Waging peace
Peacemaker summit in Philly
RAWTools Philly hosted it’s inaugural Peacemaker Summit at the end of November. RAW comes from turning “WAR” around, and that’s what we do — build a world where we beat swords into plows and turn guns into garden tools.
During this Peacemaker Summit, we heard from people on the front lines of peacemaking, working to interrupt violence in our streets and in our world. We’ll had talented musicians and inspirational stories from experienced peacemakers. And we hosted demonstrations and workshops on how to decommission firearms and transform them into more life-giving things.
Click here for more information.
Peace Hero Awards
The Duluth Peace Hero Award is an annual cash prize given in recognition to a local community member who is “making a positive change” right where they live. Nominated by their peers, friends, or family for their effort and their impact, the winner of this award will be chosen by The Waging Peace Project and awarded a cash prize of $1,000. To view Awards Ceremony coverage, watch here or here.
Conscientious Objectors’ Faith Forum
What better way to honor the lives lost on October 7th, and since October 7th, than by celebrating the courageous people who have refused to participate in the violence. We heard from modern day heroes for peace as they shared their stories of why they choose not to participate in the escalating violence of war. And they invited us to ask the question, “What does courage look like — for me?”
Click here for more information.
Peace Needs Conference OKC
Peace Needs 2024 took place at the end of September in downtown OKC for a convergence of proven peacemaking strategies across community organizing, art, education, dialogue, and advocacy. We learned from and collaborated with national and local leaders to find a meaningful resolution to community violence.
Click here for more information.
Red Letter Revival in CA
A powerful event where voices of resilience and change take center stage. “Resilient Voices: Unveiling Injustice, Inspiring Action” invites individuals who have faced injustice to recount their experiences, reflect on the impact of injustice in their lives, and inspire others with their journeys toward creating positive change.
Click here for more information.
Vets for peace CONSCIENTIOUS objectors Press conference
Join Red Letter Christians team members and others in a coalition to support conscientious objectors from the military who are exercising their moral compass, faith, and Right to Refuse the U.S. support of the war on the people of Palestine.
Click here to watch.
Washington DC March for Gaza
After an 11-day, 141-mile journey, our All God's Children March for a Ceasefire concluded outside the White House. Over 125 people marched throughout the final 8 miles of the march. Together, we demonstrated our Christian and Mennonite solidarity with the people of Gaza, and called on other Christians to join us in taking bold, nonviolent action for a ceasefire. We prayed, sang, and called on our elected officials to stop supporting the genocide in Gaza, and end the occupation of Palestine.
Once we arrived at Lafayette Square, next to the north lawn of the White House, our group held a service of prayer, song, and lamentation for those suffering in Gaza. We ended with a commitment to continue taking action - until the genocide is over, and Palestine is free.
Festival of Nonviolence and Peacemaking
The Festival of Nonviolence and Peacemaking took place July 19-21 across Northeast Ohio. It was a celebration of nonviolence and peace through music and festivities. It also provided nonviolence and peacemaking trainings, amplified the work of nonviolence being done in our cities, and included a beautiful ceremony where we turned guns into garden tools.
Click here for more information.
Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage, Philadelphia
Between March 24 (Palm Sunday) and March 29 (Good Friday), when Christians around the world remember the crucifixion of Jesus, followers of Jesus and friends walked 20 miles (almost the length from Gaza City to Rafah), approximately four miles per day; observing the ‘Stations of the Cross’ on each day. Walking from The Liberty Bell to Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest weapons contractor, participants reflected on Jesus’ Passion and Death and our nation’s complicity in decades of bombings in Gaza, including the current carnage. The Philadelphia pilgrimage is part of the global ‘Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage’ movement.
Click here for more information.
Emergency Summit for Gaza
A gathering of leaders at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago to discuss Ceasefire, Saving Lives, and Building Peace.
Click here for more information.
The King Center MLK DAy
The 2024 Beloved Community Global Summit, happened virtually Wednesday, January 10 – Thursday, January 11 as a part of The King Center’s 2024 King Holiday MLK Day Observance, reflecting their vision and launches their work for the calendar year.
Click here for more information.
The Waging Peace Podcast with Diana Oestreich
is a podcast that hosts hopeful conversations
with peacemakers and world-changers about making our communities more just, more equal, and more connected—and how you can get involved and make a difference.
About Waging Peace
Diana Oestreich, a combat medic in the Army National Guard, enlisted like both her parents before her. But when she was commanded to run over an Iraqi child to keep her convoy rolling and keep her battle buddies safe, she was confronted with a choice she never thought she'd have to make.
Torn between God's call to love her enemy and her country's command to be willing to kill, Diana chose to wage peace in a place of war. For the remainder of her tour of duty, Diana sought to be a peacemaker--leading to an unlikely and beautiful friendship with an Iraqi family.
A beautiful and gut-wrenching memoir, Waging Peace exposes the false divide between loving our country and living out our faith's call to love our enemies--whether we perceive our enemy as the neighbor with an opposing political viewpoint, the clerk wearing a head-covering, or the refugee from a war-torn country. By showing that us-versus-them is a false choice, this book will inspire each of us to choose love over fear.
Diana is known for telling a larger than life story, her ability to speak hard truths in a whimsical way, while giving clear action steps to showing up and loving your neighbor.
