Mennonite Weekly Review

Mutual aid has been an important part of our Anabaptist history. It is grounded in a sense of community and obedience to the biblical injunction to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).

When threatened by hardship or persecution, our Anabaptist ancestors supported each other. When relocating to a new frontier, this commitment to help each other made survival possible. When death took a young parent or when fire or storm destroyed a building, brothers or sisters were always there to assist.

During the 20th century some of these mutual aid functions were legally incorporated. This included more than 30 local or regional mutual aid organizations providing property coverage. Later automobile liability was added. After World War II Mennonite Mutual Aid was established to provide medical coverage and, later, death benefits.

For three decades beginning in 1953, these several entities met annually in what was known as the Association of Mutual Aid Societies. Always the motivating principle was to bear each other’s burdens.

Major organizational changes happened as the 20th century drew to a close. Increasingly the activities of these mutual aid companies came under state and federal regulations. At the same time, Mennonites became more urban, changing the coverage they needed and the ways it was provided.

The past two decades have seen major changes in the mutual aid structure. Most of the community or regional mutual aid societies have been merged into a restructured Mennonite Indemnity, operating under the name MutualAid eXchange, known as MAX. Three companies were merged into Goodville Mutual Casualty Co., accelerating its expansion beyond automobile to include property coverages.

Concurrently, MMA expanded beyond the medical care field to include a broad range of financial services under the rubric of “stewardship solutions.” This included an affiliation with the Mennonite Financial Credit Union, adding a banking function. To reflect this broadened charter and membership, MMA recently announced a name change to Everence.

As a result of all these changes, the term “mutual aid” has almost disappeared from the Mennonite landscape. The functions associated with the formal mutual aid organizations are now being provided in other ways. It is the inevitable result of the changing times.

ous mutual aid has not been rendered obsolete, nor will it ever be. The informal bearing of burdens within the wider community, whether financial or personal, is needed as much as ever.

Congregations are performing some of these functions. Some take place in neighborhood or family settings. Some are as simple as a plate of cookies, delivered with a caring smile.

Whether it is a health crisis, the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, relocation or a flooded basement, mutual aid is a time-proven method of bearing each other’s burdens and fulfilling the law of Christ.

Paul states it beautifully in 2 Cor. 8:14: “Your abundance at the present time shall supply their want, so that their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality.”

Edgar Stoesz lives in Akron, Pa.