The St. James’ Thrift Shop, the most-significant by volume and number of volunteers Outreach ministry at St. James’ Episcopal Church-Downingtown, has partnered for years with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). According to their website,
MCC is a global, nonprofit organization that strives to share God’s love and compassion for all through relief, development and peace.
In all our programs we are committed to relationships with our local partners and churches. As an Anabaptist organization, we strive to make peace a part of everything we do. When responding to disasters we work with local groups to distribute resources in ways that minimize conflict. In our development work we plan with community and church groups to make sure the projects meet their needs. And we advocate for policies that will lead to a more peaceful world.
The articles of clothing that do not sell within the St. James’ Thrift Shop are eventually bagged and tagged and placed within a temporary storage holding shed, until MCC volunteers such as Dennis can come and pick them up.
Mennonite Central Committee, one of the largest disaster relief Christian organizations in the mid-Atlantic region, has a ministry of a half-dozen men who serve as driver volunteers based directly out of their eastern Lancaster County offices. The clothing and fabric donations that arrive at MCC are processed and then many are sent to countries overseas areas such as: Bangladesh; Democratic Republic of Congo; Iraq; South Sudan; Syria; and Ukraine.
