Mennonite Disaster Service
Encyclopedia
The Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is a volunteer network through which various groups within the Anabaptist
tradition assist people affected by disasters
in North America
. The organization was founded in 1950 and was incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 1993.
The MDS currently involves more than 3,000 members of the Mennonite
, Amish
and Brethren in Christ churches (BIC). The primary focus of the service is clean up, repair, and the rebuilding of homes. The work of the group supplements the disaster relief provided by the Red Cross. The Mennonite Disaster Service also works closely with the Mennonite Central Committee
.
A quarterly newsletter is published called Behind the Hammer.
The volunteer amateur radio
group Mennonet provides communication services for MDS. Radio
equipment was first deployed by MDS in 1960.
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
tradition assist people affected by disasters
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The organization was founded in 1950 and was incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 1993.
The MDS currently involves more than 3,000 members of the Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
, Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
and Brethren in Christ churches (BIC). The primary focus of the service is clean up, repair, and the rebuilding of homes. The work of the group supplements the disaster relief provided by the Red Cross. The Mennonite Disaster Service also works closely with the Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee
The Mennonite Central Committee is a relief, service, and peace agency representing 15 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:...
.
A quarterly newsletter is published called Behind the Hammer.
The volunteer amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
group Mennonet provides communication services for MDS. Radio
Transceiver
A transceiver is a device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver which are combined and share common circuitry or a single housing. When no circuitry is common between transmit and receive functions, the device is a transmitter-receiver. The term originated in the early 1920s...
equipment was first deployed by MDS in 1960.
Further reading
- Detweiler, Lowell (2000) The Hammer Rings Hope: Photos and Stories from Fifty Years of Mennonite Disaster Service. Scottdale PA: Herald Press. ISBN 0836191102
- Wiebe, Katie Funk (1976) Day of Disaster. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press. ISBN 083611793X
- Wiebe, Vernon (1960) Handbook for Mennonite Disaster Service Volunteers. Kansas: Mennonite Disaster Service. ASINAsínAsín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
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