UNDERCURRENTS

MCC Ontario
  • 5.0 (21)
  • DOCUMENTARY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

How do we practice peace in this broken world? How can we make a meaningful impact in our community? How can we better align our faith and values with our action? For 105 years, MCC’s mission has been to show God’s love to all by meeting basic human needs and working for peace and justice. In this all new season of Undercurrents, we'll share not only the stories of hope and challenge from MCC’s programs, but also to help us learn from them and ultimately inspire us to action. Thank you for joining us - please subscribe! Sponsored in part by Kindred Credit Union.

  1. 9 HRS AGO

    Ep 32 - Giving our best: generosity, specificity and riding the roller coaster with the Material Resources team

    In this episode of Undercurrents, host Ken Ogasawara goes behind the scenes with the Material Resources team at Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to explore how relief kits, hygiene kits, school kits, and canned meat are prepared and shipped to communities facing crisis around the world — and right here in Ontario. What does it actually take to send a relief kit overseas? Why is MCC so specific about items like metal pencil sharpeners, heavy-duty nail clippers, toothbrush colours, towel sizes, and notebook page counts? And how does a brand-new 10,000 square foot industrial meat cannery help feed families experiencing food insecurity? Transcription is here. Discussion guide is here. Volunteer at the meat cannery: https://mcc.org/MCCOntarioMeatCanneryEmail dylanyantzi@mcco.ca for more details. Donate toward a relief kit: https://mcc.org/get-involved/giving/designations/kits-and-comfortersPetition from Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB): https://foodgrainsbank.ca/postcard/   A major driver of crisis requiring materialresources responses, is climate change. Sign this petition so our government will respond fairly and adequately: https://mcc.org/campaign/support-fair-canadian-response-climate-change-0 Undercurrents is sponsored in part by Kindred Credit Union.

    24 min

  2. JAN 29

    Ep 31 - Non-anxious presence, rocky soil and long-term peacebuilding with Rod Friesen

    A 30 second scroll through the headlines will give you a glimpse of a world desperately in need of peace. But peacebuilding is not only needed in Palestine and Israel, or Ukraine, or in South Sudan. Peace is needed in our own communities and in our own lives. In my conversation with Rod Friesen, we reveal three stories of peacebuilding from his career- and what we can learn something from each of these stories and how we can apply these lessons in our own lives. Transcription here. Discussion guide for small groups here. Undercurrents is sponsored in part by Kindred Credit Union. Production assistance from Christen Kong Theme music by Brian MacMillan Artwork by Jesse Bergen Executive produced by Sandra Reimer

    25 min

  3. SEASON 6, EPISODE 1 TRAILER

    How do we practice peace in a broken world? - Season 6 TRAILER

    How do we practice peace in this broken world? How can we make a meaningful impact in our community? How can we better align our faith and values with our actions? These are the questions we want to explore in Season 6. For 105 years, MCC’s mission has been to show God’s love to all by meeting basic human needs and working for peace and justice. A quick scroll through the newsfeed is enough to tell you that the needs are many. But we also know that there is beautiful work being done that is making a real impact in the world. And we're inviting you to be a part of this work. In this all new season of Undercurrents, we'll share not only the stories of hope and challenge from MCC’s programs, but also to help us learn from them and ultimately inspire us to action. Season 6 launches on January 29th and this year, we'll be posting an episode every other week from January through to July! Search for “ Undercurrents MCC" wherever you listen to podcasts, please subscribe and share with your friends! Undercurrents is supported by Kindred Credit Union

    2 min

  4. 2025-12-04

    Update 3: Podcast inspiration, refugee sponsorship and building a better life ... with LY

    This update episode is with Ly. She shared her story so eloquently and vulnerably back in 2021 in Episode 10 about the impact of MCC’s hand-crafted relief materials how it changed her life. So today you’ll hear an update from Ly as she shares about how she and her church have paid that forward in a huge way, and how another Undercurrents episode (Ep 13 - I believe in miracles) inspired her during a tough stretch. Update begins at 27:53.

    34 min

  5. 2025-11-26 · BONUS

    Update 2: Pulled teeth, acts of kindness and one last favour with Wayne

    This update episode is with Wayne. I got to know Wayne through interviewing him a number of times over 2019 and despite the disruption of the pandemic, I’d still see Wayne occasionally around the office at various Circle of Friends gatherings. But over the last few years, I’ve been seeing less and less of Wayne. At the end of this episode, he’ll explain why. He also makes an unusual request. Undercurrents is sponsored in part by Kindred Credit Union Theme song by Brian Macmillan Artwork by Jesse Bergen

    27 min

  6. 2025-11-15

    Update 1: Quitting piano lessons, finding his father and more life updates with PATRICK.

    We check in with Patrick - he of the beautiful singing voice and piano lessons - who was featured in the very first pilot episode of Undercurrents. Since I first interviewed him in 2018, life has changed a lot for Patrick. I re-connect with him to find out what's new (spoiler: a lot). Undercurrents is supported by Kindred Credit Union. Artwork by Jesse Bergen Theme song by Brian MacMillan

    19 min

  7. 2025-11-07 · BONUS

    ANNOUNCEMENT(S)

    Host Ken Ogasawara and producer Christen Kong share insights from listeners, tease an upcoming mini-season, and the audio clip that started it all! mcc.org/undercurrents Undercurrents is sponsored by Kindred Credit Union.

    6 min

  8. 2025-06-20

    Ep 30 - Unspeakable suffering; defiant hope in DR Congo

    The most brutal conflict of the modern era is grinding onwards in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this episode, we’ll hear from Justin Zihindula and Esther Muziranenge, two Congolese from different families who were displaced and resettled in Canada many years apart. Undercurrents is generously supported by ⁠Kindred Credit Union.⁠ Transcription is here. Download the discussion guide for this episode here. Read about MCC’s new $4.7M relief project with Global Affairs Canada https://mcc.org/our-stories/mcc-canada-awarded-47-million-grant-humanitarian-assistance-democratic-republic-congo Donate to MCC’s response in DR Congo: https://mcc.org/what-we-do/initiatives/disaster-response/dr-congo Collaborative global Anabaptist response to crisis in DR Congo: https://mcc.org/our-stories/collaborative-anabaptist-response-dr-congo-crisis A concise history of the 30-year conflict in DR Congo: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo CREDITS: Editing support by Christen Kong Theme song by Brian MacMillan Artwork by Jesse Bergen

    21 min
See All (47)

Trailers

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

How do we practice peace in this broken world? How can we make a meaningful impact in our community? How can we better align our faith and values with our action? For 105 years, MCC’s mission has been to show God’s love to all by meeting basic human needs and working for peace and justice. In this all new season of Undercurrents, we'll share not only the stories of hope and challenge from MCC’s programs, but also to help us learn from them and ultimately inspire us to action. Thank you for joining us - please subscribe! Sponsored in part by Kindred Credit Union.

Information

  • Creator
    MCC Ontario
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © MCC Ontario
  • Show Website
    UNDERCURRENTS