from Sylvia Shirk

10/2/2025

To the Boards of Mennonite Central Committee:

Greetings to each of you as you prepare for your October 17-18 meetings in Akron.

I am writing in support of MCC Abuse Survivors Together (MAST), with deep concern about unresolved issues of harm to 70 former workers who have come forward to make reports. (see https://www.mccabusesurvivors.org/) I write as a district pastor in Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference whose local congregations include some of the abuse survivors.

I write also a daughter of parents who met and married in 1948 when my father was an MCC worker and my mother an MCC program participant. Without MCC, our family would not exist, and I truly wish for MCC to thrive as it carries out its mission. I believe the best way forward is to directly address the concerns raised by MAST.

Specifically, I urge you to commit to an independent external investigation into MCC’s handling of abuse allegations. Such a process can provide the credibility, transparency, and impartiality needed to begin rebuilding trust. Work with MAST on the choice of the firm and the mandate of the investigation to produce public recommendations about accountability of perpetrators and reparations for survivors.

I also urge you to give serious attention to the case of Anicka Fast and John Clarke by accepting the proposed facilitated conversation parameters that will allow this family to move toward healing and repair. This is a public letter, and I have given MAST permission to post it online. May God send you wisdom and courage as you tend the work of MCC in the coming weeks and months.

Sylvia Shirk

Portland, OR

Copies to: MAST, Anabaptist World, Canadian Mennonite, Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference