Longtime Mennonite Mission Network employee and recent retiree John Powell of Elkhart, Ind., will serve as Hesston College church leader in residence April 7 to 10. He will share about his experiences working for inclusion and overcoming racial oppression in the Mennonite church and broader social systems during Hesston College chapel services at 11 a.m., Monday, April 8, and Wednesday, April 10, at Hesston Mennonite Church. The public is invited to attend.

Powell grew up in Alabama experiencing injustices because of his African-American race and heritage. He learned early in life that that kind of treatment was not okay when he saw his father stand up to the Ku Klux Klan.

In high school he met Martin Luther King Jr. who mentored him over the next four years to become a conscientious objector. In looking at peace churches, he was drawn to the Mennonite church because of voluntary service workers with whom he encountered and worked.

Powell served in various capacities in the Mennonite church including pastor of 10th Street Mennonite Church in Wichita, Kan., in 1968. He then served as executive secretary for the Minority Ministries Council in Elkhart for five years, where he worked on ways to empower African-American, Hispanic and Native American congregations within the Mennonite church. In 1974 he left the denomination because of anger he felt toward the racist structures within the church.

Over the years, he began reconciling with the Mennonite church and in 1995 began working as church development consultant with Mennonite Board of Missions, which later became Mennonite Mission Network. He served in various other roles within the Mission Network before he retirement in January 2013.

Powell has experience not only in working against social injustices, but also in teaching, social work, community organization, education and state government administration, organizing labor unions, pastoring, research in urban and regional planning, evangelism and mission advocacy.

Area pastors  are invited to attend a complimentary lunch and seminar with Powell at 11:45 a.m., Wednesday, April 10. Powell will speak on “Being an Ally in a Multi-Ethnic/Cultural World.” Pastors interested in attending Wednesday’s activities can contact the Hesston College Church Relations Office at 620-327-8109 or toll free at 866-437-7866.