We the undersigned, demand that MMA (Mennonite Mutual Aid) Praxis Funds divest itself from those companies that are not in compliance with Mennonite/Anabaptist values and the funds' stated "socially responsible investing" philosophy.

We understand that no company is perfect and that MMA Praxis Funds does attempt to engage in shareholder advocacy with many of its investments, however there are some investments that simply are simply so repugnant, that we believe it is immoral to invest in them at all. (our information on current MMA Praxis fund holdings was based on the data provided in the MMA Praxis Semiannual report dated June 30, 2009 - PDF download at http://mma-online.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=6483 )

We demand that MMA Praxis divest from:

1. News Corp. (the MMA Praxis Core Stock fund holds $1,900,346 in class A stock, while the MMA Praxis Value Index fund holds $292,030 in class A stock and $88,577 in class B stock) - News Corp. is this is the parent company of FOX NEWS, the chief propaganda news outlet for the illegal and immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

2. Cash America International, Inc. (the MMA Praxis Small Cap Fund holds $216,358 in stock) - a chain of pawnshops/payday loan sharks that exploit the poor

3. First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (the MMA Praxis Small Cap Fund holds $172,572 in stock)- a chain of pawnshops/payday loan sharks that exploit the poor

4. Wells Fargo and Company (MMA Praxis Core Stock fund holds $7,364,316 in stock. MMA Praxis Value Index Fund holds $1,700,868 in stock. MMA Praxis Intemediate Income fund holds $1,708,918 in the bonds.) - According to Wikipedia, Wells Fargo is one of the largest investors into the GEO Group. The GEO Group operates private prisons and immigrant detention facilities which have been criticized for serious abuses of detainees. Also the company engages in predatory lending and is being sued by the state of Illinois for pushing Black and Hispanic people into sub-prime loans for no reason other than race.


We the undersigned pledge to tell our friends, our families and our churches about MMA Praxis investments in these evil companies. We call for MMA Praxis to divest itself immediately of these stocks and to reexamine its commitment to truly "socially responsible" investing.