NEWS FEATURE: Council of Churches Sees Progress in 2004 Nonviolence Focus

c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Participants in a yearlong Christian nonviolence initiative spotlighting the United States say it has encouraged the pursuit of peace, even if it appears that goodwill to all is still far from being achieved. “The idea is not to expect there will be some dramatic change in a year’s time […]

c. 2004 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Participants in a yearlong Christian nonviolence initiative spotlighting the United States say it has encouraged the pursuit of peace, even if it appears that goodwill to all is still far from being achieved.

“The idea is not to expect there will be some dramatic change in a year’s time but to build momentum,” said Deborah DeWinter, program director for the U.S. Conference of the World Council of Churches (WCC). “It’s an ongoing process.”


As part of the WCC’s Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), which covers the first 10 years of the 21st century, the United States was selected as its 2004 focus. That included highlighting peace-related activities of member churches and other organizations as well as conducting conferences, compiling resource materials and honoring peace workers.

Sudan was last year’s DOV focus, while 2005 will emphasize Asia.

As the world’s largest power, the United States was an obvious choice, according to WCC officials.

“Everything that happens in the United States affects the world,” said Angelique Walker-Smith, a member of the WCC’s governing Central Committee and executive director of an interdenominational Christian service organization in Indianapolis.

That was certainly the case in 2004, with the continuation of the war on terrorism, military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the presidential election drawing heightened international attention.

Matt Guynn, Peace Witness coordinator for the Church of the Brethren, said he saw the 2004 focus as the world’s Christians holding the United States accountable for its actions internationally, including maintaining a vast network of military installations around the globe and meddling in the political affairs of other countries.

“It gave the opportunity for the global church to clarify the role the U.S. plays in promoting an empire society,” he said.

In an address at the U.S. Conference’s annual meeting in Atlanta in October, Canadian Marion Best, vice moderator of the WCC Central Committee, noted “the cost borne by church leaders, religious organizations and individuals in the U.S. who have challenged the abuse of power and unilateralism.”


But the year’s focus was domestic as well as international.

The annual meeting, which was preceded by a retreat on spirituality, nonviolence and reconciliation, featured workshops on topics such as video-game violence, child abuse, suicide and preaching about peace. A workshop on “When God Meets Hip Hop: Redemption, Reconciliation, Revolution,” for which rap pioneer Kurtis Blow was a presenter, has spawned discussions of a possible hip-hop theological summit.

“I really hope that happens,” Walker-Smith said.

U.S. DOV efforts this year have also included presenting more than 30 Blessed Are the Peacemaker Awards. One of the recipients, honored earlier this month, was Joshua Longbottom, a student at Eden Theological Seminary, a United Church of Christ-affiliated school in St. Louis. He was nominated by the faculty for his work with a number of peace, justice and environmental organizations.

“Peace is my theological project, so to speak,” he said. “I’m pretty sure the God of Jesus is peace. That’s why I’m in seminary.”

Longbottom said war is raging, and not just in Iraq.

“Consumerism, I think, is largely driven by an anxiety that is the absence of peace,” he said.

Other recipients included:

_ Lyndon Harris, an Episcopal priest in New York City who oversaw a massive relief program for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

_ The Southeast regional office of American Friends Service Committee, for its education efforts about the Middle East.


_ Indiana-based Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence.

_ The Atlanta chapter of Adopt-a-Minefield, for raising funds to clear minefields in Mozambique.

(OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS)

“Sometimes we are so weighted down by what’s wrong with the world that we lose heart,” DeWinter said. “To lift up the stories of peacemakers is a way of inspiring common, ordinary people.”

She said she was pleased with the number of young people who have participated in DOV activities during the year, ranging from holding internships to attending conferences.

“One thing that has become clear is there is a real desire for youth and young people to become involved,” DeWinter said.

Said Walker-Smith, “That’s really where the hope is.”

Also active were African-American churches, which linked the DOV efforts to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. That was one reason the October meetings were held in Atlanta. The culminating worship service was held in the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which King pastored. Morehouse and Spelman colleges, two historically black schools in Atlanta, hosted meeting events.

“There are certain names in the U.S. that invite peacemaking,” Walker-Smith said. “Martin Luther King really rang that bell.”

Now that the 2004 focus is over, the U.S. Conference of the WCC plans to consider how to continue fostering the pursuit of peace.


“We have to look at it as a starting point, and the board is wrestling with what those next steps are,” said Walker-Smith.

There is little doubt among supporters that more work is needed. Events of the past year, particularly the elections, left Longbottom discouraged, he said, but also “convinced that the world needs a peace message.”

The Church of the Brethren and the Mennonites are known as the Historic Peace Churches because of their long-held pacifist convictions. But Guynn said they need to ensure that those beliefs are relevant today.

“The message of the Christian gospel is it’s love that overcomes evil, it’s good that overcomes evil,” he said.

MO/PH END RNS

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