The World Together blog : War and peace issues
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The Drones Quilt: Stitching for Noor
Jill Segger
On Saturday demonstrators gathered for a protest march at Royal Air Force Waddington in Lincolnshire, U.K. from where drone attacks on Afghanistan are now controlled. On May 7, the Drones Quilt — a project initiated by the Fellowship of Reconciliation — will be handed in at Downing Street in London. Between these two events, I heard a moving ministry from a Friend who had participated in making a square for the quilt.
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$10.40: It’s a start!
Becca J.R. Lachman
As an adult, tax season brings long discussions, loss of sleep, brooding walks, and general rumination about my life and its connections to war. This year, as the nation once again mourned and remembered the assassinations of two men whose leadership in nonviolent movements got them both killed (Jesus of Nazareth and Martin Luther King, Jr.), my husband and I decided that it was time to put our own faith into a new kind of action. Though we are far from perfect, we hope to more fully live out a faith that mirrors the actions of Jesus while he was alive among us — and that also reveals the mysterious good news of a risen Lord.
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Mennonites in Harrisonburg hold forum on War Taxes
Margaret Foth
How is it that we — Mennonite Church USA — do not believe in physically participating in war but we cooperate in paying our taxes — about 46 percent of which pay for war and related military spending?
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Mennonite pacifism and the legitimacy of U.S. wars
Berry Friesen
Ray McGovern, a born and bred Roman Catholic, writes commentary related to international relations for “Tell the Word,” a ministry of the ecumenical Church of the Savior in inner-city Washington, D.C. His work is published regularly by Consortiumnews.com, a left-leaning group, and by Antiwar.com, which has a Libertarian bent.
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Targeted assassinations: A moment of truth for U.S. Mennonites
Berry Friesen
The leaked Department of Justice “White Paper” purporting to justify targeted killings of United States citizens accused of terrorism creates a moment of truth for American Mennonites.
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From soldier to pacifist
Matt Young
I have been a soldier in the U.S. Army for a little over two years. I have been a soldier, at heart, for the past seven years. When I was 13, I saw that Marines commercial where the guy climbs up the mountain and becomes a Marine.
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Why did Jesus have to die?
Marty Troyer
The Christian Scripture tell us that Jesus’ state and religion-sponsored torture and execution somehow captures good news for those who believe.
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Every little step: Learning to walk (stumble?) towards a just peace
Becca J.R. Lachman
If you listen to a news update today on NPR or another source, consider counting how many times its stories refer to varying forms of violence. If you attend a Mennonite church this Sunday, consider paying attention to the messages of active peacemaking that are — or are not — present in your service.
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Resolutions
Glenn Balzer
A new year is just around the corner. Every year at this time, I start to think about resolutions.
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I found peace in Kabul
Shane Claiborne
Afghanistan is one of the most desperate, beat up places in the world. Forbes magazine has called it the most dangerous nation on earth. Over 30 years of war have left 2 million people dead, and much of the country in chaos.
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