What is Christian service? Where does Christian service take place? What communities does Christian service form? Who is understood to be serving whom in Christian service? How have some Christians understood service as an alternative to war and a witness to the gospel of peace? How is Christian service shaped by racism, colonialism, and other regimes of power? In
Service and the Ministry of Reconciliation, Alain Epp Weaver addresses such questions through an historical account of Mennonite Central Committee's century of global relief, development, and peace ministries.
Praise for Service and the Ministry of Reconciliation
"As a champion of theological reflection, I am grateful for Alain Epp Weaver's thoughtful work contained in this volume. Being immersed in MCC as a constituent, I appreciated his elucidation of MCC's theological ethos and of how MCC workers have turned those sensibilities into real relationships and flexible structures. The book also contained many 'ah-ha' moments for me as Epp Weaver highlighted organic patterns of organizational and social change. I see my own theological development reflected back to me through this telling of MCC's story." -Malinda Elizabeth Berry, Associate Professor of Theology and
Ethics, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
"Some writers would romanticize the history of MCC as a series of achievements. Others would belittle it as a story of failures. Epp Weaver does neither. Acutely aware that to do humanitarian and development work is to be confronted with multiple thorny questions raised by power, coloniality, and empire, he masterfully narrates that history as the tension-laden negotiation of fallible humans trying to be faithful ministers of reconciliation in the name of Christ." -Peter Dula, Professor of Religion and Culture, Eastern Mennonite University
"Theology understood as reflection on practice is the product of mission. Alain Epp Weaver summarizes 100 years of reflection on MCC's missiological experience in this excellent volume. A recommended resource for those who want to be relevant to their service contexts while remaining faithful to God's mission in the world." -César García, General Secretary, Mennonite World Conference
Alain Epp Weaver is a theologian directing strategic planning for Mennonite Central Committee, a Christian relief, development, and peacebuiilding organizaiton. He earned a PhD in Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2012. An M.Div. graduate (1999) of the Divinity School, Alain worked for eleven years with Mennonite Central Committee's relief, development, and peacebuilding programs in the Middle East, living in the Jenin district of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and Amman, Jordan.
