Jim's Peacemaking

--by Stewart Vriesinga "I thought you were dead! I had orders to kill you! I knew you were a good man –a man of integrity — and I couldn't carry out those orders, but I thought another one of my colleagues would!" –a demobilized paramilitary Reverend Salvador Alcántara, from Garzal township of Simití municipality in the southern Bolívar province, is a remarkable, exemplary and inspirational man. He is a husband, father, grandfather, pastor of a local church, farmer, president of the Garzal town council, and vice-president of ASPROAS – Association of Alternative Producers of Simití. That he is able to take on all these tasks and do them well has earned him the respect of both the larger community of Simití and his own smaller community of Garzal. His interpretation of his pastoral duties has led him to become involved in his community's struggle to stay on their lands in the face of constant threats of forced mass displacement. The much-heralded achievements of the Ur...

Hello friends, Over our cell group lunch Sharon Moriarty Doran shared how her father said, “...many cruel things in the course of one ten to fifteen minute conversation which left me in tears. He referred to my daughter and his granddaughter as a little sh*t, and how much pain it caused her emotionally. He brushed it off as just being funny remarks. This is the way he has always been, he will never change.” One of us said, “That is a lie, to believe he will never change; that keeps us in the same old rut. You need to let him know how it makes you feel with an “I statement”. He probably doesn’t realize the pain this is to you. Your not letting him know is enabling his negative ways to continue. If you do it, just let him know how it makes you feel, without accusing him, be gentle.” We then prayed together for the situation. That night Sharon wrote an email to her father trying to do the above. The next morning she received an email back in which he apologized, He had asked his wif...

Over the last six years, my work with CPT in Colombia and the subsequent sharing of that work in slide presentations here in the US has been the centerpiece of my peacemaking work. On Dec. 15 I received a phone call and email from the CPT team that they had decided to ask me not to return to Colombia to be part of the team. At the same time they strongly affirmed my work and passion for peace work. This decision was a shock to me, for although there have been differences at times between me and CPT, I thought that last spring we had worked them through. I want to say first that despite our differences, I see CPT doing lots of good, enabling Colombian farmers to stay on their land, saving lives, and exposing wrongs to the light, to name a few. And because of this I hope the Lord can somehow work things out for me to promote CPT here in the USA. We will see. Although this news has been extremely difficult for me emotionally, I sense God has used it to help me see that it is time to sepa...

Una Nueva Orientación por mi Pacimiento 23/1/2009 Hola Amigo, Tras las últimas seis años, mi trabajo con CPT en Colombia y el comportamiento de ese trabajo posteriormente en presentaciones diapositivas aquí en los estados unidos ha sido el centro de mi trabajo de pacimiento. En el 15 de Diciembre recibí una llamada y un email del equipo de CPT de Colombia diciendo que ellos preferirían que yo no regrese a Colombia para ser parte de su equipo Colombiano. Al mismo tiempo, ellos afirmieron fuertemente mi trabajo y pasión por el trabajo de paz. Ésta decisión fue un golpe fuerte para me, porque aunque habían diferencias entre CPT y yo en el pasado, pensé que ésta última primavera habíamos resolvió las problemas. Quiero decir primeramente que a pesar de nuestras diferencias, creo que CPT hace muchas bondades, facilitando la lucha de los obreros Colombianos para quedarse en su tierra, salvando vidas, y exponiendo las maldades a la luz, y muchas mas. ...

Dear Friend, "I am a PeaceBuilder. I Pledge…to praise people, to give up put-downs, to seek wise people as advisors and friends, to notice the hurts I have caused and make amends, to right wrongs, to help others. I will build peace at home, at school, and in my community each day." This is the pledge the local grade schoolers do each day after the normal pledge to the flag. Each class has even created its own PeaceBuilder’s flag. Some of the result are we see more people listening, smiles, hugs, people helping one another, and bullying is decreased. We hear laughter, positive stories in staff meetings, “good job”, apologizing, cheers, encouragement, and students chanting "talk it out” to stop fights. We feel safe, happy, appreciated, hopeful, and close to others. These results come from students, administrators, teachers, bus drivers, and aids who are all trained in this school program. To be a Peacebuilder is a personal decision only you can make. Ask yourself ...

Hello Friend, "What was that scripture you opened with?" asked an attentive student at Webster U in St Louis. I replied, "It was Eugene Peterson's The Message , Zech. 9: 9-13 , here notice what God is doing and how humans are to be part of it, then Mat. 28: 16-20 here notice Jesus' charge to the disciples even though they are not sure about their commitment, I find myself in the disciple shoes often times feeling a bit lukewarm about committing myself totally to God. Then Eph. 3:20 . a reminder that God can do anything you know, then Zech. 8:13 this says what I sense is my purpose in this presentation, a glimpse into what God is doing through CPT. If we keep our focus on what the media tells us is happening we become afraid and wonder when will be the collapse of the world and it paralysis us. But if we keep our attention on what God is doing, we can live with hope and be energized to be a part of constructing peace and justice a new world here and no...

Here is good article from the September 1 issue of the Mennonite Weekly Review on the overall Colombian situation, I think you would find of interest. Say a prayer for the Colombian church to do what Jesus would do. What kind of peace for Colombia? By Rebecca Bartel and Bonnie Klassen Mennonite Central Committee Jim