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Recently on a night walk at Merry Lea Environmental Center near Wolf Lake, IN I met the glow worm. Aside from the stuffed battery run glowing green toy, I had not met a glow worm before. Our guide with expert eyes adjusted to the dark, pointed out a light that I could have easily walked by. It was a pin prick of light in the grass along the trail. Our guide with the help of a flashlight showed us the source of this light and explained that this creature was the early form of the firefly. Later on a bridge looking down on the damp banks of a dry stream bed we saw what could be described as a small reflection of the stars overhead as hundreds of glow worms shone up at us from below. Each one offered what came naturally to them, a small pin prick of light. As a peacemaker I offer my pin pick of light. In isolation this light can be hard to see. When we bring our light of peacemaking together it cannot be ignored. ~LHN ‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.' Matthew 4:16~ lhn [top] November 10, 2002 is Peace Sunday. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matt 5:9. What will your church do? We'd love to hear about it. For ideas check out: http://peace.mennolink.org. Lombard Mennonite Peace Center -
Below is the calendar for a variety of training events for fall, winter
and spring. Healthy Congregations November 8-9, 2002 in Downers Grove, IL; Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 2003 in Plano, TX; March 21-22, 2003 in San Diego, CA; April 25-26, 2003 in Independence, MO. This workshop uses the insights of family systems theory to help church leaders become more effective stewards of their congregations. God's Own Peace: Systems Theory and Spirituality January 22, 2003 Raleigh, NC; February 6, 2003 - Wheaton, IL. For clergy, church leaders, or anyone who desires to ground daily life more intentionally in their relationship with God. Here I Stand: Leading Change Through Self-Differentiation April 1-3, Sarasota, FL. Pastors will be trained to integrate a long-term approach to congregational change grounded in the family systems theory of Dr. Murray Bowen into their ongoing ministries. This workshop is useful for clergy as well as lay leaders. Religion and Dispute Resolution: Mediation Skills for Church Leaders April 28-May 3, Plano, TX. Designed to equip church leaders with the skills to deal effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. For more information and registration brochure on the above workshops,
please contact: Lombard Mennonite Peace Center [top] In the current war climate, invading Iraq is considered possible because international coalition forces are already in the region to provide support and back-up to a U.S. led invasion. This fact, coupled with the West''s difficulty in establishing any positive relationship with the government of Iraq, makes invasion seem probable. The humanitarian crisis in Iraq has been acute for years. In response, MCC has sponsored program in Iraq for the past ten years, including shipments of material and food aid of $3.5 million U.S. MCC staff have lived in Iraq since 1998, talked with many Iraqi citizens both in Iraq and in exile, interacted with government policy makers in Washington D.C. and Ottawa, and worked with international diplomats at the UN in New York. We have learned about both the daily struggle for life in Iraq and the difficulty international diplomats have in forming positive relationships with Iraq. We encourage North American Christians to speak out against military invasion. Invasion is drastic and unpredictable. Many lives will be lost. Many communities will be disrupted or destroyed. In addition, we highlight the following concerns: 1) Invasion would likely ruin an already collapsing civilian infrastructure,
putting the most vulnerable members of the society at risk. To speak against invasion and war is not to claim we can confidently offer ideas for a rapid, peaceful resolution to this difficult international crisis, or that we know Western authorities are wrong in their fears about Iraqi authorities'' plans and intentions. To speak against war and invasion is to hold up a conviction that, in light of all uncertainties, peace and security are enlarged when authorities choose the path of non-violent diplomacy. The concerns noted above convince us that this is both a moral and a practical path. Our call is also a statement of belief that God wills the path of peace and will work alongside those who have the courage to take risks for peace. This is a time of opportunity for our congregations, and all Christian bodies, to hold up the message of peace. We encourage all to pray for governmental leaders in our countries, for patience and wisdom. Life and Death: In our country it is legal to kill the unborn child, the offending child, and the offending adult. ‘Last term, when the justices banned executions for the mentally retarded in a 6-to-3 decision, they acknowledged the role states play in establishing the base-line for what is considered tolerable in the criminal justice system. The majority noted with interest that 18 states and the federal government had exempted the retarded from the death penalty, demonstrating a national consensus against executing people who have the mind of a child. It is a short step from that analysis to declaring that children themselves should not be subject to capital sentencing, particularly since 40% of the states with the death penalty exempt those under 18. Our law recognizes a sharp divide between minors and adults. Minors are told they can't vote or consent to contracts, among other privileges, because they are not considered mature