Mennonite Relief Committee of India
Mennonite Relief Committee of India (MRCI) was organized in 1942 at the suggestion of the Mennonite Central Committee primarily to serve refugees whose coming to India from neighboring war-stricken countries was anticipated. The first meeting of representatives from the five Mennonite and related missions in India was held at Champa, Central Province, India (now Châmpa, Chattisgarh, India) on 9 April 1942, at which time plans for a relief program were considered and an organization effected. It was agreed that members should be elected to MRCI by the respective missions on the basis of one representative for every 15 missionaries or fraction thereof. This representation is as follows: Mennonite Church in India (Dhamtari) two, Mennonite Brethren Church (Hyderabad) two, Brethren in Christ (Saharsa) one, Bharatiya General Conference Mennonite Kalisiya (Champa) two, and Mennonite Brethren in Christ (Ragandih) one. The membership of eight was maintained except in 1945-1951, when the MCC had a director in India (along with other MCC workers) who also served on the Mennonite Relief Committee of India. While war refugee needs were less than anticipated, MRCI had occasion to render aid to some such persons. The main relief projects, however, have been carried on in Bengal following the tidal wave disaster of 1943, in refugee camps of North India and Pakistan following the partition of the country in 1947, and in local communities of the several mission areas in times of crop failure.
The MRCI marked the first attempt at any organic relationship between the four Mennonite bodies and the Brethren in Christ working in India. This organization emphasized a peace testimony along with its relief program and aided in bringing together the historic peace churches found in India for conferences on peace. Two such conferences have been held in India from 1952 to 1956 with members of the Brethren in Christ, Church of the Brethren, Friends, and Mennonite churches participating.
| Author(s) | S. M King |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
King, S. M. "Mennonite Relief Committee of India." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Relief_Committee_of_India&oldid=92758.
APA style
King, S. M. (1957). Mennonite Relief Committee of India. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Relief_Committee_of_India&oldid=92758.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 637. All rights reserved.
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