Being Clear on our Programmatic Focus and Mandate - Arli Klassen
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DownloadMCC has been pulled in various directions in recent decades regarding our programmatic priorities. Sometimes it seems that MCC is expected by constituents and congregations that MCC will do everything that any church asks of MCC, and thus we have no programmatic priorities other than what the church sets as priorities for us. On another hand, we have often proudly talked about being “field-driven”, and taking our direction from our partners, wherever we are working. Again, this means MCC has no programmatic focus, other than what partners ask of MCC.
Personally, I think MCC can better serve both churches and partners by being clear on our programmatic focus and mandate, and then being responsive to requests from churches and partners within those programmatic priorities. We have been calling ourselves a “relief, development and peace” organization for decades – and each of those words refers to a specific field where we have developed expertise.
I have not heard many voices calling for us to be other than a relief, development and peace organization over the last 8 months of this listening process. I am content for MCC to continue to be a relief organization that responds to disasters, a development organization that is committed to poverty alleviation, and a peace organization with expertise in peacebuilding activities at all levels.
There are 2 lenses, or cross-cutting issues, that I would like to see intersect with how we do our relief, development, and peace work.
One of those lenses is cross-cultural (and inter-racial and inter-ethnic and inter-religious) interactions between people – that we emphasize that a major part of how we go about doing relief, development, and peace, is by bringing together people across walls that normally divide, in order to work together on these issues.
A second lens is creation care, or by paying special attention to the environment. I don’t think we should become an environmental agency, but I think we should be highlighting how to better live in harmony with God’s creation, through our relief, development, and peace work. Emphasizing that we are a cross-cultural/relational organization, and committed to creation care, while focusing on relief, development and peace work, could lead us to our unique vocation in the world -- “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” (Frederick Buechner)
Arli Klassen
Executive Director
Comments
Yes - - - - go program/focus, drop geographical designations, including new ones.
Yes, let bridge-building be one of the new metaphors. Minimize the way our structues export/iimpose our theology (separating mission and service. . . .)
Go umbrella or confederation model
Rework, renergize Information services
Time for reflection in N Amer - - for MCC and churches - - -a lot has changed - - -Both what does MCC need and what do churches need. Example - -we still need vehicle for youth, young adults - compassion and energy is still there, but models, structures, have changed.
(More on these in a 'general viewpoint' paper, just submitted, kept it 2 pages this time.)
Ray H
A focus on relief and development goes hand-in-hand. I have always appreciated this focus for MCC. Relief is there on the front lines, helping to overcome the emotional and resource loss that happens during a disaster is extremely important, but so is giving individuals and communities a "hand-up" to develop the skills they need to become viable contributors within their own communities.
Throughout Proverbs we are reminded/encouraged to be wise stewards of the resources God has in our communities, to work towards feeding ourselves and to be wise planners, utilizing the abilities and resources God has placed before us.
Focusing on what you as an organization has done well for decades is a strong foundation for continued ministry. It is always important to listen to what your supporters request, but being wise in prayerful consideration of how God wants you to proceed is of primary consideration.
I think MCC has done a fantastic job in being Christ to a hurting world. I think top 3 priorities need to be:
1. Peace
2. Social Justice
3. Environmental Justice (or as you call it creation care)
All 3 are interconnected and you can't really have one without the other. Peacebuilders need to bring harmony to all facets of life. Such a holistic Christian perspective is missing from many other organizations. We are called to be God's agents of change and restoration to a fallen world. Right relationship to Christ brings right relationship to each other and all of God's creation.
No doubt we need to continue doing relief work, but I think MCC's other two priorities should be peacebuilding and social justice.
Over the past number of years, we have recognized that war exacerbates and creates poverty and so we have embraced peacebuilding as a priority. What is needed now is more attention to social justice and advocacy. Increasingly, we need to recognize that people are poor not because they don't have skills or knowledge but because they can't compete in a world that is stacked against them or because their land and resources have been taken over by international companies (benefiting many of us in the U.S. and Canada.) What is needed then is not "development" but justice: access to land and water, livable wages, fair trade policies, sustainable environmental practices and an end to militarism and military force.
I believe this means continuing to have strong national programs that can help our churches address injustice and violence in our own communities as well as address national policies that create inequality and feed violence and war. These programs can be a strong ally to international programs (by giving them more integrity) as well as help us be more relevant in our own communities. For how can we partner with sisters and brother in other countries if we can't do this at home? How can we do "development" with others when our own "development" is built from resources taken from them? We can share our wealth but this has much more integrity if we are also working hard to end our participation in the unjust policies which create poverty.