On Earth Peace - An agency rooted in the Church of the Brethren

"You Can't Stop the River": A Workshop About Community Change for Congregations

April 15-18, 2010
Hosted by First Church of the Brethren, Harrisburg, PA

We are seeking teams of 2-4 people from congregations that feel an urgency about addressing violence and injustice with the innocence of doves and the cunning of serpents (Matthew 10:16).

Seminar activities will focus on getting rooted in your community, understanding the forces at play, examining the biblical/theological aspects of violence reduction and peace building, and examining change efforts from the perspective of strategic nonviolence (underlying principles; what kinds of things need to happen first - second - third; how to get others excited and involved, etc).

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Middle East Peacemaking:

A Call to Respond for all Members of the Church of the Brethren and Friends of On Earth Peace

Background At-Tuwani
In early January 2010, On Earth Peace executive director Bob Gross was detained and deported by Israeli authorities when he arrived at the Tel Aviv airport as part of a Christian peacemaking delegation meant to build connections with Israelis and Palestinians who are working for a nonviolent resolution to their conflict.

The broader background of this denial of entry is the continued occupation of Palestine by the government of Israel, and a seemingly endless spiral of fear and violence that has trapped both Israelis and Palestinians. Many Palestinians and Israelis are seeking nonviolent paths for resolving their conflict.

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Reports from the Middle East Delegation:

Meetings in Bethlehem

One of our delegates, Tana, wrote this entry on some of our meetings in Bethlehem. Tana was also on a delegation in 2006.

(From 1/13/10)
After spending the night in a refugee camp with a gracious Palestinian family we traveled to Bethlehem to the Holy Land Trust (HLT). This organization is an NGO started in 1998 with the goal of strengthening Palestinian communities for the future by training in non-violence direst action. They have 4 programs non-violence centers each. The program areas are travel encounters, Palestinian media and news, Community television, and leadership training.

Heeding God’s Call Makes Top 10 List of 2010 Stories

Heeding God’s Call, an organization which began a successful campaign last January against illegal gun sales in Philadelphia as part of an ecumenical peace conference called by the Church of the Brethren, Quakers and Mennonites, has made the top 10 list of nominations for interfaith story of the year by Odyssey Networks, an interfaith agency associated with the National Council of Churches of Christ.

The public is invited to view the list of top stories at the Odyssey Networks website and to cast votes for the #1 interfaith story of the year.

The Heeding God’s Call campaign was successful after nine months of weekly protest gatherings in closing Colosimo’s Gun Center in Philadelphia, the largest supplier of illegal weapons in Pennsylvania. The announcement of its closure came on September 23, 2009 after a vigil marking the International Day of Prayer for Peace was held in front of the store. Mimi Copp, who served this year as On Earth Peace project manager for the International Day of Prayer for Peace campaign, is a member of the Heeding God’s Call steering committee.

"To Bring Hope, Stability, and Healing"

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