From our CEO
Grace and peace to each of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We understand that our members, staff, and partners have questions about the changes MCC is currently experiencing. This article is offered to provide clarity, transparency, and reassurance regarding the direction of MCC in this season.
Over the last several years, MCC has experienced significant shifts in federal and philanthropic funding — from dramatic increases beginning in 2021 to reductions in 2025 that resulted in a 73% decrease in annual revenue. Much of our staff expansion beginning in 2021 was directly tied to federal refugee resettlement income — funding that, under the current administration, has now ended. At the same time, we have seen reduced member contributions and a sharp decline in local and national philanthropic investment in racial justice work. Together, these forces created a structural deficit that does not allow us to continue business as usual.
Like many nonprofits, we have been forced to make difficult financial decisions — decisions that impact not only our organizational structure but the people we care about deeply. As an African American CEO, I want to acknowledge the particular weight that these decisions carry. No leader enters their role hoping to reduce staff, and none of us could have predicted the rapid shifts in federal policy and funding that occurred in January 2025. These changes have had real human consequences, and we lament every loss that accompanies them.
To fulfill the strategic direction adopted by our Board in August 2025 and remain faithful to the communities we serve, MCC must strategically integrate our leadership, staffing, and infrastructure to support sustainable programming and long-term growth. Guided by that new framework, beginning in 2026, the mission of MCC will be to convene, connect, and catalyze people of faith to build just, equitable, and livable communities for all Minnesotans.
We will strengthen the civic and moral fabric of our state by increasing the capacity of people of faith to listen deeply, bridge divides, and work together for the common good. Through our leadership in depolarization efforts—including Respectful Conversations—and in partnership with congregations and communities, we will equip Minnesotans to confront the root causes of polarization and disparities, promote understanding, and take collective action to improve the spiritual, social, and economic well-being of all.
To accomplish this work and launch our new three-year strategic plan, MCC will restructure existing resources and seek additional funding aligned with this holistic programmatic focus, while also expanding services to New Americans and continuing to offer educational, truth-telling, and narrative-change resources for congregations and interfaith partners to continue the Board’s 2020 commitment to faith-based racial justice.
Rather than locating racial justice within a single department, MCC will embed a racial justice focus across all programs, advocacy efforts, and communications. While it is true that we are discontinuing the stand-alone Office of Racial Justice, we have no intention of retreating from this work. Our commitment remains unwavering: racial justice will be foundational to our work in depolarization, community resilience, and faithful public witness.
The components of MCC’s racial justice platform adopted in 2020 — including truth-telling, education, and reparations — will continue as integral expressions of our mission, carried out in new and exciting ways. For example, we have plans to launch a variety of remote and in-person events under a "Reckoning to Reconcile" series. The panels will explore topics that weave together the Church’s responsibility to address issues that disproportionately impact BIPOC communities, including health disparities, homelessness, environmental justice, Christian Nationalism, and the ongoing call to repair the relationship between the Church and Indigenous communities in the aftermath of boarding schools and the theft of Indigenous land.
Similarly, we will work to build upon the faith-based reparations work MCC has already begun. One goal is to strengthen relationships with African American churches and organizations in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood who are engaged in work related to repairing historic harms and supporting the well-being of descendants of American slavery. By embedding such commitments across the whole of our ministry, we affirm that racial justice is not a siloed program but a Gospel mandate shaping every dimension of our shared life.
As we come to the close of this year, the magnitude of the changes MCC has experienced—and that we continue to navigate—is overwhelming. The numbers alone are staggering. We began 2025 with an approved organizational budget of just over $14 million. Our proposed budget for 2026 is $4 million—a 73% reduction in only nine months due to actions taken by the current federal administration.
These cuts have had a significant impact on our staff. On January 1, 2025, we had 71 employees. By December 31, we will have 22—five in Mankato and seventeen in the Twin Cities. This represents a profound shift for both our organization and each of us personally.
The changes in our refugee services and racial justice programming are a painful and regrettable part of these changes. All of the layoffs we’ve had to undertake this year were driven solely by funding realities and organizational sustainability, not by a diminished commitment to racial justice, refugee services, or any other programs.
MCC’s identity as a statewide witness for justice and reconciliation is not changing. The Strategic Framework adopted by the Board in August, which we will launch in January 2026, affirms our mission, vision, values, and strategic direction with renewed focus, clarity, and sustainability.
We ask for your continued partnership in this season. Your presence, prayers, and financial support are essential as we rebuild a stronger and more resilient MCC. Even modest multi-year commitments will help establish a firm footing for our shared ecumenical ministry.
We stand ready to meet with you, listen deeply, and collaborate as we discern the future God is calling us to build together.
-Elder Suzanne P. Kelly