Racial Justice Task Force

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Racial Justice and Equality Leader

Resource Guide

Videos

Uniting Virginia Mennonite Conference in eradicating systemic racism and personal prejudice while celebrating and embracing diversity with the conference and beyond.

VMC and Race Relations - History

Race Relations in Virginia Mennonite Conference: a two-page summary of VMC's history of race relations.

Race Relations in Virginia Mennonite Conference: A Brief History: a twenty-page history of VMC's history of race relations. Excerpt is from the forthcoming history book about Mennonites in Virginia (Herald Press, 2025) with co-authors Elwood Yoder and Steve Nolt.

Many thanks to Elwood Yoder, member of Zion Mennonite Church, for his diligence in uncovering and sharing the good and bad in our past.

Racial Justice and Equity Leader

Maren Tyedmers Hange

Maren Hange is an artist, spiritual director and co-pastor of Charlottesville Mennonite Church with her husband Roy. Maren serves as VMC representative to the MCC East Coast Board where she currently chairs the anti-oppression committee. Since August 12, 2017 she has been active in anti-racism work with the Charlottesville Clergy Collective and through a 2019 Louisville Institute Grant that looked at the role of the arts and non-violent communication to open spaces of engagement. Originally from Germany, with years served in Syria and Iran, Maren and Roy live in Charlottesville and are the parents of three mostly grown children.

Contact Maren

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Task Force Members

Vivian Stevens-Lyons

Co-Chair of the Racial Justice Task Force
Vivian is the President and owner of Marthas Medical Transportation, is a real estate investor, and is presently a pastoral care minister and team leader for the prayer ministry at C3 Hampton. She graduated from Franklin High School in Franklin, Va., and completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Old Dominion University. She is a member of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and served on the Board of Directors for NAMI-Western Tidewater, and was instrumental in starting the NAMI Suffolk, Va., chapter. As an advocate, she continues to assist families navigating the judicial and medical aspect of mental health. Vivian is also a graduate of Project Inclusion, a program sponsored by United Way to train minorities to serve on boards and commissions.

Contact Vivian

Aldine Musser

Aldine lived her first 18 years in a community with a variety of cultures, mostly black Americans. She doesn’t believe this made her anti-racist. She says she wasn’t conscious of white privilege until sometime later. Serving on the Racial Justice Task Force is an opportunity to learn and hopefully help all of us become more aware of changes we need

to make to improve VMC. Currently, Aldine and her husband, Jim provide housing and meals for a Blind Ethiopian man. They have become friends and share meals with their Hispanic neighbors. Aldine cares for their grandchildren who are from German/Swiss, Asian, and African descent and serves as one of the Northern District Ministers.

Andrew R.W.B. Fairfield

Andrew was born and raised in Rockingham County, Va., where he grew up with several overlapping extended families. His family attended Park View Mennonite Church. He and Molly Buckwalter were married the summer after graduating Goshen College, and in 2010 served with MCC in China, initially as English instructors and in their final year assisting with translation and English-language communications for the Zhi Mian Institute for Psychotherapy. Returning to the US, Andrew finished his Master of Divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary, and now serves as pastor at Christiansburg Mennonite Fellowship.

Tami Nice

Tami and her husband Keith have been leading a house fellowship Outlet 10.27 for over 10 years. She serves on the Pastoral Leadership Team for Greensboro Mennonite Fellowship. She served as the council chair for the Eastern Carolina District and on Conference Council for 3 years. Tami has been a self-learner regarding social justice and racial inequity and has a heart for the church and its role in changing our societal norms.