Re-wind MFC: A look back as we vision for the future

In 2010, the MFC Board of Directors met for the Annual General Meeting and the theme for the meetings was taken from Ephesians 3:10, "Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine."  The following video was created as a presentation for the evening celebration ... a look back to the beginning of MFC, what our founders imagined MFC to be, what it has become, and a look to the future. What do you imagine MFC to be?

 

Our History

Three unique desires brought Mennonite Foundation of Canada into existence in late 1973. The founders wanted to set up a foundation that would make it easy for Mennonites across Canada to continue their culture of mutual aid by providing tools and options to facilitate giving. Firmly committed to the principles of biblical stewardship, they also wanted to provide resources for churches and individuals that would encourage and teach the tenets of generosity. And finally, they wanted to create a means of supporting the Mennonite community by providing loans to churches and related organizations.

MFC received a federal charter in December of 1973. It was formed through the merger of Comeca Foundation of Manitoba and Mennonite Mutual Foundation of Ontario, two fledgling charitable foundations begun in the 1960s by Conference of Mennonites in Canada and Mennonite Conference of Ontario, respectively. Since 1973, four other church conferences have joined through official service agreements.

Reasons for the emergence of a foundation to promote stewardship education and to manage funds on behalf of charities can be found in a historical emphasis on mutual aid that goes back to the sixteenth-century beginnings of the Anabaptist movement.

Anabaptist leaders understood that the Christian church ought be a covenanting community in which members would follow the example of Christ in their daily living and support each other, as well as those in need around them, in all aspects of their lives. They believed that they were not only obliged but privileged to share their gifts in response to God’s supreme gift of love and reconciliation through Christ.

From the very beginning, members of Anabaptist and Mennonite communities responded spontaneously to needs in their midst and to lend a hand to those outside their communities and around the world.

It is in this tradition of sharing and mutual aid that Mennonite Foundation of Canada finds its reason for being. We believe it is our purpose to challenge our supporting community to be good managers of the gifts they have been given, to put these gifts to work in seeking to meet the needs of members of their own communities and of people in need around the world. This, in a very real sense, completes the circle of mutual aid.

For a detailed history of MFC’s first 25 years of operations, see our history book: A Foundation Like No Other – Mennonite Foundation of Canada, 1973- 1998. The book is available from any MFC Office.