Pan y Paz (Bread & Peace)

International Day of Peace, Nonviolence and Ceasefire - September 21

 

What is Pan y Paz?
Pan y Paz (Bread and Peace) is a joint effort of communities, churches, and Christian institutions, who are working from the perspective of the gospel of Jesus, the gospel of peace. The objective of Pan y Paz is to encourage and provide spaces within churches to reflect on the relationship between economic justice and lasting peace in Colombia. The churches that participate in Pan y Paz advocate for a more even distribution of national resources in order to eradicate hunger and injustice, which are the basic and necessary conditions needed in order to achieve peace in Colombia.

What is going on in Colombia?

Colombia is a country with a population of 44 million people, yet despite its vast natural resources including hydro-electric power, a richness of agriculture products, minerals and oil, it has the highest rate of people living below the poverty line in Latin America and the Caribbean. This situation is progressively worsening as a result of the unfair distribution of resources and the armed conflict in the country. Throughout Colombia the various armed groups are attempting to monopolize and control natural resources and large tracts of land and in doing so are displacing, murdering, and torturing large numbers of Colombian citizens.

Colombia is a country with one of the highest levels of economic inequality in the world. As a consequence, a significant portion of its citizens are deprived of the benefits of material and economic progress; many people in Colombia do not enjoy access to basic social services, economic opportunities, or even have the option to lead a dignified life.

Approximately 60% of Colombians live in poverty. Two out of three Colombians do not earn enough to satisfy their basic needs, while one out of three are not able to cover their basic nutritional needs.

What is the church doing about it?

In response to this situation, in the year 2002 a handful of churches in Colombia decided to support the International Day of Peace, Nonviolence and Ceasefire on September 21 established in 2001 by the United Nations. Colombian churches call this event Pan y Paz (Bread and Peace).

Since then the event has caught on as children, youth and adults from Christian communities in different regions of the country have participated by organizing public actions such as marches, advocacy in the form of writing letters to their local and regional governments, letters to the armed groups and having articles published in the public opinion section of their newspapers. They have also organized prayer times, special liturgies, and concerts to strengthen their relationship as churches with both national institutions and the local community, presenting the voice of the Colombian churches in respect to the violence of the country.

In 2006, more than 46 public celebrations took place, uniting more than 200 churches of many denominations throughout the country. During the different celebrations the churches invited:

• The Colombian President, commander of the armed forces in Colombia, the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the commander of the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the paramilitary groups in Colombia (AUC) to observe a ceasefire for 24 hours on the 21st of September.
• The government, armed groups and mass media to change their violent attitudes and embrace peaceful conversations and actions, making concessions for the construction of a renewed country with guarantees for human dignity within a framework of social justice.
• The Colombian population to practice nonviolence for 24 hours in their daily relationships.
• The Colombian state to reallocate a large portion of state funds that are currently used to fortify the armed forces to education and the provision of basic needs for the 60% of Colombian citizens that live in poverty.

To further develop this process, the church has been working hard focusing on different aspects including creating awareness in the churches across the country, building networks, constructing trusted relationships with their communities, and dialogue with their governments so that as churches their voices will be recognized and heard.

What has the Church achieved?

During the past five years of celebrating Pan y Paz, the churches have made important advances in many different areas. Some of the fruits of their labor include:

• The formation of ecumenical work teams that are conscious of their responsibility as a church in the contexts of poverty and violence, and that are committed to work towards the construction of a lasting peace.
• Churches have learned much in regards to the planning of public actions that transmit clear political messages, which involve months of planning ahead.
  The strengthening of the identity of the Christian church as a peace church, and the creation of programs that respond to the daily needs of their members, their communities, and their country.
• The involvement of diverse groups including children, adults, youth, indigenous, students, and women in Pan y Paz activities.
• The transmission of a message of hope to regions and populations that have been forgotten by the government.
• The announcement of the International Day of Peace, Nonviolence and Ceasefire, lifting up the voice of the church in themes of inequality and economic injustice in Colombia.
• The cooperation of religious communities, local and regional governors, and local mass media to bring the theme of victims to the forefront.

