Bill Wylie-Kellerman, pastor, author and activist, returns to Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Peacemaker Congress to lead workshops on “Detroit Rising: Grassroots Alternatives to Corporate Empire” (Check out his Sojourners article on the subject) and “Speaking Truth to Power: People of Faith in Today’s Babylon.”
 
Wylie-Kellerman was a keynote speaker at CPT’s first ever Peacemaker Congress held in Chicago over New Year’s weekend 1993-94.
 
Other workshops at CPT’s 25th anniversary Congress this 13-16 October in Chicago include:

·         “Telling the Stories: Vignettes from CPT’s First Quarter Century” facilitated by Ched Myers and Elaine Enns, Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries …

Corporate clear-cut logging of Asubpeeschoseewagong traditional territory has destroyed hunting, trapping, food, and medicine gathering activities.  Indian Residential Schools have deeply damaged families and communities.  Mercury contamination discovered over forty years ago continues to poison residents. 

Explore what it means to live in right relationship with the earth and each other.  Find out what it means to be an ally to indigenous communities engaged in healing, resisting colonialism, and struggling for sovereignty.  From a base in the city of Kenora, and through visits to Asubpeeschoseewagong traditional lands, the delegations will meet with and learn from Indigenous and non-Indigenous community leaders and residents.
 
Delegates will develop an analysis of colonialism, participate in undoing racism training and plan, and/or participate in events as allies in the struggle for justice and dignity for Indigenous peoples.

PRAYERS FOR PEACEMAKERS, Sept. 28, 2011

Pray for reconciliation among Iraq’s faith groups. Remember the families of Ayad Klanm and Bassam William, Christians who left Baghdad after facing hostility and violence from Shia militias, now living under difficult conditions in Suleimaniya in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

On 25 September, more than one hundred people from different communities in the South Hebron Hills participated in a peace march to celebrate the power of nonviolence and the resilient spirit of the people of the South Hebron Hills.  The event was timed to coincide with the annual Perugia-Assisi Peace March in Italy, in which 50,000 Italians and internationals participated.

In April 2011, Bassam William and his family lived in a Shia neighborhood in Baghdad.  Some of their neighbors, who in the past had visited with them, eaten with them, and spent time with them in their house, later told William and his family that there was no place for Christians in that neighborhood and that he and his family would have to leave the neighborhood and the country.  On 17 April 2011, William found a note on his car from Kataa'ib Saraya Al Haq (Righteousness Brigade), a militia that broke away from the Mahdi Army.  Kataa'ib Saraya Al Haq receives training in Iran and targets Americans and Christians.  In the letter, they used profanity to threaten William's family.  The letter said that they had to leave this Muslim country immediately or they would kill all his family members, and that there was no place for Christians Baghdad.

On Sunday 4th, September 2011, I represented the Aboriginal Justice Team-Christian Peacemaker Teams in the Pilgrimage to Freedom II organized by Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) in Southeastern Ontario.

Mrs. Rochelle Bush was the first speaker to address the group at the Salem Chapel of the British Methodist Episcopal Church in St. Catherines, ON.  As the historian of the Chapel, she has chronicled the way Afro-Americans crossed the border between the United States and Canada during the nineteenth century in search of the freedom that white European settlers had stolen from them.  Bush concluded her speech saying that the Salem Chapel used to be a refuge for Afro-Americans looking for freedom, and that the Church members would be glad if it became also a refuge for migrant workers struggling against labour conditions that bear a significant resemblance to slavery.

Can you believe it?  CPT’s 25^th anniversary Peacemaker Congress is less than three weeks away!  See the schedule here.

Join us as we re-imagine partnerships for peacemaking from the west side of Chicago to the mountain sides of Colombia.  Celebrate to the music of internationally acclaimed baritone Tony Brown in concert.  Don’t miss a stellar line-up of workshop presenters including Bill Wylie-Kellerman, Ched Myers, Dorothy Friesen and many more.  Stay tuned for a listing of workshops. 

