“There is a way for everyone to be actively involved in peacemaking.”

That was the message of Gene Stoltzfus, founding director of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) as he spoke in Lincoln and Omaha November 5-7.

Stoltzfus pointed out that, in the past, nonviolent movements have often relied upon a single charismatic leader like Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. But CPT has developed a way of organizing ordinary people in the face of violence. It enables them to “get in the way” of violence and allows them to talk back to violence.

Although Christian Peacemaker Teams first received widespread notice in November 2005 when four of its workers were abducted in Baghdad, it has been at work for nearly twenty years. The organization developed from a call, in 1984, for Christians to devote the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war.

Since then CPT has pioneered a team approach to violence reduction, placing trained international teams to work in support of local peacemaking efforts in conflict situations from Palestine and Colombia, to the US-Mexico border. Those interested in serving participate in a five to fourteen day initial delegation in an area of conflict. They then complete an intensive 30-day period of basic training before joining CPT for a three-year term of fulltime service. There are presently 36 fulltime members of the Peacemaker Corps and 152 reservists who serve periods of two to twelve weeks each year.

At each Nebraska appearance audience members were eager to hear of CPT’s work in Iraq. Stoltzfus described the openness of the Iraqi people immediately following the occupation and pointed to nighttime raids by US forces as the cause for much of the opposition they have subsequently faced. He explained that, when brothers and fathers are taken away, their families are upset and angry. When they cannot find out where they are, or even if they are alive or dead, the sons and brothers left behind are moved to violent resistance. After the occupation, CPT focused its Iraq work on locating detainees and advocating for their release. In the process they assembled a report documenting many of the abuses that eventually made headlines in the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal.

Stoltzfus, who retired from CPT two years ago, made a total of seven presentations in less than 48 hours:

· At First Mennonite Church, Lincoln, he described CPT’s effort to reopen Hebron University by taking sledgehammers to the cement blocks that closed the main gate.

· At Nebraska Wesleyan University, Creighton University, and the University of Nebraska - Omaha he engaged classes and campus gatherings in lively dialogues on the topic of Peacemaking in the Age of Terror.

· At First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Stoltzfus challenged an ecumenical group of pastors to organize a locally based CPT team.

· At the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, he lamented not having twenty teams in Baghdad instead of one when the invasion occurred. “I really think we could have made a difference,” he declared.

Everywhere Stoltzfus went he was recruiting. He made it plain that more peacemakers are needed. “I could paper the walls of my office with requests for teams. The approach that CPT has developed since 1988 has been proven to work. Now we need individuals of all ages and backgrounds with a commitment to peacemaking.”

Complete information about CPT may be found at www.cpt.org.

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