Timeline

A summary of attempts to hold MCC accountable for the abuse of its workers and partners

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2024

  • March - Abuse survivors (fired between 2009 and 2024) meet and start planning a public appeal for accountability, since individual attempts to meet with MCC leaders and boards over 15 years have been unproductive. They become aware of 17 additional cases of painful endings with MCC.

  • June - An Open Letter and online petition is published by 7 former workers alleging patterns of unethical firing practices, neglect of worker safety, and cover-up, representing 21 known cases of abuse. Canadian Mennonite publishes investigative article.

  • July - MCC denies any abuse. An MCC Board member is pressured to resign after raising questions on her social media.

  • August - New cases of abuse continue coming to light and the petition swells with signatures

  • September - With 43 cases of abuse reported and 1400+ petition signers calling for accountability and MCC refusing to talk or listen to survivors, MCC Abuse Survivors Together (MAST) is formed and launched. Coverage by Anabaptist World. CM publishes new investigative article into an inadequate response to a sexual abuse allegation, and the termination of country reps for refusing to work with a dysfunctional partner in Mozambique.

  • October - Veritas Solutions’ “third party internal” investigation of the Fast/Clarke case is finished, final report sent to MCC, who keeps it secret until the last day of the year. Reported on by Canadian Mennonite.

  • December - MAST hosts a private event for survivors to share their stories with concerned church leaders. Cases of abuse are now over 50. MCC boards share summary of Veritas “third party internal” investigation into Fast and Clarke’s grievance, finding MCC senior personnel guilty of multiple counts of harassment.

2025

  • January - MCC and Fast/Clarke settle Québec labour board case in conciliation meetings, with a public agreement and no NDA; next steps are to meet in a “facilitated conversation.”

  • February - MCC states publicly there is no systemic abuse and they stand by their terminations. MCC distributes a publicity document or “monograph” outlining their good works, speaking vaguely of “taking responsibility” and falsely claiming “resolution” has occurred. Meanwhile, MKC president Desalegn Abebe prophetically calls MCC to responsibility. “MCC’s handling of whistleblowers and survivors testifies to an institutional culture more invested in control of procedure than justice.”

  • March - Central District Conference Board becomes first church entity to publicly request an independent external investigation. Two more District Boards have since joined the call. MCC hires external consultant Jes Stolzfus Buller to explore and design a listening process for MCC to “listen and learn.”

  • April - Abuse reported to MAST reaches 60 individual cases, affecting 100+ individuals.

  • May - MAST launches teal ribbon campaign at Mennonite World Conference meetings.

  • June - The MCC hired consultant concludes that this is “a pivotal moment for MCC, calling for a listening space that centers harmed individuals while advancing institutional accountability.”

  • Summer – MCC leaders continue to drag their feet on the promised facilitated conversations. Sara Wenger Shenk becomes the latest leader to ask MCC to pivot from “denials of abuse" to “fact-based, trust-worthy documentation.” MAST is aware of 67 cases of abuse.

  • October - MCC US holds first All Boards meetings since Covid. Over 20 church leaders write their Boards, asking that abuse allegations make the agenda. MCC US national Board minimizes the allegations, focuses attention on the board packet leak, and depicts MAST as bullies undermining MCC’s work. MCC US and Canada boards do agree to facilitated conversation parameters with John Clarke and Anicka Fast.

  • December - Facilitated conversations begin. MCC West Coast board invites another survivor couple, Kathryn and Dan Smith Derksen, to a 90-minute listening meeting.

2026

  • January - MAST has documented 84 cases of abuse including 20 terminations involving NDAs. Despite steps toward listening in individual cases, MCC still has made no admission of wrongdoing, no change to its public discourse, and no commitment to an external investigation of all cases.