Peacemaking: Learning about a new culture By Donna Schulz The best way to learn about a new culture is to experience it first-hand. Grade 10 students at Rosthern Junior College (RJC) recently had the opportunity to learn a little about Middle Eastern culture when two Syrian couples shared with the students about their culture and their Islamic faith. Dana Krushel and Evangeline Patkau of Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan’s migration and resettlement program, facilitated the April 5, 2017, culture-sharing workshop, entitled “Encountering new Canadians.” With the help of an interpreter, Mohamad Au Ibrahim and Mariam Al Mahmoud, and Yusuf Mlahefje and […]

A tradition of resistance By Gordon Houser When Native people introduce themselves, says Erica Littlewolf, especially to other Natives, they speak of their tribe. They introduce themselves as individuals inside a larger community that involves a land base. In the same way, when I ask her about her passion and why she does what she does, Littlewolf says her work involves “continuing a tradition of resistance.” Her tribe, Northern Cheyenne, was held captive in Oklahoma over a century ago. “They knew they would be hunted by the U.S. government if they went to Montana,” she says, “but they did it […]

By Katie Hurst, intern for The Mennonite For Jonathan Kuttab, a Palestinian Mennonite, peacemaking is more than a concept; it’s a way of life. As a human rights lawyer in Israel-Palestine and the United States, Jonathan Kuttab knows the value of finding alternatives to violence as a means of solving conflict. And as a Mennonite, Kuttab recognizes the legacy of activism and social justice work that many Mennonites have upheld. Kuttab attends Community Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “Mennonites were radical,” he said, “and not afraid to stand up for what they believed.” Born in West Jerusalem, Kuttab and his […]

Katie Gingerich, 24, (Waterloo, Ont.), is using her passion for peace to positively impact young students. Katie is director of The Ripple Effect Education (TREE), a peace-education initiative that integrates conflict resolution and social-justice concepts into social studies curriculum in elementary school classrooms. During the course of six lessons that take place over six consecutive weeks, TREE facilitators teach students how to recognize conflict and resolve it peacefully. Facilitators use discussion, brainstorming sessions and hands-on activities, with the goal of having youth leave their classrooms with demonstrable conflict-resolution skills and an awareness of justice issues locally and globally. The program […]

Our peace story this month is from Evan Knappenberger, a young man who tells his own story of how and why he joined up with the military upon graduation from high school, and what he encountered in that life. This nine-minute video will speak more powerfully than just words. Also see the notes below about it’s production. Shared by permission of Evan Knappenberger and Charlottesville (Va.) Center for Peace and Justice and Veterans for Peace. We also appreciate the alternatives they point to for serving one’s country in other ways. Evan finished his degree at Eastern Mennonite University and has taken classes […]

By Hannah Heinzekehr               Photo: The original Welcome Your Neighbor sign in the yard of Immanuel Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Photo provided.  Almost a year ago, Matthew Bucher was watching a presidential primary debate and lamenting the language candidates were using to refer to recent immigrants to the United States. Bucher is pastor at Immanuel Mennonite Fellowship in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The church is located in northeast Harrisonburg, in a neighborhood that is rapidly diversifying and includes people who speak many languages, most prominent among them English, Spanish and Arabic. As he thought about ways […]

The Journey of a Feather Among many aboriginal people the eagle feather communicates respect, humility, courage and wisdom.  Several years ago I received an eagle feather as a sign of appreciation for my ministry at the prison in Saskatoon.  I was honoured but troubled because the feather did not feel like it belonged to me.  I brought my concerns to Harry Lafond (Muskeg Lake Cree Nation and Executive Director at the Office of the Treaty Commissioner).  Harry received me graciously and heard my story.  He then explained, “You are the carrier of the feather.   One day you will meet the […]

By Burton Buller World War I proved a watershed era for Mennonites for two reasons. One, Secretary of War Newton Baker’s requirement that all conscientious objectors report to military camps where they were “encouraged” to enlist caused many Mennonites to put on the military uniform, mostly to serve as non-combatants but frequently as full military inductees. Doing so distanced these young men from the historic teachings of the church forbidding military service. Two, the Mennonite communities themselves came under attack, ramping up the rate of acculturation to unprecedented levels. From the time of their arrival in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1683, […]

By Lynda Hollinger-Janzen In a land that closely resembles the place Jesus lived more than 2,000 years ago, his words still prove true. The people of Sidi, Burkina Faso, plant their fields with the tools and methods described in the New Testament. They draw water from wells, and feed their families with crops they harvest. Some of them live by Jesus’ teaching, recorded in Matthew 5:44: “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” In the planting season of June 2015, members of the Mennonite Church in Sidi discerned that God was calling them to renounce the time-honored […]

(If you received this via email on June 3 without a proper way to link to read this, our sincere apologies. This is being resent on June 4, 2016.) Stories of Peacemaking By James Souder Motorbike traffic zooms past a hardware store stationed along a busy road in Ouagadougou, where 23-year-old Joel Saaga spends his days selling household construction supplies. Saaga is grateful to have this job. While finding work in the capital city is difficult for any young adult, finding work can be nearly impossible for a young man, such as Saaga, who has spent time in prison. (His […]