UPDATED - MCC board chairs respond to letters from church leaders (+ responses from church leaders)
On Oct. 14, MCC board chairs sent the following response to church leaders and concerned individuals who had written to MCC US national and regional boards ahead of their Oct. 17-18 meetings in Akron:
“Over the past two years, MCC has worked to listen carefully and prayerfully to all individuals who have chosen to share difficult experiences directly with us. Multiple changes have resulted, including increased staff support and policy changes. At the same time, it’s impossible to respond to complaints that are anonymous or made in online public forums without situational details.”
Response from Kathryn Smith Derksen: Receiving this response to my family's trauma was disheartening, to say the least. It is clear that my story was not read, or regarded, even though I am one of the only named survivors having gone public with MAST (MCC Abuse Survivors Together). I can personally attest to you that no one from MCC has reached out to listen to our story or offer an apology… I've been hearing for over a year now that MCC is committed to listening, but I have yet to see any evidence.
Read on for the rest of Kathryn’s response, and responses from Julene Fast and Rick Sittler.
Survivors Are Still Waiting. Speak Up Before MCC US October Board Meetings
MCC US will hold its first post-COVID All Boards Meeting on October 17–18 in Akron, bringing together regional board members from across the country. MAST and its allies see this as a pivotal opportunity for MCC to commit to meaningful engagement and begin the process of external investigation.
MCC Abuse Survivors Together invites the public to engage with MCC boards by writing to national or regional board members ahead of these upcoming meetings. As letters are shared with us, we will post them on our website.
We urge all who care about MCC’s future to speak up now.
Write your letter by October 15.
MAST will post letters on our website (with authors’ permission)
Browse published letters here.
Read MCC’s response and church leaders’ response to that here.