Mennonite Central Committee

Welcome to the new domestic violence/sexual abuse website

Kathryn Mitchell Loewen
former MCC Canada Women's Concerns Coordinator

A resource of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Women's Concerns.

This new website includes material in 4 languages including Spanish and French.

"Let me abide in your tent forever,
find refuge
under the shelter of your wing."

Psalms 61:4

The new domestic violence/sexual abuse website is full of information and resources on a variety of abuse issues for use by those victimized and those working with abuse. The site looks forward to a Monthly Feature focusing on different topics throughout the year. It includes worship material, lists of updated resources, and websites on abuse issues. A special section is directed to, and deals with, topics of special interest to youth and youth workers.

We hope that all (friends, family, pastors, survivors) those visiting the site will find it easy to use. Those who are familiar with the MCC abuse packets, we anticipate will find this material relevant and useful. Our goal for this website is that it may be a help, a beacon of light in what might otherwise be a dark time, a refuge or connection to others, a fount of information, a reality check, and a reminder and a challenge to work for justice.

This web site is dedicated to those women, men, and children who live, or have lived with violence and/or abuse. May you find peace, comfort, and wholeness. Also to those who work with those experiencing abuse. May you also find strength to continue the work.

 

Thanks

Thanks to all of those who have been involved in the dreaming and planning for the site:

• MCC BC DVSA program for first taking the initiative and forming a site. As well as for allowing some of their work, to become a part of the bigger picture.
• MCC MB VNV, BC DVSA, MCC US, and MCCC Women's Concerns and other staff for input into the development of the site.
• Our webmaster, for tireless hours of work to get the site up and running.

 

There was once an older woman who lived by the sea. Every morning, when the tide went out, she would walk along the beach, throwing the washed-up seashells and starfish back into the ocean. Every morning her neighbours watched her actions and scorned her foolishness. One morning as she was busily returning the sea creatures to the ocean, a local fisherman approached her. He told her that she was an old fool. "What you are doing does not make a difference," he said. She bend down, picked up a star fish and looked at it sitting in the palm of her hand. Looking up she replied, "It makes a difference to this one."

- Source unknown

As our society becomes more aware of the hidden abuse in families and churches, we can easily become overwhelmed by the amount of pain surrounding us. It is easy to feel discouraged, feeling the changes are too slow and too few. However, just as the old woman's actions made a difference to the individual starfish, our small actions do make a difference to hurting individuals.

This year has marked 30 years of MCC 's direct involvement with women's issues. Thirty years ago, the MCC Peace Section Task Force on Women in Church and Society was formed and released it's first report. Today the Women's Concerns Report is still printed and has often been devoted to a variety of abuse and violence issues ("An Anabaptist Theology Opposing Violence Against Women" Nov/Dec 2002, "Pastoral and Professional Misconduct: An Abuse of Power" Jan./Feb. 1994, "Incest" March/April 1989). Work in the area of MCC Women's Concerns has produced such resources as the Purple Packet on Domestic Violence and Lord, Hear Our Prayers (a worship resource on abuse). The development of the Domestic Violence / Sexual Abuse website continues in the spirit of work MCC began with women 30 years ago.

In this 30th anniversary year, the challenge was made to make some of our information available on the web. Watch for the changing monthly features and for the addition of more translated material. Let us know if the information is helpful. Don't forget to share the web-site with your pastor, a friend or even a family member. It will make a difference!

 

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