Mixed Feelings About Mennonite Relief Sales

Our fall Virginia Relief Sale is projected to bring in a record total of around $370,000!

The first Mennonite Relief Sale was held near Morgantown, Pennsylvania, in 1957. Since then some 40 of them have sprung up all over the US and Canada, raising over $4 million each year for the worldwide outreach of Mennonite Central Committee. These events engage thousands of hardworking volunteers each year who invest tons of time and energy and provide for great annual get togethers that attract thousands of participants from all faiths and backgrounds.

It's hard to argue with that kind of success, but is it also OK to raise some questions?

1. The Rational Strategy Question

On the one hand, is there something incongruous about so many well fed and well-to-do people (who already have far more material possessions than they need) getting together with such a high level of motivation to buy even more things to eat and to find space for--all in order to help people who don't have enough food and other life necessities?

Yet on the other hand, what other event gets so many people of compassion and goodwill together for such a good cause? It's a rare phenomenon at so many levels, and one that draws attention to world needs as few events do.

2. The WWJD Question

On the one hand, it's hard to imagine Jesus or any of his first century followers going about raising money for relief needs in this way. When a famine in Judea caused suffering for people there, the apostle Paul simply instructed house church congregations in far away Asia Minor to take up generous collections at their gatherings on the first day of each week to help them out. He then had a trusted delegation deliver the gift to needy folks in places very far away (comparable to the other side of the world for us). No committees were formed, no fundraisers were held, and no glossy fliers or posters were circulated, but there was an outpouring of response.

Yet on the other hand, can we not come up with creative strategies that might work better in our culture and in our times?

What do you think?

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P. S. One modest proposal would be to plan an additional event, maybe in the Spring, that could be called a Mennonite Relief "Sell-athon," based on the Acts 2:44-45 precedent of people selling their possessions to share with others in need. This kind of "Sell-ebration" could also include having varieties of foods served that poor people from around the world regularly eat, along with having auctions and multiple yard sale tables of things congregations and individuals would bring in order to declutter and reduce their supply of material possessions. There would also be a big giving table set up as well for monetary gifts people have saved for that purpose, with all proceeds going to help others in need. This event could also be a time to fill truck loads of health kits, comforters and other items for MCC's distribution warehouse.

Just an idea.