gifts available from people in Anabaptist constituent churches around the globe who want to help fulfill the jubilee. Fulfilling the jubilee means that MCCs outward ministry is broad, and yet needs to be focused.
New terms are emerging for the three types of activities for which Anabaptist people around the world continue to be gifted: Emergency response, capacity building, and peacebuilding. In emergency response, biblical and faith foundations compel Anabaptists to respond to people suffering from war and natural disaster. They apply practical skills to alleviate the immediate need for survival. They often engage communities where there are no Anabaptist churches and target the most vulnerable. The new emphasis ought to be in facilitating involvement of the majority of global Anabaptists rather than only those from U.S. and Canada.
In capacity building, the emphasis ought to be in engagement with local communities to build their own capacity for “well-being,” a goal imbued with rich biblical meaning. “Well-being” is about caring holistically for human beings and the environment in which they live. Specific areas for promoting community and environmental well-being will need to be identified. My own favorites are health, education, food, water and community sustainability.
In peacebuilding, Anabaptists are gifted in the practice of conflict transformation and restorative justice in global and domestic conflict settings. This comes from a passion for peace in the tradition of Jesus. I also believe in the ability of Anabaptists to provide a peace witness to governments, no matter where they are located around the world. Anabaptists do not do the work of government. They want government to be what God intended it to be. My personal goal for MCC is that in the next 20 years it will witness to the U.S. government in shifting 90% of the defense budget allocation to budgets devoted to global development and conflict transformation. This will lead to true peace and security. This is the peace that God intends for all people, communities and nations of the world.
Finally, it is critical to define how priorities will be implemented. Some of the tools that have been mentioned in New Wine/New Wineskins meetings include listening to the voices of people of color who are in the majority in the global Anabaptist community and engaging us to help direct, lead and implement the priorities. They also include relationship building, listening, discernment, learning, accountability, giving, stewardship of resources, interfaith bridgebuilding, advocacy, evaluation for continuous improvement of practice, and many others.
The priorities of MCC along with the procedures used to implement them define MCCs unique Anabaptist approach to its ministry of bringing about God’s jubilee and well-being of all people and all creation!
Rolando L. Santiago
Executive Director
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
Comments
"Capacity building" AND "peace and justice" should be the top priorities. "Emergency preparedness" will happen but should not be a priority! It's something that we need to do.
I would suggest a third -- "Becoming neighbours" across the street and around the world. Just having attending our Mennonite Muslim dialogue on finance and faith this morning in Waterloo Region, I see once again how important that peoples of different faiths and cultures learn to know and trust each other in a world torn apart by differences. Yet this morning we learned how many values we share -- rather than giving in to the media hype which often negatively labels all based on the actions of a few! If we are neighbours, we do not need to agree, but we do understand and respect. Hopefully we will trust and learn to love each other.
Connecting Peoples
Connecting Peoples is and should continue to be the key programmatic priority of MCC. When you meet people from other places you are less likely to want to do harm to them. This is peace-building!
MCC is about people-to-people relationships. Mutual transformation happens to our service workers, our sending churches and our partners. Please keep connecting peoples a key part of what you are!
It seems to me that our first concern should be peace in our American Churches. The saying, "To live above with saints you love--Oh that will be glory, But to live below with saints you know--Now that's a different story!" It does not appear to me that in most churches the outside world does not say, "Oh how they love each other and by that they will know we are Christ's disciples.