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28-620: The Church has its origins in an American mission in 1957. It was founded in 1964. The Mennonite Central Committee , which is the social service branch of the Mennonite Church, was one of the few Western charitable organizations to continue work in Vietnam after the Northern regime communist victory in 1975 and the subsequent reunification of the country. In 2001, it has about 10,000 members. The Church general secretary, vice president (and also

56-647: A spy for the Federal government of the United States . He was transferred with other prisoners outside the area of his capture. His further fate is unknown, but he never returned to the United States. The story of Kratz served as an inspiration among the international Mennonite community, with a Goshen College residence hall and an educational grant program (sponsored by the Delaware Valley chapter of Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), formerly known as

84-657: A chairman of the Legal Committee of the Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship ) Nguyen Hong Quang and his wife were several times arrested by the Vietnamese government. By some sources, the first arrest took place on or about August 1, 2001 in Ho Chi Minh City . The most recent arrest of Quang was in 2004 for allegedly practicing a non-sanctioned religion under Vietnam's 2004 Ordinance on Religion and Belief. Quang

112-510: A committee to North America in the summer of 1920 to alert American Mennonites of the dire conditions in war-torn Ukraine. Their plight succeeded in uniting various branches of Mennonites to form Mennonite Central Committee in an effort to aid these Russian Mennonites . P. C. Hiebert of the Mennonite Brethren Church initially chaired the organization, with secretary Levi Mumaw of the (Old) Mennonite Church and attorney Maxwell Kratz of

140-483: A period of three years beginning in 1922, with a peak of 40,000 servings during August of that year. Fifty Fordson tractor and plow combinations were sent to Mennonite villages to replace horses that had been stolen and confiscated during the war. This relief effort cost $ 1.2 million. Lois Gunden volunteered for the Mennonite Central Committee in 1941 and established an orphanage for refuge children of

168-501: Is promoted as their witness to New Testament Scriptures. MCC keeps a "conscientious objector registry" in Canada, taking statements from Canadians in the hope that they will be recognized by the Canadian government should the government restart drafting citizens into the military. Clayton Kratz Clayton Kratz (November 5, 1896 – presumed 1920) was a Mennonite relief worker from

196-606: The General Conference Mennonite Church . Other Mennonite conferences joined later. The new organization planned to provide aid to Ukraine via existing Mennonite relief work in Istanbul . The Istanbul group, mainly Goshen College graduates, produced three volunteers, who at great risk entered Ukraine during the ongoing Russian Civil War . They arrived in the Mennonite village of Halbstadt just as General Wrangel of

224-638: The Ottoman Empire . American Mennonites had already participated in the American Committee for Relief in the Near East and were familiar with the area. The trio were expected to gather supplies in Constantinople and transport them to the areas of southern Ukraine . Due to the ongoing Russian Civil War , the operations of paramilitary bands, epidemics of malaria and typhus , and an extended drought ,

252-516: The Spanish Civil War and Jewish children from Rivesaltes internment camp. The children that she rescued were malnourished, in poor health, and had lice. She was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem for her efforts to care for and protect children. As Civilian Public Service started to wind down in 1946, MCC began exploring a peacetime service program that would continue

280-519: The U.S. state of Pennsylvania , best known for his disappearance from the village of Halbstadt in the German Mennonite settlement of Molotschna during the Russian Civil War . Kratz was sent by the then-newly established Mennonite Central Committee . Kratz and fellow volunteers Arthur Slagel and Orie Miller were sent to investigate the needs of Mennonites who were living in the areas of

308-657: The White Army was retreating. Two of the volunteers withdrew with the Wrangel army, while Clayton Kratz , who remained in Halbstadt (Molotschna) as the Red Army overran the village, was never heard from again. A year passed before official permission was received from the Soviet government to do relief work among the villages of Ukraine. Kitchens provided 25,000 people a day with rations over

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336-426: The "Mennonite Six" (Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang, Evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach, Nguyen Thanh Phuong, Nguyen Thanh Nhan, Church elder Nguyen Huu Nghia, Children's worker Le Thi Hong Lien ), were arrested under the same laws. The house church is not recognized as an official Protestant state church, and has therefore been a target of persecution by Vietnamese authorities. In July 2005, Vietnamese government officials destroyed

364-677: The American and Canadian federal governments, respectively. MCC also has an international advocacy office at the United Nations in New York City. As of 2015, Ewuare Osayande served as the group's Anti-Oppression Coordinator. MCC also takes an active role in advocating for peace both in North America and around the world, seeking "to be a witness against forces that contribute to poverty, injustice and violence." In North America, MCC established

392-598: The Canadian headquarters is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba . Founded in Chicago, Illinois , MCC held its first meeting on September 27, 1920. Its original goal was to provide food for Mennonites starving in Ukraine. MCC soon realized that it could not help only their Mennonite brothers and sisters and began to help anyone in need. MCC (Canada) was founded in 1963. The initial work of MCC focused on: The Mennonites of Molotschna sent