"Complaints have been persistent, warning about the increased presence of paramilitaries in the majority of municipalities in the south of Bolivar.  More than forty murders, massacres, and forced displacements in the municipalities and outlying areas of Tiquisio and Montecristo, hamlets of Malena, centre Quebrada, Tagual, Pinch, Tenche and other nearby cities have been brought to the attention of the national and departmental (state) governments.  Local communities have mobilized to demand the protection of the national government.  The government has done nothing to prevent these things."

 FEDERACIÓN AGROMINERA DEL SUR DE BOLÍVAR - FEDEAGROMISBOL

…

ACT NOW!

Copy and paste the Spanish text of the message below into an email.

 In the "To:" field, include the following email addresses:

• President Juan Manuel Santos: secretaria.privada@presidencia.gov.co
• Vice president, Angelino Garzón: contactovicepresidencia@presidencia.gov.co
• Fiscalía General, Viviane Morales: viviane.morales@fiscalia.gov.co
• Procurador General, Alejandro Ordoñez: procurador@procuraduria.gov.co
• Ministerio of the Interior, German Vargas: german.vargas@mij.gov.co

In the "Cc:" field, include your embassy if you are a Canadian or U.S. citizen

U.S. Ambassador to Colombia: AmbassadorB@state.gov

Canadian Ambassador to Colombia: bgota@international.gc.ca  

WHAT THE  BELOW MESSAGE IN SPANISH SAYS:

Subject: Protection needed for the people of Southern Bolivar

 To Whom It May Concern:

My name is ____(name)____ and I am from __(country)__.  I am writing because I am deeply concerned about the safety and well being of the people of Southern Bolivar.  There have been over forty assassinations in 2011 in the region, as well as increased paramilitary presence.

 I ask the Colombian government to convene immediately the Southern Bolivar Roundtable for Dialogue and respond to the concerns of the communities.  Also, I request the immediate compliance with the Precautionary Measures granted by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.  I urge all authorities to respect the autonomy, dignity, and human rights of the Colombian people and to investigate the recent violence in the region and paramilitary advances.

Sincerely,

(Your name)

MESSAGE IN SPANISH (FOR E-MAILING)

Asunto: Violencia en Sur de Bolívar

Estimados Señores,

 Yo soy ___(tu nombre)___ de ___(tu país)__. Estoy escribiendo porque estoy muy preocupado/a por la seguridad y bienestar de la gente de Sur de Bolívar. Más de 40 asesinatos en la región en el año 2011. También, ha aumentado la presencia de paramilitares.

Pido al gobierno colombiano convocar de manera inmediata la Mesa de Interlocución del sur de Bolívar y responder a las preocupaciones de las comunidades. También ruego todas autoridades respetar la autonomía, dignidad, y los derechos humanos de la población colombiana e investigar inmediatamente la violencia reciente en la región.

Atentamente,

 (tu nombre)

PRAYERS FOR PEACEMAKERS, Sept. 21, 2011

Remember the Aboriginal justice delegation to Treaty #3 Territory in Northwestern Ontario Sept. 24.–Oct. 5. Pray for open hearts and minds to receive teachings in whatever form they take, and strengthened relationships motivating delegates’ work for justice after returning home. 

n 2007, Ayad Klanm lived with his family in a neighborhood of Baghdad where most of his neighbors were Shia.  Many were members of the Mahdi Army, a Shia militia formed by Muqtada al-Sadr.  Because Ayad was Christian, some of his neighbors believed he worked with the Americans, although he never had.  One day as American troops drove down his street in their vehicles, Ayad greeted them.  Some of his neighbors asked him why he did that and said it proved that he worked with the Americans.  Ayad thought it strange that they would let their children talk to the American troops, but they would not allow him to.  They told him that if they ever saw him talk to the Americans again they would cut off his head.