Canadian Mennonite
Volume 13, No. 23
Nov. 30, 2009
Focus on Mission and Service
Personal Reflection
A community like no other
Location
As I reflect on my volunteer involvement at the Mennonite Central Committee Thrift Centre in New Hamburg, Ont., the following observations have become significant to my understanding of the experiences that make it such a special place:
1. We are a community within a community
The term “community” is commonly used in relation to various settings where groups of people who have a common purpose gather. This bringing together confirms both creative and positive relationships within our geographical community. It also helps to build constructive relationships with our customers and business organizations from the surrounding areas.
2. We are a team
The tasks to be done throughout the week may at times appear insurmountable, but we find strength and courage to joyfully assume the countless responsibilities because we are convinced it is our work. Working together as a team nurtures a common desire to succeed, to make improvements and to celebrate positive results.
3. We celebrate
A celebratory atmosphere exists throughout the workplace. Birthday milestones are recognized, whether 35, 65, 85, or, in one case, 91! We celebrate each other’s successes, special events, trips, vacations and anniversaries. These times of celebration become an opportunity to engage in reflection and conversation. A jovial and hilarious mood may erupt at any moment, as strange and funny things show up during sorting times at the work tables.
4. We take time to listen
Opening ourselves to the interests of each other becomes a wonderful opportunity to extend our love, and share our concerns and personal support. At times, it even feels that we are helping to solve some of the so-called larger world challenges, particularly as they relate to us personally. We need this opportunity to find our personal checks and balances.
5. We are mindful of each other’s need for care and prayer
As a result of personal discussions, whether along side each other during work or breaks, we become aware of the opportunity to intentionally try to be a support to each other. Our managers are sensitive to our times of need, such as health challenges, hospitalizations, family concerns, disabilities and bereavements. This becomes the practical answer to the invitation given in the biblical text: “Bear one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
6. We volunteer because it meets our personal needs
It is apparent that there are many and varied reasons for our participation as volunteers. There is the need for social contact. There is the feeling of “reward,” in that we are helping to alleviate some of the pain and inequities in our world. It is a way to be God’s love and the good news of the gospel of our Lord in “shirt sleeves.” The retirement years actually become a re-focused time, as our energy is available.
7. We are exited about being intergenerational
It is a delight to work alongside younger people who are gaining a passion for the thrift enterprise. It is an encouragement to know that various church and social groups of young people volunteer in the evening hours and in this way are also choosing to become a part of this delightful community. A brightly lit torch will thus be carried on.
8. We are from varied traditions and religious backgrounds
It is mutually beneficial to gain new appreciation for each other’s personal beliefs, understandings and traditions. While we have varied motivations for offering our time and abilities in this way, yet a common and respectful thread of appreciation is woven into each relationship. Our common purpose is demonstrated as we serve together under the same banner.
9. We have an opportunity to express our Christian calling
We have the chance to show our concern for fellow human beings, especially the less-fortunate, in a practical way. By serving at the thrift centre, we are doing hands-on work to alleviate the needs of the hungry and clothe the naked by providing money and material goods. For those of us who are not able to go abroad, serving at home is a wonderful opportunity to live out our personal call to serve. It is a call in which we can use the talents and giftedness entrusted to us by our Creator God.
CMU students put disaster recovery studies to good use
Winnipeg
Jordan Braun is no ordinary third-year Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) student. Married and a father of three, he recently went with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) to southern California to build houses for the victims of the 2007 Harris fires in order to fulfill his CMU practical service requirement.
Some of the worst fires known to California occurred in and around Dulzura, a rural community 40 kilometres southeast of San Diego, and 16 kilometres north of the U.S.-Mexico border in the autumn of 2007. The fires were named after the ranch where they were ignited. Five people were killed, more than 36,000 hectares were burned, and 250 homes were destroyed in the Harris fires.
That’s where Braun, a disaster recovery student at CMU, and the rest of the MDS team working in Dulzura came in handy. The crew included two other CMU students, seven Hesston (Kan.) College students, and a leadership team. They worked together to build three houses from the ground up during their time there.
Unable to afford to rebuild their homes, many people in Dulzura are living out of temporary shelters and trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). MDS is providing free labour to those who lost homes there, people who generally do not have home insurance and who cannot afford to rebuild their homes themselves. Loans from the government—or donations from FEMA or local churches—are insufficient to cover more than the cost of building supplies.
The joint MDS/CMU disaster recovery studies program focuses on the four phases of disaster management: preparedness, emergency response, mitigation and recovery. The goal is to allow students to “understand the nature of disasters, their aftermath and the best ways to help people and communities recover physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually,” according to the CMU website.
Along with classroom studies, the program involves two terms of field work, one of which must be done with MDS. The hope is to instill in students leadership qualities for working in disaster situations and the tools to be analytically adept.
The whole experience was wonderful, Braun said of his time in Dulzura, but the most difficult part was “being married with three kids and being away from them for eight weeks. . . . That was harder than I expected it to be.”
Lois Nickel, the MDS director of programs and region relations in Winnipeg, says she was “very impressed” by Braun. “He was able to keep up a cheerful spirit and encourage people,” she says, despite being separated from his family for so long.
After he completes his bachelor of arts degree with a major in international development and a minor in disaster recovery, Braun hopes go into medicine and work overseas on disaster-related issues.
‘The storm is passing over’
Hurricane Katrina survivor an inspiration for RJC volunteers
Rosthern, Sask.
Centrepieces of safety goggles and carpenter pencils adorned the tables as the annual appreciation and fundraising banquet commenced at Rosthern Junior College (RJC) earlier this month.
In March of this year, a group of 26 students and six chaperones partnered with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) to help rebuild homes in Pass Christian, Miss. A relationship based on storytelling and gratitude was also built between the RJC students and homeowner Billy Morgan.
Morgan’s tales of his determination to become a priest and his military service in Vietnam fascinated the students. Morgan had been working at the local dockyards when a shipment of lumber fell on him, leaving him with limited use of his legs.
Years later, in 2005, as evacuation orders were broadcast, Morgan travelled to a shelter in Diamond Head, Miss. Along with other safety-seekers, Morgan waited for a week until help actually came. It was not until he was interviewed by the media that his family knew he was alive and well. Upon his return, Morgan found that his home had been covered with six metres of seawater and was broken into three pieces.
Despite his loss, Morgan views Hurricane Katrina as a blessing, and he continues to say, “They could have gone somewhere else, but God chose for [the MDS volunteers] to come to our town, our house.”
As part of the appreciation evening, the RJC Chorale sang a rendition of the traditional, “The Storm is Passing Over,” reminding listeners of the hope that comes after the storm.