We are a community of disciples of Jesus

Guiding healing for those harmed

An interview with MCC’s Jaymie Friesen on the importance of third-party support for victim-survivors of abuse

In spring of 2020, Mennonite Central Committee’s Abuse Response and Prevention program launched its updated website, abuseresponseandprevention.ca, which offers resources for victim-survivors of abuse, those supporting victim-survivors and churches looking to address abuse in their congregation.

Jaymie Friesen is program coordinator for MCC’s Abuse Response and Prevention program. She spoke with Mennonite Church Canada writer Katie Doke Sawatzky about the challenges of her work, the importance of seeking third-party support for victim-survivors of abuse, and the response to the website so far.

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“Listen to the stories of the oppressed”: stories from centres of conflict around the globe

When Lukasz Firla and his fellow team members finally arrived at the house of the family they were searching for it was around lunchtime. They hadn’t planned on inviting themselves for a meal, but the family welcomed them. Afterwards, the family invited the team to accompany them to the gravesite to observe a period of mourning for the loss of their son, Himdat Osman Darwish, a young man who had been killed by a Turkish bomb exactly one year ago while driving his car in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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CommonWord launches new website for easier Anabaptist resourcing

On June 1, 2020 CommonWord launched a new website at www.commonword.ca that is mobile-friendly, easily searchable, and beautifully designed. We are thrilled to offer this gift to the church and university communities, and the wider public – and invite you to take a peek, especially if you’ve never visited us before. Our goal is to make Anabaptist and related resources easily found for the pastor and the parishioner, the student and the casual reader – and have them available in multiple forms: to buy, borrow or access online.

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