via Zoom at 3:00-4:15pm Central Europe / West Africa, 4:00-5:15pm Central Africa / Jerusalem, 2:00-3:15pm UK, 9:00-10:15am USA Eastern, 7:30-8:45pm India Time

Join us for a conversation with the team from the Five & Two Network to discuss the intersection between Peacebuilding and Asset-Based Community Development.

via Zoom at 3:00-4:15pm Central Europe / West Africa, 4:00-5:15pm Central Africa / Jerusalem, 2:00-3:15pm UK, 9:00-10:15am USA Eastern, 7:30-8:45pm India Time

Anneke Rabe will share how God led her into a ministry of prayer, healing, and reconciliation—opening unexpected pathways for peacemaking and social transformation in South Africa. Through her journey, she has witnessed the power of prayer in restoring broken relationships and fostering peace in divided communities.

via Zoom at 3:00-4:15pm Central Europe / West Africa, 4:00-5:15pm Central Africa / Jerusalem, 2:00-3:15pm UK, 9:00-10:15am USA Eastern, 7:30-8:45pm India Time

In light of major policy shifts—including the dismantling of USAID, restrictions on activism, and escalating geopolitical tensions—our upcoming bi-monthly connection and networking meeting will focus on the global impact of these developments. We gather diverse Christian peacebuilders from around the world and will share challenges and insights arising from these changes and explore opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration.

via Zoom at 3:00-4:15pm Central Europe / West Africa, 4:00-5:15pm Central Africa / Jerusalem, 2:00-3:15pm UK, 9:00-10:15am USA Eastern, 7:30-8:45pm India Time

Join our bi-monthly connection and networking meeting to meet fellow peacebuilders from around the globe, share challenges and insights, and explore collaborative opportunities. As we connect regularly as a network, our intention is to amplify our individual efforts and sustain our commitment to follow Jesus as part of God’s mission toward holistic and just peace.

via Zoom at 3:00-4:15pm Central Europe / West Africa, 4:00-5:15pm Central Africa / Jerusalem, 2:00-3:15pm UK, 9:00-10:15am USA Eastern, 7:30-8:45pm India Time

Join us for a transformative discussion with Andrew DeCort, author of Blessed Are the Others: Jesus' Way in a Violent World. Blessed Are the Others explores the teachings of Jesus through the Beatitudes, offering a pathway to a more fulfilling life rooted in vulnerability, compassion, nonviolence, and justice. In our December CPN meeting, Andrew DeCort will share from his experience in peacebuilding about how the insights in his book intersect with the work of Christian peacebuilders worldwide.

via Zoom at 3:00-4:15pm Central Europe / West Africa, 4:00-5:15pm Central Africa / Jerusalem, 2:00-3:15pm UK, 9:00-10:15am USA Eastern, 7:30-8:45pm India Time

Join our bi-monthly connection and networking meeting to meet fellow peacebuilders from around the globe, share challenges and insights, and explore collaborative opportunities. As we connect regularly as a network, our intention is to amplify our individual efforts and sustain our commitment to follow Jesus as part of God’s mission toward holistic and just peace.

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe/Central Africa, 2:00pm UK, 4:00pm Jerusalem/East Africa, 9:00am USA Eastern

Ron Kraybill’s “Cycle of Reconciliation” suggests that reconciliation, rather than erasing the past, is a long-lasting process that goes through several stages. One of the steps in this cycle is “reclaiming identity,” a deeply significant step in moving people past the addiction to or mimesis of violence and retaliation. But as people who work at the intersection of conflict and difference, we ourselves can at times get caught up in crossfire. Often this takes the form of criticism for being “with them,” because our own group thinks that loving the enemy means we become the enemy. Or, may simply feel isolated from our community at times as we walk a path that can be lonely. In these spaces it is very important that we reconnect to who we really are. How do we “reclaim our identity”?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe/Central Africa, 2:00pm UK, 4:00pm Jerusalem/East Africa, 9:00am USA Eastern

Experiences of harm and trauma are intricately linked to cycles of conflict as people strive to satisfy unmet needs for safety, justice, and well-being. Unfortunately, our experiences of faith (including Christianity) can also contribute to spiritual, emotional, and psychological forms of harm when our faith promotes rigid us-vs-them binaries and install fear and distrust of the “other.”

During our September CPN meeting, Mirela Popaja-Hadžić will offer insights from her personal journey about how our work to heal our own trauma and overcome fear-based theologies can empower us to build healthier and mutually transformative relationships as part of God’s mission to heal all things.

