Convene A Peace College
Convene A Peace College
"Why are we violent, but not illiterate? Because we are taught to read." Colman McCarthy, columnist and director
of the Center for Teaching Peace
ECAPC wants to encourage you and your church to convene a Peace College. Be it big or small, any gathering of two or more in the name of Jesus to learn the ways of peace will make a difference in the world. What follows is a format being held in Lancaster County PA. We invite you to participate in this event, borrow the ideas and add your own. Use the resources on this web site to support your efforts.
Enroll in the 2003 Peace College, Winter Semester!
Check the Events section of the web site for dates and times of local events and teleconferences.
We will also be using the ECAPC Newsletter list to announce events and changes. If you are not on that list please enter your email address in the box at the left of this page.
Download:
- A master to create a bulletin insert for your church - Click here
- A master to print a flyer for posting on a bulletin board in your church or community - Click here
Conveners:
Rick Stamm - rick@teamapproach.com
Susan Stamm - susan@teamapproach.com
Office number - 717/656-0788
Home number - 717/656-9636
Background:
Every Church a Peace Church (ECAPC) convened its first Peace College in October of 2001 in Carlisle PA (site of the US Army War College). By developing models for churches around the US to host additional Peace College sessions we expect to create a greater awareness of the effects of war and to promote alternatives to war as suggested through the life and teachings of Jesus.
The 2003 Semester will be a non-denominational Peace College model hosted by Forest Hills Mennonite Church in Leola PA. The Forest Hills congregation will provide meeting space over a four-week period in January 2003. Member churches from Lancaster, Leola and Lititz ministerium will be encouraged to become involved in helping to fine tune the plans as well as assist in the delivery of this ecumenical series on peace.
Methodology:
The four basic Peace College classes will be confined to the local geographic region, thus attracting people who see Forest Hills' Leola location as a reasonable distance to travel. However, the Peace College will offer a concurrent "virtual track" that will allow people from around the country or beyond to participate as well. This virtual component will run from January through March, coinciding with the typical winter session of a college year.
Three Saturday events will be scheduled during the winter session of the Peace College, one during each month the College is in session. The first event is the Shalom Conference, which will be held in Lancaster in January 2003. A second Saturday, to be scheduled for February 2003, will be used for a Peace Exposition that will feature peace organizations of all kinds that individuals can connect with if they are looking for an active way to join the peace movement. A third event, to be scheduled for a March Saturday, will feature works submitted in a creative expression contest.
Intended Outcome:
Three key outcomes will be used to determine the success of the Peace College.
- An educational outreach to the local community, and beyond, that engages individuals in new ways of looking at Jesus, war, and what it means to be a Christian.
- Action taken on the part of individual participants, congregations, or denominations. Individuals may make a commitment to become a conscientious objector, or to volunteer for an organization such as Pax Christi or Spirit House that they learn about at the Peace College’s Exposition. Congregations may sign a covenant to become a peace church and join an online network on the ECAPC web site and begin to develop a plan for peace education within their congregations. Denominations may develop a peace fellowship that would provide a place for those exploring peace and non-violence a place to meet and learn more.
- Other churches take this model and host many other peace colleges in other parts of the world.
Working Plan:
The four doorways into the ECAPC website will provide a bit of structure to the seminar series as well as the virtual components. For the Wedneday night sessions in January, events for fourth grade youth through adult will be presented:
Wednesday evening sessions for four year olds up to fourth grade:
- Dr Seuss’ Butter Battle Book. Read, discuss the meaning of the story. Make characters, act out. Write a new ending to the book and draw the new story line.
- Identify "real conflicts," make "us puppets" and use them to act out the conflicts. Brainstorm possible solutions. Act out different solutions to see how they feel.
- The Zax -- by Dr Seuss. View, discuss and act out. Write new ending. Act it out. Read "The Wind and Sun" book (Aesop fable) Discuss.
- Watch "The Sneetches" by Dr Seuss. Discuss. Read the Frog and the Snake story and discuss. Peace Wheel.
Additional Events for Peace College Winter 2003:
- Shalom Conference
- Roots of Peace display featuring denomination roots of peace: Every church was a peace church! Get denominations to research their roots in peace activism and create a display featuring as many denominations as possible. Post the findings on the ECAPC web site.
- Four books and a booklet have been selected as the "texts" for the Peace College. Reading books during the winter session will be an optional activity for interested participants who want a more serious study. Using the ECAPC.org website, participants will not only have the opportunity to read any or all of these books but to also enter into a discussion with the authors virtually through the discussion board on the ECAPC web site. The books are being selected to coincide with the paths that the web site offers based on someone’s experience with the Christian non-violent movement. Here are the paths and the corresponding books:
- To Explore : "Choosing Against War" by John Roth and/or "Just War: The Logic of Deceit" by Charles McCarthy.
- To Grow : "Letters to American Christians" by John Stoner
- To Lead : "Jesus Against Christianity" by Jack Nelson-Pallmyer
- To Act : "Just Peacemaking" by Glenn Stassen
- Online Forums - Each of the above authors will participate in an online forum to discuss their book with readers. A free teleclass featuring each author early in the semester will help readers better understand the writers.
- Teleclasses - Participants too far away to attend the Forrest Hills sessions, as well as participants in the local area, will be also able to attend a series of teleclasses that will feature speakers from the ECAPC speakers bureau.
- Creative Expression Contest - ECAPC will host a contest that will engage participants to submit creative response to the question "What if every church were a peace church?" The mediums of reflective response could include but not be limited to:
- Essays
- Drawings
- Musical Compositions
- Photos
- Sermons
- Poetry
- Stories
- Dance / Movement
- Paintings
- Sculpture
- Theater Scripts
- Prayers
- Exposition - This Saturday event, to be held sometime in February in the Lancaster area, will invite as many peace organizations to be in attendance as possible. It is our hope that the media might cover such an event and that it will attract a large audience who then might be drawn in to other peace college activities.
- Commitments and Covenants - Documents will be available for individuals to sign up as a conscience objector status, congregations to endorse a peace church covenant, as well as other personal and organizational commitments to action.
- Peace college kit - As the college is in session, events, speakers, etc will be documented as a model for other groups who want to implement a peace college.
- Library - The resource area on the ECAPC web site will be used to highlight peace books, materials, etc for anyone to access.
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