Every Church a Peace Church (ECAPC) is a vision energized by the belief that the church could turn the world toward peace if every church lived and taught as Jesus lived and taught. It is an effort to nurture a global network of creative nonviolence among Christians, focused within the churches out of a sense of responsibility to first set one's own house in order. This in itself presents no small challenge, involving a major turning from past failure toward a new direction (repentance and hope), and encompassing millions of people and institutions in hundreds of ethnic and language groups. ECAPC arises out of a US based church organization, New Call to Peacemaking.

New Call to Peacemaking (NCP) was founded in 1975 by the Friends, Mennonites and Brethren in the United States, the so-called "historic peace churches" (HPC), for the purpose of reinvigorating the understanding of and commitment to nonviolence and peacemaking within those faith communities. It was in part a response to the Vietnam war, which revealed weakness in the commitment to nonviolence within those groups. NCP was also motivated by a desire to recover the historic Christian understanding of power as love, compassion and forgiveness, especially as that is expressed in the Christian scriptures, focused in the teachings of Jesus. At a time when much anti-war action was driven largely by political goals or individual conscience, the historic peace churches wished to demonstrate the deep roots of nonviolence within the church's corporate tradition, writings and life.

Between 1976 and 1982 New Call to Peacemaking convened 12 regional and 3 national conferences (Green Lake, WI and Elizabethtown, PA) involving hundreds of people. Robert Rumsey, a Quaker in Richmond, Indiana was the staff person in the early years. Edgar Metzler, a Mennonite in Elkhart, Indiana succeed Rumsey as staff. Major issues addressed included the Biblical basis of peacemaking, the problems of a militarized economy and war taxes, and building the institutions of peace. Staff time was about one-third time or less through 1989, when it was reduced to just several hours a week. An occasional newsletter, Call to Peacemaking, was published from 1979-1989, and after a two-year hiatus resumed in 1991, when John Stoner was hired and staff time increased to half time. Stoner wrote a study and action guide, Called to be Peacemakers. From 1995 to the present, staff time was about 1 day per week, devoted mainly to newsletter publication, filling literature and information requests, and keeping up some inter-church and peace fellowship communications.

After the 1982 Elizabethtown conference, a decision was made to shift the direction of New Call from revitalizing the peace testimony within the historic peace churches to more contact and relationship with other Christian groups open to the search for a more faithful peace witness. When the steering committee was dissolved and staff time reduced in 1989, the HPC executive officers agreed to serve as a reference group and point of accountability for New Call to Peacemaking. This arrangement was short-lived and in the context of the Gulf War the steering committee was reconstituted in 1991. In an evolving (or devolving) process over the past ten years, the steering committee has been decreasingly active, due to a combination of limited New Call staff time, lack of important agenda and decisions for the committee, and irregular meeting schedule.

The vision of Every Church A Peace Church has evolved largely through John Stoner's reflections, coming to focus and wording near the beginning of 2000 through his conversations with Rick and Susan Stamm, Moravian neighbors and friends. Rick, a Pennsylvania National Guard trained jet pilot, objected to the Gulf War and began to discover the marginalization experienced by those Americans who object to war. In those conversations with Stoner he often said, "But the historic peace churches should not be the only peace churches. Every church should be a peace church."

Needing to give some definition to "peace church," it was soon apparent that the "nonresistance" language of Mennonites and Brethren, and the "pacifist" language of the Friends did not adequately define "peace church." The nonviolent resistance of Martin Luther King's teaching and example was embraced as essential to an adequate interpretation of the message of Jesus -- since the central concern of Every Church was a better understanding of Jesus and a better walking in his way. The justice advocacy of King, and Gandhi was essential to the basic idea of a peace church. In the Beatitudes, Jesus himself blessed those who hunger and thirst to see justice prevail before he blessed the peacemakers. Jesus said that to seek the reign of God and its justice/righteousness was the central thing.

In the early discussions we dreamed of a global network launched simultaneously over the web. But considerations of a practical nature, including language, and starting with the church and culture which is the greatest offender against peacemaking, dictated beginning with the church in the United States. A feasibility study done by Comenius Communications of Lewisville, NC, in Spring 2000 proposed that a website, video production and television programming should be central communication vehicles for the program, saying, "It has grown into an idea which could have substantial impact in several denominations." John Jackman, the director of the Comenius Group and some 20 local church people gathered for an evening public meeting exploring the ECAPC concept in May 2000, in Akron, PA. Only two members of the NCP steering committee attended the committee meeting that weekend, but five persons invited as consultants gave input.

In Fall 2000, invitations were extended to some denominations and peace fellowships (based on considerations of available time, acquaintance, impulse and other non-scientific, non-systematic and non-theological considerations!) to join an expanded New Call to Peacemaking steering committee meeting at Akron, Pennsylvania, November 3-5, 2000. Three Committee members were present, ecumenical representatives from RLDS (Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints), Church of the Saviour, Moravian and the Families Against Violence Network, and 9 other individuals (some part-time) participated, sharing personal and institutionally-oriented wisdom on the dimensions which could emerge through ECAPC. Organizational questions (funding, role of New Call vs. emergence of a brand new steering committee organization, relationships to existing organizations, six constituencies/pillars to appeal to) and ideas about content and tone of the movement abounded. (Notes on the meeting are available.)

Aiming to make the movement available to the grassroots and to be shaped by the same, several regional or local conferences have been held, to present the basic vision and receive input for reshaping it. At Bronx, NY the first such meeting, on December 13 was attended by 15 people. Inputs were given by David Jehnsen, Jose Gutierrez, Michael Banks and John Stoner and worship led by Ruth Wenger. A second regional briefing was held in Chicago at First Church of the Brethren on February 23, 24. Additional Chicago gatherings were held at Progressive People's Community Church on March 25 and 26. Reports on these meetings are available.

The Bronx and Chicago meetings were videotaped. Footage is now available for a 30 minute introductory video, but editing and production await funding in the amount of $13,000.

The "inaugural" conference of ECAPC was held at Duluth, Minnesota, April 27, 28, 2001 at the College of St. Scholastica. A local organizing committee chaired by Gary Kohls planned, publicized and hosted the event, in an exemplary model of the grassroots character of ECAPC. Attended by 120 people representing 20 different religious communities, the conference drew few HPC people, and rested on the energy and vision of people and communities beyond the traditional peace churches -- undoubtedly a good sign of things to come! A second major conference was held in Minneapolis at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in April 2002, and a third Minnesota conference will be held in April 2003 in a Lutheran church. In September 2002 a national organizing meeting was held in Washington DC, at which steps were taken toward formal organization of ECAPC. At that meeting Ruby Sales, of SpiritHouse in Washington DC was named co-host along with John Stoner of Akron, PA of the "Welcome Table" of ECAPC, which language describes what is usually called a "board" or board of directors.

A sampling of additional places and people who have expressed support or interest in the ECAPC vision include the Texas Association of the United Methodist Church and the Texas Council of Churches (state councils of churches could be major organizing centers), Pace e Bene, Pax Christi USA, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, The Hymn Society of America, C.T. Vivian, Marcus Borg, Walter Wink, Ohio Council of Churches, a district United Church of Christ association, etc.

Next Steps and priorities :
(See "events" button on the home page for coming events)
Website Development
Fund raising
Promotional Video Production
E-mail promotional "blitz."

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