"...nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." (Matthew 9:16-17)
Submitted by Earl Zimmerman (not verified) on June 10, 2009 - 6:45pm.
I really like the new statement! It hits all the right notes on defining who we are, what our ministry is, our commitment to cross humanly boundaries constructed boundaries, and the recognition that transformation begins with us.
Submitted by Brent Peters (not verified) on June 12, 2009 - 12:02am.
I'm not sure why - and maybe I haven't been paying much attention (which is nothing new to me) - but I sense a shift in the documenting of the relationship between our faith and our practice (cf. "Shared Convictions, Mennonite World Conference").
Twice I went through the process of "orientation" with MCC - once, to serve as an assistant printer in the Akron, PA head offices, and again, as an ESL teacher going to teach in China - and, both times, I don't remember there being such a strong DECLARATION of the link between our faith and our goals as an organization.
And I applaud this change.
Being people of the cross who follow the One who hung there, we need to remind ourselves why we are asking people to donate their old jeans for a rug, or why we are giving to MCC's general fund, or why we do what we do, plain and simple. We need underpinnings as much as any non-church outfit does, as a form of inspiration, but also of foundation!
It's a warm night, and my fan is on as I write this - and the fan and humidity remind me of those times in Akron and China, and how integral my core beliefs were to how I functioned within my community of believers.
We didn't always see "eye to eye" on things, but having some common ground kept everything in balance and allowed us to continue to serve others in our world and, even, each other, as servants in a world that has no respect for them.
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Comments
I really like the new statement! It hits all the right notes on defining who we are, what our ministry is, our commitment to cross humanly boundaries constructed boundaries, and the recognition that transformation begins with us.
I'm not sure why - and maybe I haven't been paying much attention (which is nothing new to me) - but I sense a shift in the documenting of the relationship between our faith and our practice (cf. "Shared Convictions, Mennonite World Conference").
Twice I went through the process of "orientation" with MCC - once, to serve as an assistant printer in the Akron, PA head offices, and again, as an ESL teacher going to teach in China - and, both times, I don't remember there being such a strong DECLARATION of the link between our faith and our goals as an organization.
And I applaud this change.
Being people of the cross who follow the One who hung there, we need to remind ourselves why we are asking people to donate their old jeans for a rug, or why we are giving to MCC's general fund, or why we do what we do, plain and simple. We need underpinnings as much as any non-church outfit does, as a form of inspiration, but also of foundation!
It's a warm night, and my fan is on as I write this - and the fan and humidity remind me of those times in Akron and China, and how integral my core beliefs were to how I functioned within my community of believers.
We didn't always see "eye to eye" on things, but having some common ground kept everything in balance and allowed us to continue to serve others in our world and, even, each other, as servants in a world that has no respect for them.