Creating a Culture of Peace

...or how we spread CCP nonviolence training across our Episcopal Diocese

The Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, PA has been blessed to work directly with Janet Chisholm, the designer of Creating a Culture of Peace, to offer nonviolence trainings in our diocese.  She was based locally for four years at Kirkridge Retreat Center, coordinating Peace & Justice Programs, following her time at Fellowship of Reconciliation and as Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) national chairperson.  During her stay in our diocese, Janet also became a member, and later chair, of the Diocesan Peace Commission. She inspired several commission members to take Creating a Culture of Peace basic nonviolence training and also the facilitator training, so that they could offer CCP training throughout the diocese.  In the past five years, CCP has offered seven 3-day basic trainings and five 4-day trainings of trainers for us. These efforts have included several that were diocesan-sponsored or for which there were diocesan scholarships. They occurred first at Kirkridge Retreat Center, then later and today in congregations in both the southern and northern parts of the diocese as lower-cost commuter trainings.

Be warned.  After three days of nonviolence training in Minneapolis conducted by facilitators provided by Creating a Culture of Peace, I slept for twenty-four hours straight.  It was worth every moment. 

Take this training and take it seriously!  As German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox” of WW II fame said, “The best form of welfare for the troops is first class training.”  Do not doubt that nonviolence is properly conducted in deadly earnest and requires preparation.

Trial postponed! The defendants for the March 19, 2011 Veterans for Peace action at the White House were ready to go on trial 8:00 am Monday, Sept 29. With the hurricane promising to tie up transportation on the east coast and threatening DC the defendants were concerned about how to get to the trial on Monday and to the practice trial on Sunday. But late Friday (4:30 pm, now that is last minute!) the prosecution filed a motion for continuance, asking that the trial be put off since they were not ready to go to trial. Judge Canan granted the motion. By this time some of the defendants were already in transit to DC.

This is all part of the meat grinder we call a legal system. It is sort of like the old hurry up and wait we know so well as vets, except worse. For the 19 defendants it was frustrating, after preparing the opening statements, the testimony, and the closing arguments and being prepared for trial it is maddening to have to go back to trying to schedule a new trial date. On the other hand it does seem hopeful that the prosecution must be having some problems developing an effective argument against our motions or they would have been ready for trial.

Forty residents of Arlington, MA, gathered at the Calvary Methodist church on March 16^th to participate in a CCP workshop. They had requested preparation for a possible visit to our town by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church.  In January WBC had threatened to picket the Arlington Children’s Theater’s production of “The Laramie Project” about the life and death of Matthew Shepherd.  The Boston area has been a frequent target of the WBC and their hate-filled signs and scriptures. Although they didn’t end up coming to Arlington this time, they did picket in several surrounding communities, and there is little doubt they will arrive in Arlington someday.