Service Resources

Videos:

• A lighthearted video offers the experiences of several young adults in a Mennonite service placement.
• A participant in Mennonite voluntary service programs talks about how serving changed his perspective on faith and service.
• Mennonites involved with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission share their experiences of work with and coming to terms with Canada’s First Nations people.

Service organizations:

Following is a list of Mennonite service organizations and opportunities (not exhaustive).

• Mennonite Voluntary Service. A service organization that puts volunteers into faith communities for one to three years. Assignments can range from home repair to public health work, to youth ministry and beyond.
• Service Adventure. A service program for young adults that provides a 10-month opportunity to work in a community somewhere in the United States with other volunteers of the same age.
• Mennonite Disaster Service. A Mennonite organization whose members respond to disasters in order to help with cleanup and rebuilding.
• International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP). A one-year work and cultural exchange program for Christians from all over the globe. Every year, 60 participants come to the US to volunteer and live with a local family. The program emphasizes peacebuilding and learning across cultures.
• SALT. A one-year service trip, SALT takes college-age adults from the US and Canada and places them in international locations to serve others and learn. Positions are possible in a wide variety of fields including education, agriculture, healthcare, and more.
• SEED. This two-year program brings together people from all over the world and focuses on service in rural communities in Colombia and Bolivia. Seeders serve with Mennonite Central Committee partner organizations and work locally to address poverty, violence, and oppression.
• SOOP. Gives adults and families an opportunity to use their gifts to make a difference in others’ lives at locations throughout the United States and Canada.
• Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN). A service organization for young adults outside of the US and Canada. Participants live in a new culture and serve in schools, farms, and community agencies.

Books:

• Service for Peace: A History of Mennonites in the Civilian Public Service by Melvin Gingerich (1949)
• Smokejumpers of the Civilian Public Service in World War II by Robert G. Cottrell (2006). Stories about Mennonite volunteers in WWII who served as smoke jumpers.
• European Mennonite Voluntary Service by Calvin Redekop (2010). A history of Mennonite programs that sought to help rebuild Europe after the devastation of World War II.