Description
In 1984 Evangelicals for Social Action founder Ron Sider posed the question: “What would happen if we in the Christian church developed a new non-violent peacekeeping force ready to move into violent conflicts and stand peacefully between warring parties? . . . Everyone assumes that for the sake of peace it is moral and just for soldiers to get killed by the hundreds of thousands, even millions. Do we not have as much courage and faith as soldiers?”
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has been trying to answer those questions since 1986. CPT has responded to invitations from grassroots organisers on five continents who are using non-violent strategies to confront systemic oppression.
This book provides a glimpse into the mistakes and successes, the triumphs and tragedies, that teams have shared in with local co-workers in various nations. It also continues to pose the question: What would happen if CPT’s efforts were multiplied by millions of Christians with a radical commitment to Jesus’s non-violent gospel?
About the Author
Kathleen Kern has worked Christian Peacemaker Teams since 1993, serving on assignments in Haiti, Washington DC, Hebron, Mexico, South Dakota, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She regularly writes for Tikkun Magazine and the Baltimore Sun, and has also contributed to From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to International Peacebuilding (Oxford University Press, 2000).
Contents
Preface
Prologue
1. Before the Corps
2. Haiti
3. Urban Projects: DC, Richmond, and Cleveland
4. Hebron, West Bank 1995-2000
5. “Things Fall Apart”: The Al-Aqsa Intifada, 2000-2006
6. Other West Bank Projects
7. Chiapas: “A Struggle of Peaceful Stings”
8. “All My Relations”: CPT’s Work with Indigenous Communities
9. “Getting Out of the Way”: CPT’s Continuing Work with Indigenous Communities
10. Colombia
11. Iraq
12. “A Great Hand of Solidarity”: The CPT Hostage Crisis
13. Short, Intermittent, and Stillborn Projects
14. Twenty Years and Counting
Bibliography
Endorsements and Reviews
In Harm’s Way is the remarkable story of Christian Peacemaker Teams: courageous groups of Christians willing to risk their own lives in non-violent actions that aim to advance peace and justice. Even those of us who are not pacifists will find this moving and honest story of work in such places as the Middle East, Haiti, and Central America compelling. It is a story that will push all Christians to serious thought about the cost of following Jesus in today’s world.
Prof C. Stephen Evans, Baylor University