enough to make responsible judgments. Yet the state holds them fully culpable, and seeks to impose the ultimate penalty, for the serious crimes they commit. There is a disconnect here that is fundamentally unfair and unseemly for a civilized society.' Editorial, St. Petersburg Times What happens in your state? What does it mean to affirm the value of all life? How can we be involved in restoring justice? Middle East: The following article, ‘The Bad Wall, a Prison for Palestinians, a Ghetto for Israelis', from Gush Shalom, an Israeli peace group, explains why the wall being built to separate Israel from the West Bank is not a good idea. In October they demonstrated, together with Palestinian inhabitants and a large group of international peace activists, against the wall of separation and hatred which is being erected to "separate" Israel from the West Bank. "The Separation Wall" which is being erected, far from the media spotlight, is good only for the building contractors who line their pockets to the tune of millions and billions. For everybody else, Israelis and Palestinians alike, this wall is bad - very bad. It is locking the Palestinians in a prison - a ghetto, some would say, or a series of ghettos. And, in fact, it making Israel, too, into a ghetto from which the hope of ever achieving peace will recede further and further. Under the cover of "security" and "separation", the
regality of Apartheid is being institutionalized. An enormous robbery
of Palestinians lands is taking place, by erecting a wall between villagers
and their fields and olive groves. Thousands of Palestinians lose their
last remaining lands. Hundreds of demolition orders for Palestinians homes
were already issued. Whole villages will be cut off from the rest of the
West Bank. A whole city - Kalkilia with its tens of thousands of inhabitants
- will become an enclave completely surrounded by fences, walls and checkpoints,
a virtual prison camp. Palestinian daily life will become hell, even more
than they already are - and that will have a direct impact on Israeli
daily life as well. Prayer Request, October 31, 2002
from Alain Epp Weaver and Sonia Weaver MCC Country Representatives A cup of Justice: coffee, tea, or hot chocolate - AS THE COFFEE CRISIS CONTINUES, YOUR CONGREGATION CAN SHARE A CUP OF JUSTICE. For many of us, coffee is an essential part of community a warm, invigorating beverage to share in the company of friends and neighbors. But it is also a vital source of income for thousands of small farmers and their families in some of the poorest countries in the world. And as world market prices plummeted to historic lows last year, these communities have been devastated. The crisis began last year as world market prices for coffee fell from a high of $1.40 per pound in 1999 to a low of less than 45¢ in the summer of 2001. The impact on coffee-growing communities has been disastrous: Many farmers reported receiving as little as 15¢ to 20¢ per pound from local middlemen. In Kenya and Guatemala entire crops were left to rot on coffee bushes; in El Salvador 30,000 farm jobs were lost just before the harvests began; in Nicaragua small coffee farmers have set up shanty towns in cities; and in the Arizona desert, a group of unemployed coffee workers died while trying to cross the border into the U.S. While the headlines have faded a year later, the crisis has continued. Meanwhile in North America, a growing number of communities of faith
are taking action in a very simple way. As they gather for fellowship
hour, they are sharing a cup of justice: Fairly Traded Coffee. The coffee
comes from Equal Exchange, a worker-owned fair trade organization founded
in 1986 to create a different model of trade with poor farmers. By working
directly with small farmer cooperatives, Equal Exchange cuts out middlemen,
ensuring that more money reaches those who do the hard work of growing
coffee. By offering affordable credit and providing a long-term trading
partner, they offer stability in an unstable market. Perhaps most importantly,
given low market prices, Equal Exchange pays farmers a fair price, including
a guaranteed minimum of $1.26 per pound currently more than double the
world market price. ‘When farmers can't get a fair price for their
coffee, it has a ripple effect in their communities, their country and
even the world'. ‘The simple act of choosing fairly traded coffee
can make an enormous difference.' You can help! Equal Exchange's Interfaith Program works in partnership with communities
of faith and faith-based organizations to make a difference in the lives
of small coffee farmers and their families through Fair Trade. For more
information: EQUAL EXCHANGE Interfaith Program 251 Revere St., Canton,
MA 02021 USA (781)830-0303 x 228interfaith@equalexchange.com http://www.equalexchange.com/interfaith,
webstore-http://store.yahoo.com/equalexchange [to What You
are Doing: We love to hear about what's going on in your congregation,
organization, committee or school we'd love to share your good work with
the recipients of this newsletter. Drop us a note: aoliver@mcc.org
or lnafziger@mcc.org. Service Opportunities: MCC has an urgent need for a Peace Education Networker in the Congo, a Peace House Consultant in Rwanda, Conflict Transformation Worker in Brazil, and a Promoter and Educator in Peace and Anabaptism in Colombia. For more information visit www.mcc.org/service. If you or anyone you know might be interested in these positions, please contact Cheryl Paulovich at 574-534-4133 or cpaulovich@mcc.org. ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.' Romans 15:13 Anita Barahona Oliver and Lois Hess Nafziger
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