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| Photo by courtesy of Julianne Funk |
| A small group at the 2012 Peace Camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) worker Julianne Funk is at right. |
The following report on Peace Camp 2012 held in
Bosnia-Herzegovina is from Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) worker
Julianne Funk, originally published in the BVS Europe newsletter.
Kristin Flory, coordinator for Brethren Service in Europe, notes that
“20 years ago this year, we started sending BVSers to peace groups in
ex-Yugoslavia”:
For many years, CIM (the Center for Peacebuilding) has been
organizing “Peace Camp” in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a time and space for
youth from all regions of the country, all ethnic groups, all religions
and none, to spend time together and learn about transforming conflict.
Finally, this year I was also able to participate.
Peace Camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina arose from a very similar annual
event of the St. Katarinawerk of Switzerland. Vahidin and Mevludin, CIM
directors, were part of its planting in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the late
1990s and eventually came to organize it themselves.
Each day of Peace Camp began with morning prayer or reflection, but
each day different traditions led this short ritual. To begin, I
presented an Anglican meditation from the Book of Common Prayer, the
next day Catholics led us in prayer, then Orthodox, Muslim, and finally
non-religious persons.
After each prayer or reflection there was a time of silence for all
to pray in their own way, then we sang a simple song to orient ourselves
for the day with our common purpose: “Great, great power of peace, you
are our only aim. Let love grow and borders disappear. Mir, mir, oh
mir.” (Mir is the word for peace in Slavic languages.) At the beginning
of Peace Camp, there was evident skepticism and discomfort with the
prayers as well as this song, but quickly both were accepted with
deepening appreciation. The song became our mantra.
Each day proceeded with breakfast and then “large group work,” which
usually included some teaching from Vahidin and Mevludin, plus a task to
do or a theme to discuss in small groups. In my small group of six, we
delved into the nature of communication--what is it and how to achieve
it. Late afternoon sessions were dedicated to a type of practicum: small
teams taught an aspect of nonviolent communication to the group. These
sessions were highly interactive, and covered topics like affirmation,
active listening, loss and sorrow, anger, letting go of the past,
sameness and difference. These sessions addressed us as if we were
children, with the purpose of equipping all participants to teach
nonviolent communication to at least a child’s level.
Late evening was a time for dialogue on various subjects. I found the
discussions about where things stand regarding the process of
reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina quite interesting. Also, sharing
about the concrete problems in each person's own hometown. One evening,
Miki Jacevic, a peacebuilder with one foot in Bosnia-Herzegovina and
another in the US, talked about how conflict is like an iceberg with
hidden issues below the surface that need addressing.
In general, there was a real sense that Peace Camp participants were
serious about engaging deeply, listening and learning from each other,
and self-development. From the beginning, participants were committed to
peacebuilding and needed no convincing. The Peace Camp of 2012 was
unique in its makeup: this year's group consisted of many Serbs. Seeing
them engage deeply and strive to bring peace in their own environments
was inspiring.
The most powerful transformative moment was the session considering
the cycle of conflict versus the cycle of reconciliation, when very
tough stories arose from the war. One Muslim woman's father had been
killed or betrayed by his best friend when she was just an infant, and
as a result she had closed herself to developing close friendships; she
expressed herself at the stage of hurt and sorrow. A young Serbian man
told about childhood experience of his father's return from the army,
looking and acting differently, and wearing a big beard reminiscent of
Orthodox priests. This picture had stuck in his mind and troubled him.
Another woman, a Serb who had been only a young girl during the war, had
experienced rape alongside her mother and even younger sister.
These stories elicited much pain, and all of us seemed to mourn
together these hurts. Not understanding all that was being shared, I was
most in sync with the general sense of a special safe zone to speak and
be heard. People were sharing in order to vocalize their suffering, but
I also felt each story as a gift from the tellers who made themselves
utterly vulnerable to recount things that had been buried for so long.
This was made possible as a result of intense time spent together,
away from the roles and influences of daily life. But it also was
possible, in my opinion, because of the mutual aim to deconstruct the
borders that have existed between people in Bosnia-Herzegovina these
last 20 years and replace them with encounter and understanding.
Source: 11/29/2012 Newsline
Initially
developed with Middle Pennsylvania District, the new Vital Ministry
Journey is being considered by several other districts and congregations
across the denomination.
By
the end of the day yesterday, Nov. 27, Children’s Disaster Services
(CDS) had six volunteers working at FEMA Disaster Recovery
Centers--continuing the response that CDS has made to the “superstorm”
Sandy.
James
Troha, vice president for institutional advancement and university
relations at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, since 2009, has been
named the 12th president of Juniata College. Troha will begin his
official duties on or about June 1, 2013.
“Childhood
Poverty: Nutrition, Housing, and Education” is the theme for the 2013
Christian Citizenship Seminar planned for March 23-28 in New York City
and Washington, D.C. Registration opens Dec. 1 at 
Church
of the Brethren congregations, districts, retirement communities,
colleges, and other church-related organizations are holding Advent and
Christmas celebrations in December. Following is just a sampling of the
many events that have been announced:
