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(316) 663-3701
Service
The diversity of opportunity for
service in the Hutchinson MVS unit has traditionally
been one of its strengths. Agencies in the community
are familiar with and in some cases dependent on the
unit to fill positions. Types of service available
include, but are certainly not limited to
- Interfaith Housing (construction, carpentry, clerical)
- Friendship Day Care (child care)
- Victim/Offender
Reconciliation (VORP) of Reno County (conflict
resolution)
- Hutchinson Et Cetera shop (donated clothing and
household items sold at low cost)
- Community health services (nurses, doctors)
Location
With a population
of 40,000 people, Hutchinson is the seat of Reno County,
Kan. Agriculture (farming and livestock) is the base
of the economy. Hutchinson is home to one of the largest
grain elevators in the world, which stretches nearly
half a mile in length. Hutchinson is also host to
numerous industries and is affectionately known as
the "Salt City" because of the tremendous salt deposits
found underneath it. Morton Salt and Carey Salt have
major facilities in Hutchinson.
The Kansas
Cosmosphere and Space Museum is a world-class
space artifact museum located in Hutchinson. The OmniMax
Theater there was the sixth theater of its type built
in the United States. The major motion picture Apollo
13 borrowed most of the artifacts used in the
film from the Cosmosphere, and as a result, the original
Apollo 13 spacecraft is housed there.
Other popular attractions include:
- Dillon
Nature Center, with hiking trails and fishing
- Hutchinson Community
College, home of the National Junior College
Basketball Tournament
- Fun Valley, a nationally recognized softball complex
that hosts several national softball tournaments
- Carey Park, with an 18-hole golf course
- the Kansas
State Fair (and Mennonite Central Committee
Relief Sale in April)
- The friendliest people around!
Unit
Hutchinson MVS unit
members live together as an intentional community
in a single-family house, sharing household finances,
cars, chores, meals and many other aspects of life.
Basic needs are met by pooling the stipends paid by
agencies for which MVSers work, usually around $400
U.S. a month per person. Rent, utilities, food, transportation,
health care and other costs, as well as a small personal
allowance, come from this fund. Volunteers are not
responsible for making the financial arrangements
with the agencies they work for, nor for raising money
for necessities, but they are responsible to live
within the means and budget of the household.
The neighborhood where the MVS house is located is
socially and economically diverse. The block consists
of mostly single-family homes. Unit life encourages
a modest lifestyle in which financial as well as spiritual
and emotional needs are met. Unit members find security
and support in their shared lives, in the commitment
of the local Mennonite congregations and through the
MVS office.
Church
There are three
Mennonite churches that support the Hutchinson MVS
unit. South
Hutchinson Mennonite Church and First
Mennonite Church each have around 250 members.
The Faith
Mennonite Church congregation numbers about 150.
MVSers are invited to and welcome at each of these
churches.
An MVS Support Committee, consisting of six couples
(two from each church), meets regularly with the MVS
unit to provide support and to gain insight into life
within the unit. The committee arranges service assignments
for workers with appropriate local organizations.
A key role of the committee is to help make the MVS
experience as vital and fulfilling as possible and
to attain the MVS goal of matching human resources
to human needs in obedience to Christ.
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