At MennoMedia, we commit to working toward God’s vision of shalom for all people. Racism, inequality, and injustice have no place in the reign of God. Yet ours is a broken world and a broken church. We stand with people who voice cries for justice, and we pledge to use our ministry to bring about change.
We remain committed to moving forward with antiracism initiatives at MennoMedia and in the broader church, drawing out and incorporating key learnings from an antiracism audit in 2021 that we continue to learn from and put into practice.
We continue addressing this widely across the organization. A few of our most recent initiatives are outlined here.
- Procedures for handling antiracism grievances were developed by staff in consultation with a consultant. This procedures document was approved by the MennoMedia board in March 2023.
- Updates to MennoMedia’s organizational bylaws were completed in 2023. These updates provide minimum threshold recommendations for the number of women and people of color to serve on MennoMedia’s board.
- In 2023, the MennoMedia board approved a new decision-making policy. Designed for staff or board use, the rubric in this policy ensures that we ask what voices need to be consulted or heard in making decisions.
- In 2023, our Shine curriculum team published The Peace Table storybook Bible. Our goals and priorities included creating a space for all families to engage Scripture together; helping all children see themselves in the biblical story; and providing beauty and inspiration, not just education and information. Toward that, we worked with a racially diverse group of theological and art consultants and then contracted with a racially diverse group of writers and illustrators, specifically inviting illustrators to depict Bible stories from their own cultural background and heritage. This resulted in a beautiful array of characters and settings. Read more here.
At MennoMedia, we pledge to do our part to go deeper with thoughtful Christian resources to enrich faith in our complex world. Join us in working for racial justice and peace in the way of Jesus.
Click the links below to see previous iterations of this statement and MennoMedia’s commitments.