New MCC Ontario headquarters more than a building
KITCHENER, ON - A new building, complete with solar panels, is in the works for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario.
The building comes from the vision to meld two thrift stores, international aid, administration and Mennonite ministries into one building.
"We've been deciding what to do with the two thrift shops for several years," says Mennonite Central Committee Ontario executive director Rick Cober Bauman. "They're doing well but are crammed into their current locations and wouldn't be able to readily grow."
The multi-level, nearly 50-year-old, MCC building on Kent Street in Kitchener is also less functional than the agency would like. Preliminary plans, presented to supporters in late October, reveal a completely new two-storey, 51,000-square-foot, $12-million building. Along with MCC administrative offices and thrift store operations, the building will also house several Anabaptist partners: Mennonite Savings and Credit Union, Mennonite Foundation of Canada, Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada.
The building will also showcase the MCC's commitment to creation care by including $70,000 worth of 10 kilo-watt solar panels won through the Watts NEXT? video contest sponsored by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association.
The winning video, entitled Go Big or Go Small, featured inspirational stories of environmental care in Waterloo Region, in an engaging format combining creative elements from "The Rick Mercer Report" and The Story of Stuff, co-written and produced by Ken Ogasawara and Waterloo-based film-maker Jonathan Steckley.
"While we're focused on redevelopment of the site, it's more than a building for us," says Cober Bauman. "It's an attempt to create a welcoming face to the broader community."
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
