Thursday, June 28, 2012

Sharing with the wider community

As I prepare for my three-year service term with the Mennonite Central Committee I have arranged to share my experiences with three different church communities in central Kansas.  This is an important step in preparation for my term for a couple of reasons.

The first is spiritual.  While I have many vocational and occupational reasons to join MCC I must not forget the spiritual world in which much of  MCC's support and work resides.  For church communities both in my homeland of central Kansas and in Colombia where I will be living, MCC is an example of how God is working in our world through human connections and love.  While I can get excited about theoretical ideas of conflict transformation and psychosocial wellbeing, I must not forget that I am also part of a vision of how God is working in our world; we are all a part of that vision.  


The second reason for sharing my experiences is to communicate and inform communities in central Kansas of what MCC is doing in Colombia.  Many people in these church communities are strong supporters of MCC both financially and spiritually.  They should know as best they can how MCC is affecting change in Colombia.  They, as well as all of us, should also be aware of what life is like for people in other regions of the globe; they should know what life is like for people who don't share the same life as we do, for people who have been marginalized in our global world.  Through my sharing, I am advocating for change in the lives of Colombians.  As citizens of the United States, we play an important role in how our global world treats citizens of the world.