Mennonite Weekly Review

From time to time, we are reminded of events from several years ago that we haven’t thought of lately, such as the Christian Peacemaker Teams hostage crisis, the 2005 Charlotte convention and the Nickel Mines tragedy.

I’ve had the chance to revisit those events in depth through working on Mennonite Weekly Review’s online archives, while serving with Mennonite Voluntary Service, in the past year.

My primary task has been preserving recent Mennonite history by making previous issues of MWR available online. Over the past year I have archived more than two and a half years of articles, working backward from mid-2008 and reaching May 2005.

I also got to take part in the writing and editing side of the newspaper by accompanying assistant editor Celeste Kennel-Shank on interviews, learning copy editing skills and writing for The World Together, MWR’s blog.

The skills I have learned and practiced while working at MWR are ones that will be useful in future work, whether for another publication, in the church or elsewhere.

Aside from the skill set that I have learned, working with MWR has been a good exposure to what is going on in the Mennonite world. Coming from a non-Mennonite background, it has been useful to gain an understanding of recent Mennonite history and witness how tradition and convictions were born and are enacted.

I have developed a greater appreciation for the value that Mennonites place on service, simple living, justice and forgiveness. Our Chicago Mennonite Voluntary Service unit has discussed moving and challenging articles that have come up in my archiving work.

As this yearlong placement wraps up, I owe a thank you to Paul Schrag and the MWR staff for trying something new with this Mennonite Voluntary Service placement. I am grateful for Celeste Kennel-Shank, who has served as a patient supervisor and shared many tips with me throughout this past year. Thank you, also, to MWR for serving as a means of connecting a community of believers. I am glad that even though my direct work with MWR is finishing, I can still be connected to members of Mennonite communities.