Jim's Peacemaking

Hello,                      My Heart Attack                 May 12, 2017 How are you? This is to let you know that I have had a heart attack and had 3 stents put in my arteries in April.  I have had to cancel for a year my plans to go to Colombia and to take a course on peacemaking. This has been a real jolt to me as my identity has been so wrapped up in peacemaking. Though thank goodness there was no other notable impairment.  I hope to be able to begin to do more direct peacemaking giving talks here in the USA this fall and next year return to Colombia.  I could add that at the end of March and early April before I became aware of my heart condition I gave a total of seven talks in St Louis, Iowa, and here in Evanston. They were on “Making peace with ISIS Nonviolently” and “Updat...

Dear Friends, “I murdered a person in California, after which I was in prison for about 20 years. If I were black I would still be in jail,” remarked Nash.  I had met him at Koinonia Community Farm, in Georgia. Nash works hard at supporting local Hispanics who live in fear of deportation by Trump’s executive orders. Nash showed me his house, which was a trial prototype for Habitat for Humanity. Clarence Jordan was cofounder of both Habitat and Koinonia. Habitat began when Clarence remarked one day, “Nobody should live in a shack.”  So they built houses for their black neighbors, who were living in shacks. In its first years the multiracial community was harassed with drive-by shooting at their houses and local boycotts that kept them from selling their pecan products or buying farm supplies from local businesses. They were shunned because blacks were part of the community. One business was bombed because they sold Koinonia some fertilizer.  Innovatively ...

Jim's Peacemaking Newsletter View this email in your browser Dear Friends, “Do you really believe Justice and Peace are coming, in spite of all the wars, and as we titter on destroying all of creation with climate change?” questioned John Betten. I answered, “Yes, I believe peace is coming. It is hard to imagine how it is possible. But Jesus told us to pray for the kingdom to come, and that means peace and justice. He wasn’t talking about pie in the sky.”  “Another thing, what keeps you working for peace and justice?” questioned John. About all I can say is, it is the spirit at work. I just feel impelled: not sure what else to say. Doing it has been the richest time of my life. “I think it is really important to pray.” As Daniel says, “We need to be praying especially for Colombia. There they are killing many human rights leaders. Such killing undermined the 1980’s peace agreement.” John questioned, “Why don’t we hear more about Syria in the news? Lots o...

Here is the support discernment committee that is helping me sort things out as to what and where to share these days. Starting at left, David Hovde, Ron Johnson, me, Julius Belser. They’ve been a helpful  group. Dear Friends, “I think, Jim, you should consider attending the “Center for Justice and Peacebuilding” at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA.  I think you could learn a lot and they would be interested in hearing and learning from you too.” Thus spoke Julius at a discernment meeting. The others affirmed it. So I looked into it and signed up for a pertinent course. Here’s the encouraging letter I got back from a professor.                                                      ...

 Hello friend,                              Hope  “Bells on Christmas Day”   Here is an old familiar carol written during the civil war, which must had been a turbulent time very similar to the present. A strong message of hope you might find helpful. Pay attention to the words as you sing or read it.  Shalom, Jim 1. I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play                                                                                                                      and sweet the words repeat...

Dear Friends,         Push Back to Nonviolence 10/22 thru 11/9 I was in Oregon where I gave 13 talk/discussions in schools and churches, one of them in Spanish. As usual I got pushback each time where people expressed their questions about my proposal: To tell Isis we really want to talk and to show it we will stop bombing and instead drop humanitarian aid like tents, clothing, and medicine. The most common reservations were “I believe we could never talk to Isis. They are not reasonable.” My responses were something like this. “I have the same questions. But we might be very surprised. I think they may say, ‘Let’s see how serious they are.’ They too are created in the image of God. Then there is that within all of us to respond to love. “I don’t know for sure what they would say, but if not this then we need to try something else. We can always go back to bombing, which obviously just makes their support grow.” I always appreciated the pushbac...

Jim's Peacemaking Newsletter View this email in your browser Dear Friends,        Push Back to Nonviolence 10/22 thru 11/9 I was in Oregon where I gave 13 talk/discussions in schools and churches, one of them in Spanish. As usual I got pushback each time where people expressed their questions about my proposal: To tell Isis we really want to talk and to show it we will stop bombing and instead drop humanitarian aid like tents, clothing, and medicine. The most common reservations were “I believe we could never talk to Isis. They are not reasonable.” My responses were something like this. “I have the same questions. But we might be very surprised. I think they may say, ‘Let’s see how serious they are.’ They too are created in the image of God. Then there is that within all of us to respond to love. “I don’t know for sure what they would say, but if not this then we need to try something else. We can always go back to bombing, which obvi...