Series s00016 - MCC Canada Executive Office Series

Identity area

Reference code

US MCC s00016

Title

MCC Canada Executive Office Series

Date(s)

  • 1964 - 2007 (Creation)

Level of description

Series

Extent and medium

.

Context area

Name of creator

(1963 -)

Administrative history

MCC Canada’s Executive Office was established when MCC Canada began in 1963. Since then, the Executive Office has been mandated to supervise all MCC Canada departments and to work together with the provincial MCCs. In January 1964, J.M. Klassen, MCC Canada’s first Executive Director, established operations of MCC Canada at 104 Princess Street in Winnipeg. The MCC Canada Executive Committee met at the office four times annually and played an important role in shaping the organization in its early years. The Executive Committee was elected by and from the board of MCC Canada; the board consisted of an official representative for each of the five provincial MCCs, four members at large, a representative from MCC in Akron, and representatives from each of the participating conferences/groups that “owned” MCC Canada.

In 1992, the Red River Accord was signed by MCC Canada and the provincial MCCs; it provided clarity concerning MCC program priorities in Canada and established an agreement for revenue sharing between MCC Canada and provincial MCCs. Greater member representation was granted to the provincial MCCs on the MCC Canada Board and Executive Committee, with the intention of encouraging greater cooperation between all MCC entities in Canada.

In the years 2008-2012, extensive structural changes occurred across MCC as a result of the New Wine/New Wineskins process. While MCC Canada’s Executive Office maintained its supervisory position within MCC Canada’s organizational structure, increased cooperation with the provincial MCCs and MCC U.S. was required in some departments after 2012.

Name of creator

(1963-)

Administrative history

MCC Canada is a peace, relief, and service agency of Canadian Mennonites and Brethren in Christ. It was founded in December of 1963 through the merger of seven regional Mennonite and Brethren in Christ service organizations: the Non-Resistant Relief Organization (NRRO), the Canadian Mennonite Relief Committee (CMRC), the Canadian Mennonite Relief and Immigration Council (CMRIC), the Conference of Historic Peace Churches (CHPC), the Historic Peace Church Council of Canada (HPCCC), Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), and the MCC Binational Kitchener Office. This merger into one national inter-Mennonite body in Canada was intended to allow for more effective use of time, volunteers, and resources in conducting relief work.

Upon establishment, MCC Canada worked closely with MCC Binational (also known as MCC International); MCC Canada conducted most of its overseas relief and development work through MCC Binational, while all Canadian programs were administered by MCC Canada. MCC Canada was given a broad mandate to work in the areas of peace education, relief and development, voluntary service, immigration, government lobbying, and other areas of concern. Provincial MCC offices were also established to work alongside but independent of MCC Canada in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, MCC Canada’s activities expanded, especially in terms of the number of national programs administered across the country. MCC Canada’s Canadian Programs Department established programs to raise awareness on peace and other social issues, to advocate on behalf of Indigenous communities, to bring reconciliation into the justice system, to assist people with disabilities, to bring attention to women’s concerns, and to provide resources for those experiencing economic hardship. In 1976, MCC Canada established a Food Bank as a means of channeling surplus grains grown by Mennonite farmers to countries around the world. In 1983, this Food Bank became the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Since 1969, MCC Canada has received matching grants from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) of the Canadian government to administer its many programs.

In the late 1970s, conversations began between MCC Binational and MCC Canada regarding responsibility for MCC international programs. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, some MCC international programs were transferred from MCC Binational to MCC Canada; these included the Kanadier Concerns program, USSR Mennonite program, Refugee Sponsorship program, some control over the delivery of material aid overseas, and the Ten Thousand Villages program in Canada.

Beginning in 2008, MCC began a process of consultation and discussion concerning the purpose and structure of MCC Binational, MCC Canada, and MCC U.S.; this process was called New Wine/New Wineskins. The goal was to more effectively and efficiently administer MCC’s international programming. At the conclusion of the New Wine/New Wineskin process in 2012, MCC Binational was dissolved and ceased to be an MCC entity, leaving MCC Canada and MCC U.S. to jointly administer a single MCC International Program.

MCC Canada continues to provide national programs within Canada and deliver international programs jointly with MCC U.S. The MCC Canada Canadian Programs Department offers programs that address social and economic issues in Canada and form the core of MCC Canada’s mandate. MCC Canada’s commitment to international programming continues through the Shared International Program’s material aid, peace work, and assistance in economic development.

Archival history

Since 1976, MCC Canada has regularly deposited records at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives. The records in this series were maintained in MCC Canada's central files in the Winnipeg office until transferred to the Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives in regular intervals throughout the years.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

This extensive series contains records created or collected by MCC Canada’s Executive Office, dating from 1964 to 2007.

Most of the records were created for administrative purposes and reflect the Executive Office’s activities in overseeing the various MCC Canada departments and programs. The records within the series include financial and administrative records, program and project reviews, committee and meeting minutes, correspondence, publications and research materials, annual reports, records relating to provincial MCCs, news/communications material, government communications, records of MCC Canada national programs and international programs, audio-visual material, and records relating to MCC offices in Akron or the provinces.

This series also includes records relating to the Mennonite Disaster Service, Evangelical Mennonite Conference, Conference of Mennonites in Canada, Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada, Northwest Mennonite Conference, Mennonite World Conference, Mennonite Historical Society, Canadian Mennonite Relief and Immigration Council, Child Sponsorship Program/Global Family, MCC Peace Section, Indian-Eskimo Association, Canada-China Program, Japanese Canadian Scholarship, Red River Accord, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), etc.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

Further accruals are expected.

System of arrangement

The records in this series are arranged according to volume and file numbers which usually correspond with the year of the record’s creation. Sometimes best guesses had to be made about which records belonged to which series.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Restrictions to materials may apply. Contact Archivist for further information.

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Status

Draft

Level of detail

Partial

Dates of creation revision deletion

Created by Chantel Fehr, May 1, 2020.

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