It’s that time of year again and the Mennonite churches in Black Creek are once again hosting a relief fair.
This year the finances raised will be in support of those in need in Earthquake devastated Syria and Turkey. The support is distributed by MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) Founded in Chicago, Illinois.
MCC held its first meeting on Sept. 27, 1920. Its original goal was to provide food for Mennonites starving in Ukraine after the Russian Revolution. MCC soon realized that it could not help only their Mennonite brothers and sisters and began to help anyone in need.
The finances to support this help come from generous individuals who identify with the mission and values of MCC. MCC thrift shops and relief sales supply about 20 per cent of MCC’s $77.6 million budget. Many supporters can meat and donate material resources, such as comforters and relief kits full of supplies, to be sent to people in the midst of crisis. Huge containers are packed in MCC depots (Abbotsford in B.C.) and shipped out to the country needing help. The local Mennonites have been supporting and sending aid to the Ukraine in a big way this last year. For many Mennonites the Ukraine is a big part of their heritage.
So who are the Mennonites? They have sometimes been described as originally Dutch by ancestry, German by tradition and Russian by nationality.
Their faith was established by Menno Simons during the Protestant reformation and was based on baptism by confession of faith, a life of discipleship and resistance to war. It was Catherine the Great of Russia who invited these dedicated agriculturists to develop lands north of the Black Sea known as new Russia (now the Ukraine.) It was after the Crimean War when Russia felt a need to increase military power that the Tsar allowed that the Mennonites could immigrate rather than face conscription. So in the later half of the 1800s, many Mennonites immigrated to Canada, the USA, Mexico and South America. Later after the Russian Revolution, and again after WW2, more Mennonites arrived.
Over the years, different congregations evolved with lifestyles and traditions changing but the basics beliefs have remained unchanged. Many members of Mennonite congregations today do not have any Mennonite heritage yet all strongly support the belief in Christ.
Each year in the U.S. and Canada, MCC relief sales are organized by hundreds of volunteers as an extension of their faith and their desire to share love in the name of Christ around the world through supporting MCC’s work of relief, development and peace.
Relief sales and events celebrate community cooperation and generosity as they provide opportunities for fellowship, food and fun, raising millions of dollars annually to support the work of MCC.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 27 a the Unitted Mennonite Church in Black Creek. Watch for their ad in this newspaper or check them out on Facebook.