MVS Baltimore 

 Mennonite Voluntary Service 

 

Photo by Mark Fenton


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 Supporting congregation


North Baltimore Mennonite Church (NBMC) is a gathering of people who are becoming one another’s family in the city. There are some locals here, but most grew up someplace other than Baltimore. NBMC is a church of young adults, young families, and the young at heart. Together, we are learning what it means to love each other as we serve our neighbors in this city and beyond. Though the church building is located in an affluent neighborhood across the city from the MVS house, members are from all over Baltimore city and the surrounding area. Some members live in RHHP as community residents. Only 40 percent of the congregation have a Mennonite background.

The Sunday morning worship service averages about 95 in attendance and has been growing in the last year. Services include traditional hymns and more contemporary music, and include time for all to share and reflect. NBMC welcomes those who are exploring faith and those new to Baltimore for as long as they make Baltimore their home. All are encouraged to become part of one of the small groups, which meet in homes for fellowship, support, prayer and study.

The church has a strong sense of service and social justice. Many in the church are active in volunteer and paid work for nonprofits and in service professions. The church is involved in ministries in the city, including Ten Thousand Villages, RHHP, and Asylum Seekers Housing Network, which offers housing in RHHP to asylum seekers.

NBMC enthusiastically engages with the MVS unit and values the energy and enthusiasm they bring to the church and the city. Volunteers are encouraged to be involved in the life of the church through small groups, retreats, teaching, leading worship, and using their gifts. Each volunteer is matched with a host family who comes alongside the volunteer for the year. Host families welcome volunteers for meals, activities and outings, and holidays. The local program coordinator and MVS support committee also enjoy spending time with the volunteers.

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Community
Located on Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore is a vibrant, East-Coast city (620,000 population) with a small-town, southern feel. Baltimore MVS offers the opportunity to immerse oneself in the uniqueness of big-city Baltimore with the support of a house and church community. Up to five volunteers live with a diverse community of asylum seekers and community residents in a 15-person, refurbished mansion called Reservoir Hill House of Peace (RHHP).

This unique housing opportunity offers a supportive community of people from all walks of life and all ages, races and backgrounds. Each resident has their own bedroom with a shared kitchen, dining room, and living room. The volunteers also have an MVS living room for meeting and socializing as a unit. RHHP residents enjoy cooking, eating, gardening, playing games, and worshiping together. RHHP is located in the heart of the city between neighborhoods of economic growth and continued poverty. In their neighborhood and their placements, volunteers often encounter the racial tensions and economic struggles faced by many Baltimore residents (64 percent of residents are African-American, and 19 percent live in poverty).

Baltimore is an exciting place to live and grow. With a welcoming church community to challenge and nourish, a lively arts community and free outdoor concerts and festivals, historic buildings and museums, and DC, New York, and the ocean within an easy reach, Baltimore MVSers have no shortage of rewarding and enriching activities. Baltimore is a city you will be surprised by and probably grow to love.

The Baltimore MVS community is an ideal place for someone who wants to experience diversity first-hand and who wants to live and work closely with people of different backgrounds. A commitment to simple living in Christian community and growing in one’s faith is essential. A volunteer who is ready to jump in and get to know the people and all that Baltimore offers will be richly rewarded.

Service
Baltimore MVS participants generally serve in human service agencies that serve low-income persons and marginalized individuals and families. MVSers connect with issues of poverty, homelessness, immigration, education and health. Most placements include both direct service and administrative tasks. Recent MVSers have served at organizations such as:

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