Mennonite
Central
Committee

A brief history of MCC

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) held its first official meeting on September 27, 1920.

The committee was formed as the result of a meeting held earlier that year, on July 27, when 13 church leaders met in Elkhart, Indiana to talk about how North American Mennonites could respond to the needs of hungry people in the former Soviet Union. The Mennonite Central Committee was developed to be (and is to this day) the relief, development and peace committee of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in Canada and the United States.

Canadian Mennonites joined MCC in 1963. They formed both National and Provincial levels. At the provincial level, MCC is independently incorporated, with its own board of directors, programs and fundraising responsibilities.

The Bible and Mennonite experience

The motivation for MCC can be attributed to two things: the Bible and the Mennonite experience. The Bible calls Christians to serve people who are hungry, thirsty, sick, in prison and strangers (Matthew 25:35-36). This command was also expressed by Menno Simons, a 16th century church leader: "True evangelical faith cannot lie sleeping, it clothes the naked, it comforts the sorrowful, it feeds the hungry, it shelters the destitute, it cares for the sick, it becomes all things to all people."

Many Mennonites have experienced war, hunger and refugee flight. This experience enables them to respond compassionately towards others who are hungry, in war or are refugees. "This donation is given in thanks for help we received many years ago" writes one woman. "When I was a child in Russia, I was fed by MCC. When my husband was a prisoner of war after World War II, he received help from MCC. We never forgot."