About On Earth Peace
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2010 Annual Report These reports are PDF files and can easily be viewed and printed on any computer with Acrobat® Reader installed. A free version of Acrobat® Reader can be downloaded. |
An agency of the Church of the Brethren empowering people to discern the things that make for peace.
Mission Statement
On Earth Peace answers Jesus Christ's call for peace and justice through its ministries; builds thriving families, congregations, and communities; and provides the skills, support, and spiritual foundation to face violence with active nonviolence.
Our purpose, through religious and educational activities, is to empower people to discern the things that make for peace - in ourselves, within families, in our global environment, between nations - and to advocate peace and justice, seeking the realization of God's will on earth as in heaven.
Priorities & Directions: New and Continuing Plans for On Earth Peace
On Earth Peace's 2008 strategic plan calls for the following directions and priorities:
- Lifting up a holistic vision of Christian peacemaking, and building our program offerings around that vision. This may reshape our existing program areas into a more unified structure from which to work.
- Reducing violence and building peace in local communities, working in partnership with congregations. We want to establish community-based projects which make a practical difference in the lives of youth, families, communities.
- Working with congregations in new ways such as providing preachers and teachers throughout the denomination, sending out intergenerational peace teams to inspire, educate, and organize, and engaging in longer-term working partnerships with local churches.
- Connecting with, learning from, and serving all segments of the denomination, reaching beyond the mainstream of the Church of the Brethren. This would include congregations in urban settings and in communities of color, Spanish- and Creole-speaking churches, and others.
- Expanding our services and programs beyond the Church of the Brethren, in order to spread the peace witness more widely and to find natural partners in other faith communities.
- Expanding our international work in existing areas such as the Middle East, and also working with Brethren bodies in other countries to support their peace witness and ministries of violence reduction.
- Offering more intensive learning experiences and longer-term programs, in order to maximize the opportunity for transforming growth in individuals and groups.
Statement of Inclusion
During its 2011 fall meeting, the On Earth Peace board of directors issued a statement of inclusion, stating:
"We are troubled by attitudes and actions in the church which exclude persons on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or any other aspect of human identity. We believe God calls the church to welcome all persons into full participation in the life of the faith community."
The statement of inclusion was specifically discussed and approved in light of events at the 2011 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. On Earth Peace is committed to eliminating violence in all forms.
