MCC U.S. Summer Service program spurs young adult to become congregation leader

EDINBURG, Texas — MCC U.S. Summer Service Worker Nancy Rivera's face lights as she talks about how Summer Service has changed her.

"I've grown immensely," said Rivera, 23, who was a Summer Service worker in summers 2003 and 2004. "Because of Summer Service, I got more involved in my church and the district. Summer Service started opening doors for me."

Rivera — who worked in her congregation, Iglesia Menonita Buenas Nuevas, and at the Southern Tier office in Edinburg — strives to explain the change. "Before," she said, "I was just part of the group."

Rivera became responsible for taking notes at meetings of her church's district, Unidad Cristiana de Iglesias Menonitas, which is part of the South Central Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. She was named to a team helping draft a new constitution for the district.

"I feel now I have an impact. I have a say-so. My voice can be heard," she said.

She was named to the church council of Iglesia Menonita Buenas Nuevas. The group, the church's governing body, has six members. "I'm the youngest of them," she said. "That was something I would not have dreamed of being part of."

In summer 2005, she supervised Summer Service workers for the Southern Tier office of MCC Central States, and she relishes seeing other young people take on leadership responsibilities, whether in their MCC roles or in her church.

Young adults in her congregation, she notes, have seen her growing involvement — and may choose that path themselves.

"Our church, there's not that many young people. I think it's important to step up to the plate. Sometimes you just need to step up and become a leader," Rivera said. "I'm hoping they will become more involved in activities and taking a leadership role as well."