CPT Speakers Bureau

Contact info:

Kathleen Kern

email: kk@cpt.org

Topics willing to speak on:

• Middle East, esp. Israeli Palestinian Conflict
• History of CPT
• Overview of CPT's work and current projects
• Biblical underpinnings of CPT's work
• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how it affects relationships between Christians and Jews
• Funny stories from CPT work

Bio:

Kathleen Kern has worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams since 1993, serving on assignments in Haiti, Washington, DC, the West Bank, Chiapas, MX, South Dakota and Colombia.  She worked with CPT's Hebron project from 1995 until October 2002, when the Israeli government denied her entry into the country.

Kern has published two books: When It Hurts to Live: Devotions for Difficult Times (Faith and Life Press, 1994)  and We Are the Pharisees (Herald Press, 1995.)  The latter explores how Christians have used Jesus' teaching about the Pharisees to justify persecution of Jews over the centuries.

Kern writes has had essays appear in Tikkun magazine and The Baltimore Sun.  Her article, "Against the System: Civil Disobedience and the Biblical Record"  (The Mennonite, April 20, 1999) won the "Theological Reflection" category of tne 1999 Associated Church Press awards.  She also writes Bible curriculum regularly for the Mennonite Church.

In 2002, Kern's  satirical novel based on her experiences working in Hebron was selected as a finalist in Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize.  The novel, Where Such Unmaking Reigns, explored the tensions that arise when people of faith work together with secular people on behalf of peace and human rights.  The manuscript won the 2003 Peacewriting Award from the Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology and is available from www.xlibris.com and Amazon.com.

Kern currently lives in the Rochester, NY area, where she is writing a history of Christian Peacemaker Teams.  She serves on the Leadership Team of the Rochester Area Mennonite Fellowship.