By MC USA staff
(Mennonite Church USA) — In the midst of significant social unrest in the United States, Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) has launched a Justice Fund to provide a way for individuals and congregations to support MC USA churches that are actively involved in dismantling racism, addressing police brutality, reimagining policing in our society or combating poverty.
“Many congregations are already working in these areas, but have limited budgets,” said Glen Guyton, executive director of MC USA. “The Justice Fund allows us to come together and support this important ongoing work through the practice of mutual aid.”
The Justice Fund will use donations to provide grants for MC USA congregations that are engaging in their communities to dismantle racism and to build peace. Congregations also may use these funds for seed money to begin working in these areas.
“Systemic racism, government-endorsed violence and poverty are diseases which, when left unchecked, threaten us all,” said Guyton. “Our churches are obligated to proclaim Jesus’ way of peace. We can no longer be silent, and we must work together,” he said, adding that the Justice Fund provides a way for those who are not able to protest or may not live in racially diverse areas to make a difference.
Guyton emphasized that the new Justice Fund is consistent with MC USA’s Renewed Commitments, which state:
We are called to extend God’s holistic peace, proclaiming Christ’s redemption for the world with our lives. Through Christ, God frees the world from sin and offers reconciliation. We bear witness to this gift of peace by rejecting violence and resisting injustice in all forms, and in all places.
To donate to the MC USA Justice Fund, click here and designate your donation for the Justice Fund.
The MC USA Justice Fund is part of the denomination’s #BringThePeace initiative. #BringThePeace is a call to action for individuals and congregations to extend peace in their communities. It is also a prayer inviting God to bring the peace that expands our capacity for empathy, compassion and love that actively seeks to dismantle oppression and violence. Learn more at mennoniteusa.org/bringthepeace.
For more information on MC USA’s peacebuilding efforts, visit http://mennoniteusa.org/what-we-do/peacebuilding/.
Mennonite Church USA is the largest Mennonite denomination in the United States with 16 conferences, approximately 530 congregations and 62,000 members. An Anabaptist Christian denomination, MC USA is part of Mennonite World Conference, a global faith family that includes churches in 86 countries. It has offices in Elkhart, Indiana and Newton, Kansas. mennoniteUSA.org
Read more about the Justice Fund: