IRD Activities

• Peace

  MCC believes God calls us to a life of peace and nonviolence. MCC actively promotes the pursuit of peace as they teach conflict resolution skills and peacebuilding strategies, encourage people to courageously choose peace over violence, address systemic injustices that can lead to violence, facilitate interfaith dialogue and relationship-building across cultural, racial and ethnic divides, build resilience and respond to psychological needs through trauma healing, provide churches with educational and advocacy resources about peace

• Student Exchange Program

  This exchange programme, along with other joint initiatives, is promoting spirited discussion and debates of commonalities and differences. There have also been three interfaith dialogue conferences between Muslim and Mennonite scholars and theologians, three MCC learning tours to Iran, and meetings between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and U.S. and Canadian religious leaders, including Mennonites. The objective of dialogue with people from other faith communities is not to eliminate differences, convert people or be converted. The objective is a better understanding of beliefs, values and personal experiences. One subject that is often discussed when Mennonites and Muslims meet is commonalities and differences between peace theologies

• Youth Contest

  21st annual Public policy essay and video contest for Anabaptist youth is organized with a purpose to promote church-wide awareness of significant public policy issues by highlighting Anabaptist youth perspectives, to promote youth understanding of the relationship of faith to public policy, to promote greater awareness of the work of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) U.S. Washington Office and increase the number of policy advocates. Contest 2019-2020 is open to Mennonite, Mennonite Brethren, Brethren in Christ and other Anabaptist youth of high school age and to all youth who attend Anabaptist high schools within the United States, including Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Each entrant may enter a maximum of one essay and one video per year.

Main Focus Countries of Activities

USA - State of Palestine - Mozambique - Iraq - Philippines - South Sudan - Afghanistan - Colombia - Rwanda - Nigeria - Syria - Israel - Haiti - Honduras - El Salvador - Guatemala - Chad - Mexico - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Kenya - Bolivia - Egypt - Cambodia - Lebanon - Jordan - India - Zambia - Laos - South Africa - Canada - Burundi - South Korea - Sudan - Paraguay - China - USA - Iran - USA