The roots of Peace Lab come from Open Door’s longtime commitment to building community out of diversity– community that cuts across race, class, and background. Open Door was founded in 1973 to be a church where Black and White people could worship and grow together. Over the years, our doors and our hearts have stayed open to engage with people on the margins in our hurting world. We have always stayed rooted in the Anabaptist Peace Church tradition of following Jesus.
In today’s unique climate we ask, what can this church do to address the current divisions, injustice, cruelty, and hateful rhetoric around us.
Our response is to create a space for young people to come together, learn the work of peace, build faith-rooted identities, and develop active peacemaking skills they can take back to their communities. Open Door has the people, the skills, and the lived history to do this work.
Mennonite Central Committee is assisting our work by consulting as we plan, by giving us a startup grant, and by approving our application for a Summer Service Worker.
Mennonite Mission Network has been our longtime partner. Open Door was a Service Adventure site from 2015 to 2023. We built an apartment at the church to house SOOP volunteers. We have hosted many groups that MMN brought to Jackson on their Just Peace Pilgrimages focused on Civil Rights. Interacting with these groups and MMN leadership developed our understanding of how to structure learning experiences.
Open Door is a member of Gulf States Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
We have a growing number of individuals, churches, and conferences willing to fund this project and we invite you to join that list.
Open Door Mennonite Church 