Just Peace

UPCOMING EVENT!

MIDDLE EAST PEACEMAKING
A Conference featuring Dr. Nuha Khoury,
A Peacemaker from Bethlehem, Palestine
November 1, 2008
Centre Congregational Church, Brattleboro

Dr. Khoury’s peacemaking work is supported by the UCC Wider Church Ministries as part of Common Global Ministries. She is a Christian Palestinian who serves as Dean of Dar al-Kalima College, the first Christian college in the Middle East to offer advanced education in arts, multimedia, and communication.

The program, sponsored by the Vermont Conference Department of Mission, will also include workshops and presentations on a variety of peacemaking efforts.

Mark your calendar and Watch E KIT for registration information. Questions: contact Peace and Justice Advocate Theresa Lever (thelevers@comcast.net or 802-229-0415)

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

Brochure and registration form now available. Click here to download.

Something amazing happened in the Vermont Conference on October 6, 2007!

75 peacemakers gathered at the Charlotte Congregational Church, United Church of Christ to teach, encourage and inspire each other.  Christian Peacemaking in a World of Violence was sponsored by the Department of Mission and hosted by the Charlotte Church.  It was a miraculous event—as one person put it, “A feeling of love was everywhere.” 

Participants called keynoter Dot Maver “superb,” and “riveting.”   Our job, she said, is to reveal the “culture of peace” that already exists.  Love actually prevails although we can’t quite see it.  It makes no difference if one is an executive director or a farmer or a housekeeper—each one of us can be about the work of “inspiring cooperation on behalf of the common good.”  Our time is no less significant than the time of the Dark Ages, one step away from the Renaissance.  Violence is rampant, but be hopeful—something wonderful is about to happen!  In such a time, is spirituality or activism more important?  As Dave Dellinger said, choosing between those “is like choosing between inhaling and exhaling.”

How you can make a world of difference was addressed by each of the 9 workshop leaders at the closing.  Create grassroots interfaith connections within our communities.  Get to know Jews and Muslims.  Be conscious of our interrelatedness.  Embrace conflict.  Empower ourselves to engage conflict nonviolently.  Have curiosity about other people’s lives, cultures and faith.  Ask questions.  Educate oneself and others.  Cherish our democracy and work to strengthen it.  Ask our congressmen to support legislation creating a U.S. Department of Peace.  Bring to light the contrast between the message and example of Jesus and the cycle of violence in Christian history.  Understand that there is no “good war.”  Learn the principles of active non-violence and practice, practice, practice.  Build relationships with everyone, including one’s opponents.  Fantasize about new ways of acting and of living together.  Envision a peaceful world 25 years from now and consider the steps that would lead to the fulfillment of that vision.  Imagine highly trained peaceforces that will help us resolve conflicts without armed forces.  Believe that there is another way.

We thank the organizers, the presenters, the Charlotte church, those who made music, provided lunch, tended the bookstore, and all who attended.  We need to consider how the Conference’s peacemakers might move forward.  Follow this link for comments on the  evaluation forms, including ideas about next steps, and contact information for all the presenters.