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe/Central Africa, 2:00pm UK, 4:00pm Jerusalem/East Africa, 9:00am USA Eastern

Jesus trained his followers to be peacemakers and reconcilers who love their neighbors and enemies. Peacebuilders like that Jesus! At the same time, Jesus also called Peter the rock upon which “I will build my church” (Mt 16:18), and the Bible connects following Jesus with being part of the body of Christ and the church (cf. Eph 1:22-23). This brings up a point of tension, because some peacebuilders have become exasperated and frustrated with "church" because of experiences or church hurt or understanding about the many ways Christianity and churches have contributed to harm. Can the "church" become a peacebuilding presence engaged in the work for and toward holistic just peace (shalom/eirene) or is “church” an endless source of exasperation?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe/Central Africa, 2:00pm UK, 4:00pm Jerusalem/East Africa, 9:00am USA Eastern

David Katibah (Telos) will share briefly about how poetry, art, and aesthetic practices shape our capacity to imagine a world beyond the one of violence, oppression, and supremacy that we have inherited.

• How has poetry or art influenced your imagination and understanding of justice, peace, and the Kingdom of God?

• Share a specific poem, piece of art, or aesthetic practice that resonates with your imagination of the Kingdom of God. What elements make it impactful for you?

• How can we support and encourage each other in developing a theopoetic lens through which we engage with the world and our faith?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe/Central Africa, 2:00pm UK, 4:00pm Jerusalem/East Africa, 9:00am USA Eastern

Saleem Anfous, a Palestinian Christian and Project Manager for the peacebuilding organization Musalaha, joins this call to discuss how marginalized communities have much more power and influence than they often recognize or imagine.

• What are the challenges and obstacles we experience as peacebuilders working from the margins and how do we navigate them? Do you refrain from speaking out or taking action because of fear of further marginalization or is it because of the difficulty of developing impactful strategies and interventions?

• How does marginalization provide a new wisdom and insight to offer something fresh, new, and effective? How can experiences of marginalization equip and empower us in our work?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe/Central Africa, 2:00pm UK, 4:00pm Jerusalem/East Africa, 9:00am USA Eastern

• What liberative moments have you personally experienced or seen in your community when people were freed from oppressive theologies that were doing harm personally, interpersonally, or communally?

• How are you attentive to theological unlearning and relearning in your peacebuilding formation work with Christians? How have you worked effectively to overcome theological barriers that prevent Christians from engaging in peacebuilding?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe/Central Africa, 2:00pm UK, 4:00pm Jerusalem/East Africa, 9:00am USA Eastern

• How do we walk with one another meaningfully across cultures and continents in the work of peace? What positive examples have you seen or experienced?

• What considerations must we prioritize to show up effectively as allies one with another? What core needs and interests (acknowledged or unacknowledged) must we be aware of in our efforts to cultivate solidarity?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe, 2:00pm UK, 9:00am USA Eastern

Where have you fallen complicit to generational divisions in your work and what work do you need to do to bridge that divide?

In your peacebuilding work, how can you concretely empower youth leadership and create platforms and space for youth voices?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe, 2:00pm UK, 9:00am USA Eastern

What critical moments of unlearning and relearning have you experienced as part of your journey into peacebuilding?

In your peacebuilding work, what kind of support do you provide to help people going through processes of unlearning and relearning across lines of difference?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe, 2:00pm UK, 9:00am USA Eastern

What is most impactful to get Christians involved and meaningfully engaged in peacebuilding? What is your primary theory of change to help Christians become peacebuilders?

What is most transformative for our peacebuilding work in the wider community? What is the main theory of change from which you work in the wider community?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe, 2:00pm UK, 9:00am USA Eastern

How has imperialistic thinking infiltrated our faith? What must we unlearn?

How has colonialism impacted the way in which we engage in peace work? How must we change our posture or approach?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe, 2:00pm UK, 9:00am USA Eastern

What is the primary obstacle that prevents Christians from getting involved in peacebuilding? How does your work try to overcome that obstacle?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe, 2:00pm UK, 9:00am USA Eastern

What does peacebuilding mean and include? What do everyday Christians often misunderstand about peacebuilding work?

via Zoom at 3:00pm Central Europe, 2:00pm UK, 9:00am USA Eastern

How are the “kingdom of God” and peacebuilding connected? What are key characteristics of the “kingdom of God” that inspire peacebuilding work?