The Bougainville Project of PEACE Foundation Melanesia Founded in 1995, PEACE Foundation Melanesia is a grassroots organization working on peacemaking in Papua New Guinea. Much of its early work focused on Bougainville training village leaders to be peacemakers. http://www.restorativejustice.org/editions/2007/august07/backgroundpaper

I normally buy my coffee from Bruno and Maria – authentic Italian organic Australian family owned coffee, freshly roasted and delivered straight from the plantation to my door. but this morning i had run out, so i went to visit Tom, my local grocery store guy. after staring at the wall of coffee for a […]

http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/07/24/religious/index.html?source=cmailer

An interview with Joel Suár If you thought there were no churches in Cuba, think again. Joel Suárez of the MLK Centre in Havana reveals the active role of religion in social change in Cuba…The Martin Luther King Center in Havana, Cuba, is at the forefront of promoting Christian social responsibility and progressive change throughout […]

The 2007 Michael Sattler Peace Prize has been awarded to the “Tent of Nations – People Building Bridges” project in Palestine. The German Mennonite Peace Committee gave the prize in recognition of the creative and non-violent solutions the Christian Palestinian Nassar family uses in their struggle against encroaching illegal colonization. In the Middle East conflict, […]

Professor Kevin Clements is a lifelong pacifist whose conviction for his work takes him to some of the world’s most dangerous places. In the past, this has meant making trips to Cambodia, Indonesia and Burundi. http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/stories/s1963870.htm

Today’s world seems to have gone insane in the name of God. Violence and extremism take centre-stage in international news and much of it speaks in religious terms. Nevertheless, there are examples of leaders who, in the midst of ongoing conflict, have renounced their former violence in order to engage their enemies using non-violent means […]

The International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Pax Christi Australia and the Uniting Church in Australia, Commission for Mission, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, have jointly launched a project to promote ‘Alternatives to Empire’. The statement of Purpose of the project is published below: http://www.just-international.org/Commentary/E%20News%20May%2007.htm

The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World’s Poor In The New Friars Scott Bessenecker profiles young Christians who have voluntarily removed themselves from the status quo in order to seek justice and mercy with the poorest of the world’s poor. These new friars are carrying on the work of the monastic tradition, the […]

PUNDONG, Indonesia – Last year when an earthquake demolished homes in this largely Muslim community, the Indonesian Mennonite Diakonal Service (MDS) organized with local Muslim groups to rebuild homes. In this context where Muslim and Christian communities have sometimes clashed, a four-member Youth Evangelism Service (YES) team served for most of January through April 2007. […]

NZ ranks highly on first Global Peace Index New Zealand ranks highly on first Global Peace Index – Prime Minister Helen Clark today said New Zealand’s long history of working towards peace and security has been recognised with its 2nd place ranking on the inaugural Global Peace Index launched in London overnight. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0705/S00783.htm

Miroslav Volf, director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, recently published The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World. As Volf calls Christians to remember with redemptive purpose, he recounts his personal struggle to cope with memories of interrogations by Communist officials in his native Croatia, then part of Yugoslavia. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/may/2.50.html