MWR : Articles : Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach/Mennonite Central Committee

Last updated November 22.

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Articles : Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach/Mennonite Central Committee

Cutting the Pentagon budget

Recently I met with a congressional office to deliver postcards from Mennonites calling for cuts to the military budget. The staffer listened politely and then said, “Well, you know that’s not exactly how people up here [on Capitol Hill] see things.”

His point was well-taken. “National security” gets talked about differently than any other part of the budget. Even the hint of potential budget cuts to the Pentagon prompts phrases like “doomsday scenario” and “catastrophic.”

Who are we, 10 years later?

Ten years ago I looked out my office window and saw black smoke rising from the Pentagon.

Heart where our treasure is

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. — Luke 12:34

Better way to feed the future

Mennonites love Matt. 25:31-46. I memorized much of it for a skit when I was a Goshen College student. Jesus’ teaching couldn’t be much clearer: The mark of righteousness is giving food to the hungry, water to the thirsty and clothing to the naked.

‘We don’t want your aid’

On a Saturday morning in late January, I sat in the offices of the Near East Council of Churches in Gaza City. I was there with other Mennonite Central Committee staff, visiting partners and assessing the current situation in Gaza.

Too few secure dwellings

Earlier this summer, a headline about a House committee voting to “allow guns in housing projects” caught my eye.

Thaw in U.S.-Iran relations?

It came down to the last minute, as usual. Last October Mennonite Central Committee organized a delegation from U.S. and Canadian Mennonite universities to Iran. Their purpose was to explore educational exchanges between schools in the two countries.

Beyond politics as usual

A quick search of the Web sites of the two major presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, shows the following statements on defense:

Just peace still far off for Israelis, Palestinians

The recent Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Md., has the potential to directly affect the lives of the Palestinians and Israelis with whom Mennonite Central Committee works.

When worship, justice meet

I am settling into my new role as director of the Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office. In early August, Daryl Byler completed 13 years of service as director of the office and now begins an MCC assignment in Jordan with his wife, Cindy.