What difficulties have the church had?

Churches in Colombia that participate in Pan y Paz have had to face many challenges related to leading a process that is becoming well known throughout many regions of Colombia. Some of these challenges are:

• Finding sources of financial support to cover the expenses of public actions in regions where churches do not have any recognition from the State and where their daily reality includes a constant struggle for self preservation to avoid being destroyed or eliminated as victims of the illegal armed groups.
• Uniting as churches of different denominations and political positions around a single idea.
• Reconciling the objectives and the foundation of the celebration of Pan y Paz with other organizations that want to participate in the activity, but have different interests.
• Obtaining the support of new churches and church leaders in various regions of the country to participate in the process of Pan y Paz, and incorporating the relationship between economic justice and peace in their reflections.
• Dealing with people or groups in the regions who have their own political interests and see Pan y Paz as an opportunity to promote themselves or their political party.
• Interacting with the local government and bureaucrats in search of political and social commitments or financial support.
• Dealing with the tension that arises around the work of the church as a result of the presence of armed groups in the regions and the celebrations.
• Spreading the events widely throughout the country.
• Finding resources to record the celebrations in video or photographs.

How can you and your church help the Colombian churches?

We believe that the church is a voice of hope, comfort and change that promotes justice, peace and the well being of our country. For that reason we invite our brothers and sisters to support this process. Churches in Colombia have demonstrated their commitment and perseverance during these years of work. Nevertheless the process has been difficult and complicated, and very often the churches require support in different areas to be able to continue organizing public events and involving new churches in the active promotion of lasting peace.

We invite you and your church to raise a public voice by organizing events and participating in the observation of the International Day of Peace, Nonviolence and Ceasefire by organizing Pan y Paz -- Bread and Peace events on September 21st. Stand in solidarity with your Colombian brothers and sisters and be a voice in your own communities and countries, calling for a just economic distribution and peace for Colombia and the rest of the world. Let us stand together as we all work towards bringing the gospel of peace to the world.

Right now one of the biggest difficulties that have limited the political impact of the activities of Pan y Paz is a lack of economic resources to support and promote the activities.

Due to the growth and warm reception of Pan y Paz in the churches and regions, new resources are needed in order to continue planning, organizing and actualizing these public events. Resources are needed in order to have publicity, educative materials, bread to pass out, and transportation to visit new churches. Resources are even needed to make phone calls or use the Internet. The lack of resources is limiting the effectiveness and scope of this important work. Therefore we invite our brothers and sisters in Christ to support the process and construction of a just peace for Colombia. We ask that you prayerfully consider sending a donation to the churches in Colombia to allow them to continue to hold Pan y Paz events in their communities and to allow them to have a louder and clearer voice as they call for a just peace in Colombia. The support of the international church has and continues to be very important in the peace process for Colombia.

A donation of $250 USD will allow a church in Colombia to be able to organize an event of Pan y Paz in their community, however all donations are greatly appreciated. To send a donation for the Colombian churches please send your donation to:

Fulton Bank
Attention: Ada Martin
3630 Rothsville Rd.
Ephrata, PA 17522
To the account of Fundación Mencoldes, account number 0400-812139. Please make your checks out to Fundación Mencoldes, with Pan y Paz in the memo line.

When you send a donation we ask that you send an e-mail to with your name, amount of your donation, and the check number.

As the Colombian church we are committed to the construction of peace in our country, and to being a voice of hope in Colombia, despite the difficult social and political situation.

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact us at
More information to help churches in North America organize Pan y Paz events will follow shortly.

Thank you for your support, prayers and solidarity with the Colombian churches as they organize, plan and carry out Pan y Paz events this year. We trust that God will move in mighty and powerful ways through this event.

Invitation Letter