SangMin Lee, a South Korean conscientious objector who was imprisoned for 18 months in 2014 and 2015 for his refusal to serve in the military, died Aug. 14 due to a bicycle accident. He was 35.
 
Lee was a member of Grace and Peace Mennonite Church in Seoul, and was released from prison on July 30, 2015. At the time he was believed to be the only Korean Mennonite to choose jail over mandatory military service.
 
His story was shared at the 2015 Mennonite World Conference assembly in Harrisburg, Pa., when participants prayed for him and sent words of encouragement.
 
“I’m trying to live a normal life, find a more simple answer to how to live,” he said about half a year after his release in late 2015 at an event hosted by the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism and Goshen College. “I try to be thankful for every day and make each day as important as the last.”
 
He is survived by his wife, Song Sem, and a 3-year-old son.
 
https://anabaptistworld.org/bicycle-accident-claims-life-of-south-korean-co/

Mennonite World Conference (WMC) represents the majority of the global family of Christian churches rooted in the 16th century Radical Reformation in Europe, particularly in the Anabaptist movement.
 
MWC membership in 2022 included one international association and 109 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ national churches from 59 countries, with around 1.47 million baptized believers in close to 10,300 congregations. About 84% of baptized believers in MWC member churches are African, Asian or Latin American, and 16% are located in Europe and North America.
 
World Mennonite (Anabaptist) Fellowship (WMF) Sunday is celebrated each year and organized by the Mennonite World Conference. The next one is Sunday 22 January 2023.  We support the Mennonite World Conference through our budget yearly.
 
Mennonite World Conference - A Community of Anabaptist Related Churche

Volunteers at an MCC thrift shop in Newton, Kansas, are refurbishing old bikes to help provide a free or affordable mode of transportation for people in the community.
 
Much like other departments at the Newton Et Cetera Thrift Shop that accept donations, the bike program accepts used bikes. Since many of the bikes need to be repaired, volunteers fix them before pricing them for sale.
 
“The bike program really enables people to be able to do more than get to and from places. It helps them keep a job; it helps them get food for their families,” said Yericka Aviles, manager.
 
“It empowers them and gives them an independence that otherwise they have lost because of life circumstances,” she said.
 
MCC - Relief, development, and peace in the name of Christ!
https://mcc.org/stories/bike-can-change-somebodys-lif

The students at Planning for Tomorrow (P4T) Nursery and Primary School, preschool through grade seven, are refugees. Their families have fled violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and crossed the border into Uganda to find safety and food in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement. The children, who mainly speak Swahili, need to learn English because it is the primary language in Uganda.
 
When Linda Espenshade visited in February with freelance photographer, Matthew Lester, schools had just reopened a few weeks earlier. (The Ugandan government closed schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19.)  They were there to gather stories and photos for Mennonite Central Committee, which supports P4T’s two preschool programs ─ P4T school and New Hope Nursery and Primary School.
 
“Children love it here,” says Daniel Ameny, executive director of P4T, which is not only the name of the school, but also the Ugandan nonprofit, P4T Youth Organisation, which Ameny helped to start. As a refugee himself, Ameny is committed to using his compassion and university degree to empower his neighbours.
 
MCC - Relief, development, and peace in the name of Christ!
https://mcccanada.ca/stories/becoming-beautiful-trees

Notebooks and pencils are treasures for families who struggle to afford basic school supplies. School kits often are requested after disasters and help bring normalcy to children whose families have been forced to flee their homes.
 
91,218 school kits were shipped last year to Canada, Haiti, Jordan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Zambia! More information is available through pamphlets on the table in the entrance way.
 
School Kits cost about $10 to make. You can donate to MCC through Grace. Just indicate was the donation is for – on a envelope or cheque or by e-tranfer. The kits contain:

• 4 spiral or perforated-page notebooks (about 21.5 cm x 27 cm) totalling 500–600 pages.
• 8 new unsharpened pencils
• 1 ruler (flat, good quality; must indicate 30 cm; inch markings optional)
• 12 coloured pencils (in packaging)
• 1 large eraser
• 2 new black or blue ballpoint pens
• 1 small all metal pencil sharpener, one or two holes.

 
MCC - Relief, development, and peace in the name of Christ!
https://mcccanada.ca/get-involved/kits/school