420-684: The Mennonite Conciliation Service (MCS) in 1979 to encourage Mennonites and others to actively pursue peaceful resolution of conflicts. MCS was a pioneer in the burgeoning field of conflict resolution in the 1980s and director Ronald S. Kraybill led early mediation workshops in Northern Ireland which eventually led to the establishment of the Northern Ireland Mediation Network. John Paul Lederach took over MCS in 1989 when Kraybill moved on to South Africa, and in

448-631: The Peace and Justice Network of the Mennonite Church and other activities, MCS was discontinued in 2004. But the Peace Office of MCC continues to advocate peace interests broadly in the US and in MCC programming abroad. Internationally, MCC partners with local organizations to reduce violence in the aftermath of conflict or war . MCC advocates for exemption from military service. Alternative service for conscientious objectors

476-428: The former Russian Empire , and to bring relief assistance if needed. All three people sent by the committee to serve the relief effort were still in their 20s. Kratz was 24-years-old, and younger than Slagel and Miller. He had finished his third year at Goshen College and was already engaged to be married. The trio left the United States on September 1, 1920, heading for Constantinople (later renamed Istanbul ) in

504-437: The goods and labor are donated, and 78.2% of the funds raised go directly into the field. MCC focuses its development efforts in areas such as food security and livelihoods, health, education, peace and justice, and fair trade. It responds to disaster situations, as well as focusing its efforts on the longer-term issues of economic and social policy. MCC maintains offices in both Washington, D.C., and Ottawa to advocate to

532-531: The home of the pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, while he was in detention, including the room where his congregation held worship services. The Mennonite movement (together with Baptist one) was officially recognized by Hanoi in October 2007, which was estimated as some improvement of religious freedom in the country. Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung, provisional president of the Vietnam Mennonite Church, taking part in

560-654: The local colonies of Mennonites. Both settlements were in areas contested in battles between the Red Army and the White Army . The borders between the areas held by the two rival forces were at the time unstable. A paramilitary force under Nestor Makhno was also active in the area. Kratz and Miller reached Molotschna as expected, and were able to assess the needs of the local population. They then headed north towards Khortytsia. However, military conflicts in their area made it impossible for them to reach their destination, and they retreated back to Molotschna. Miller soon left for Constantinople, but Kratz remained in Ukraine. Kratz

588-423: The local populations in southern Ukraine were running out of food supplies. In Constantinople, it was decided that Slagel would remain in the city to organize the shipment of relief supplies, while Kratz and Miller would travel to Ukraine in person. Their destinations were Halbstadt ( Molotschna ) and Khortytsia (which has since been absorbed by Zaporizhia ), settlements which served as administrative centers for

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616-576: The official ceremony of the above authorisation, quoted his Church’s motto: "Living the Gospel, worshipping God, and serving the nation." Evangelicals : Mennonite Central Committee The Mennonite Central Committee ( MCC ) is a relief service, and peace agency representing fifteen Mennonite , Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are located in Akron, Pennsylvania ;

644-643: The summer of 1946 in association with the CPS unit at Gulfport, Mississippi . MCC was an early proponent of fair trade through its Ten Thousand Villages program. Funds for MCC's worldwide relief and service projects are raised through independent Mennonite relief sales . Around 45 sales are held throughout the United States and Canada, raising US$ 5 million annually. Many of these sales feature quilts handmade by Mennonite and Amish volunteers, auctions , artwork, crafted woodwork, homemade foods, antiques, crafts, plants, children's activities, and musical programs. Most of

672-492: The types of projects performed by CPS. The new program, Voluntary Service, had several aims. It would provide young people with a way to voluntarily perform Christian service for up to a year as a means of testifying more widely to the gospel and its way of love and nonresistance . Projects were to help alleviate human need in a culturally sensitive manner. The program would operate as an internship in Christian service, developing

700-444: The workers' service motivation, witness and religious conviction. It would provide Mennonite young people with an opportunity to express appreciation for the material blessings, religious and other national liberties and to contribute to the well-being of the nation. Finally, it was hoped that some individuals would decide to devote their careers to full-time ministry or missionary service. The first Voluntary Service unit started during

728-600: The years following, MCC moved active peace building into the forefront of its work abroad. Responding in part to the establishment of active Mennonite-led peace centers that had emerged in the 80s and 90s, such as the Conflict Transformation Program at Eastern Mennonite University , the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center in Lombard, Illinois, a group of peace builders at Fresno Pacific University ,

756-552: Was reportedly urged to depart the area and head for Crimea , where he would be safer. He considered such a move to be cowardly and elected to stay in Molotschna. The Red Army soon captured Molotschna, and Kratz was arrested by the military authorities. He was released without incident, but days later Kratz was arrested for a second time. He was held with other political prisoners of the Red Army, and may have been suspected of serving as

784-482: Was sentenced to three years in jail, but released in 2005, after an international campaign to secure his release. Before his arrest pastor Nguyen Hong Quang sent a message to a friend alluding to his concerns, "The Church is now on stormy seas but the boat still goes out. The Lord enables us to row together. Be at peace. I ask you and the Church to pray for us." Another five members of the church, called, along with Quang,

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