Thursday, December 16, 2010

2011 Calendar

The beginning of 2011 looks to be full of new adventure and a lot of work! :) We look forward to hosting a few new groups and reconnecting with old friends. Please see below for a schedule of activities for Jan-May 2011.


Canadian Foodgrains Bank Learning Tour – January 17-31

Westgate Mennonite Collegiate - February 10-24

Rockway Mennonite Collegiate - March 4-17

Rosthern Junior College - March 20-April 2

Immigration Learning Tour - April 27-May 10

MCC seeks constituents across the U.S. who are interested in issues of immigration & the church, limit is 10 participants; if interested please visit www.mcc.org

Semana de Servicio

Comité Central Menonita Semana de Servicio “Toma tu Lugar en la Mesa del Señor!”


“This service week provided a rare opportunity to not only meet youth from all over Guatemala and El Salvador, but also a chance to hear about the lives and work that each is doing in their own communities. It was beautiful and inspiring to be a part of an intercambio like this, which connected youth from an array of indigenous groups and ladino communities”, recalls a SALT service worker in Guatemala.


Each year the Mennonite Central Committee’s Guatemala/El Salvador team invites four or five youth from each partner organization to participate in a week of service and learning. This year over forty-five youth from all over Guatemala and El Salvador traveled to the area of Cuisnhauat in El Salvador.


The youth were brought together to learn about Food Security in Central America, engage the local culture by participating in home stays, share their experiences in their respective communities and work together in service projects to benefit the people of Cuisnhauat.


After enjoying freshly made hot pupusas on Wednesday night, the Service Week started out with a brief orientation and the night finished with get-to-know you games before heading out to the home stays. Each day began with devotions, followed by a time of learning, sharing and finishing with the service portion.


We spent time discussing and making collages of the media’s message and influence on our purchasing and food habits. We listened to speakers from San Marcos and Totonicapan talk about the work they do with food security in their cooperatives, which proved to be quite enlightening for all. The youth were also able to donate time and money to help the community build a wall next to the river, to prevent flooding, and repair roofs of two different families. But don’t fret! We were able to find time for fun playing soccer and taking a dip in the river.


Our time concluded with a night of cultural fun at ANADES’s coffee finca getting a coffee tour, swimming in the river and enjoying a camp fire. On Saturday, we said our goodbyes and headed back for the long journey to our respective communities, eager to share all that was learned.


Thus, this time, provided the youth an opportunity to learn more about food security and how they can help their own communities be more sustainable, all the while expanding their world view and making new friends. A big thanks to Toby and Yasmin, who organized this week for all of us!


And thank you to Anne Barkett for the article and the fotos!







Blessings at Year End

I remember with gratitude the fruits of the labors of others, which I have shared as a part of the normal experience of daily living.

I remember the beautiful things that I have seen, heard, and felt - some, as a result of definite seeking on my part, and many that came unheralded into my path, warming my heart and rejoicing my spirit.

I remember the moments of distress that proved to be groundless and those that taught me profoundly about the evilness of evil and the goodness of good.

I remember the new people I have met, from whom I have caught glimpses of the meaning of my own life and the true character of human dignity.

I remember the dreams that haunted me during the year, keeping me ever mindful of goals and hopes which I did not realize but from which I drew inspiration to sustain my life and keep steady my purposes.

I remember the awareness of the spirit of God that sought me out in my aloneness and gave me a sense of assurance that undercut my despair and confirmed my life with new courage and abiding hope.

Howard Thurman


picture courtesy of Leslie Hammer