Editorial

Mennonite Central Committee has been using Jesus’ saying about new wineskins as the metaphor for a massive reorganization process. But for those who quilt the quilts, collect the pennies and sell sausage at annual MCC relief sales, the emerging structures (wineskins) are not of primary concern. Those who work in MCC’s thrift stores or make financial contributions care only that MCC continue its ministries of justice and peace building, disaster response and sustainable community development.

But MCC has a conundrum: Having decided to “decentralize,” the organization still needs a strong center to run its international programs.

In his coverage of MCC’s annual sessions June 5-6, Meetinghouse reporter Paul Schrag reports that the new structure is designed to “clarify MCC’s vision, simplify its structure and make it a closer partner with Anabaptist churches around the world.”

This all sounds positive enough. The change is one some MCC board members called “momentous” and “historic.” If that is the case, we must take notice of what is changing.

The historic nature of this change is described by this sentence: MCC is redefined as a “worldwide ministry of the Anabaptist churches” which expands upon MCC’s longtime definition as a ministry of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in Canada and the United States (from a June 9 MCC news release).

The MCC phenomenon—that grew out of convictions among U.S. Mennonites in the 1920s—has now spilled over the national boundaries in North America. Mennonite Central Committee will no longer be “binational” (United States and Canada). Furthermore, it will no longer define its constituency as Mennonite and Brethren in Christ. Now its constituency will be any interested Anabaptist churches around the world.

The intent is clear: Let Anabaptist churches in each country or continent create a relief and service agency in ways that have integrity within their cultures, contexts and convictions.
These expressions will then be coordinated by some sort of centralized structure. But the shape of that central structure (the wineskin that holds the new wine) has not yet been determined.

This is where MCC has a problem: It wishes to allow multiple MCCs around the world, but it needs a strong center to manage its most important ministries, the international programs. One MCC board member pointed out the problem at the June 5-6 meeting.

International program “requires a structure and entity of its own,” said Elizabeth Soto Albrecht. “It should be kept apart, not placed with any [country MCC].”

The International Program Department runs a variety of sophisticated programs, and some of those programs are in countries without Mennonite or Anabaptist constituencies large enough to manage them. It is primarily these international programs—the old wine—that won’t fit into the new wineskin being created.

So in addition to creating fresh wineskins (structures) for the new ministries (wine) that are emerging around the world, MCC needs to care for the current structures that provide stewardship for the aged and valuable wine.

The quilters, penny collectors and thrift shop customers care primarily that contributions feed the hungry “in the name of Christ.” But when this most beloved ministry makes such a historic change, we all need to understand what it means so we can continue to have confidence in it.

The next step for the organization is to work out the details for the new structure. That is scheduled for September. MCC has listened well to people around the world. Now it needs to figure out how to save the old wine.