Elizabeth & Paul Derksen Brown - Evergreen Mennonite Church, WA

October 9, 2025

To the Boards of Mennonite Central Committee,

Greetings from fellow followers of Christ, Mennonites and long time supporters of MCC. We are writing to you ahead of your meetings in Akron on October 17 and 18, 2025.

We care deeply about MCC and the impact that it has around the world. As active church members committed to the values of peace, justice, and truth-telling, we write with deep concern about MCC’s ongoing response to survivor reports of harm. How can an organization that refuses to address the cancer of abuse and misuse of power hold any moral authority to address issues of justice elsewhere?

The well-documented rampant abuse, and more importantly the cover up of the abuse and continued traumatizing of the victims, has the real potential to shut MCC down. This could come in the form of loss of financial donations, legal action taken by victims with significant financial ramifications and/or through actions of governmental agencies investigating illegal behavior. This could also effect the larger Mennonite church as well. We would love to tell our teenage children and unchurched neighbor that the Mennonites are different from other Christian denominations that tried to cover up abuse scandals, but so far that is not proving to be true. It is not too late, yet, to respond with transparency, accountability, and courage.

We respectfully but firmly request that MCC:

1. Accept the facilitated conversation parameters proposed by facilitators Cory

Lockhart and Rus Funk on June 21, 2025 for conversations with Anicka Fast and John Clarke. Agreeing to this modest and reasonable request is a necessary first step toward repair.

2. Commit to an independent external investigation into MCC’s handling of abuse

allegations. Only an external process can provide the credibility, transparency, and impartiality needed to begin rebuilding trust. The choice of firm and the mandate of the investigation must be approved by the MCC Abuse Survivors Together (MAST) steering committee. The investigation must include binding public recommendations about accountability for perpetrators and reparations for survivors.

3. Release survivors and former staff from non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that prevent truth-telling. If MCC values restorative justice, it must allow those harmed to speak freely. MCC Boards, you can take action by publicly committing to the #NDAfree pledge (see https://www.ndafree.org/pledge/).

When our family members experienced trauma and abuse at the hands of MCC staff a few years ago my household stopped contributing to MCC, instead giving that money to Lutheran World Relief and other smaller relief organizations. Now that it is becoming clearer the extent of the abuse and its cover up, we are urging family members, friends and our church to join us in withholding funds. We are also advising anyone considering service to avoid doing so with MCC. We take these steps not out of hostility, but out of love for MCC’s mission and a desire to see it embody the values it proclaims. We urge you to act decisively at the all-boards meeting.

We consider this a public letter, and give MAST permission to post it online.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth and Paul Derksen Brown

Active Members, Evergreen Mennonite Church (Kirkland, WA)