A time capsule of 91短视频鈥檚 Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) is in the works 鈥� not to be buried, but uploaded. The artifact in question is a podcast, which will feature ten CJP faculty and staff members reflecting on the history of CJP and their own peacebuilding work. The 10-episode series is set to launch on Wednesday Jan. 22, 2020, with a new episode dropping every other week on the Peacebuilder website.

The podcast is the creation of Patience Kamau, a 2017 graduate of the program and also chair of CJP鈥檚 25th anniversary committee, who wanted to give students, alumni, friends and supporters of the graduate program an in-depth look at where CJP has been, where it is now, and where it hopes to go.

鈥淔or the sake of posterity, this is emerging as a gem,鈥� Kamau said. 鈥淭hese voices are here right now, many of them were here 25 years ago, and given the simple trajectory of life, are unlikely to be here 25 years from now.鈥�

But why a podcast, specifically?

鈥淚t鈥檚 a way that a lot of people are consuming information these days. I think it鈥檚 a necessary long-form method of connecting with the audience,鈥� Kamau explained, in contrast to the 鈥渇ragmented鈥� nature of social media posts. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e doing it on podcasts, you can go into more depth, and you can connect with an audience in a different, more meaningful way.鈥�

While the exact episode order is yet to be determined, Kamau said the pilot will feature Barry Hart. His interview acts as a primer to CJP, touching on elements like the Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding series and curriculum design, which other interviewees then dive into more deeply. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like passing on a baton,鈥� Kamau said. 

She asked each interviewee the same questions, based on the 25th anniversary鈥檚 theme of 鈥渃elebrate, reflect, dream,鈥� but of course 鈥渆ach one of them goes down a very unique path based on their own careers and life experiences.鈥�

Kamau is an avid podcast consumer 鈥� she subscribes to at least eight, and regularly listens to others beyond those. That gave her an ear for what makes for a good listening experience, as she went into the project having to teach herself about audio production by looking up internet guides and tutorials.

Alumni Michaela Mast 鈥�18 and 鈥�19 have also helped breathe life into the podcast. Mast, co-host of the climate justice podcast , which is sponsored by the housed at 91短视频, has lent technical assistance. Mullet, whose scores have been featured in recent documentaries and video games, is composing original music for the episodes.The podcast鈥檚 audio mixing engineer is Steve Angello who works closely with Mullet.  

鈥淭here鈥檚 something organic about it, just doing the work in anticipation of what will emerge. It鈥檚 a work of art, where the overall beauty lies in paying attention to the details鈥� Kamau said.

The episodes will be also available on Apple Podcasts on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.

Featured voices

Each episode presents an interview with the following CJP affiliates, listed alphabetically by last name as the exact episode order is yet to be determined.

• David Brubaker, dean of 91短视频鈥檚 School of Social Sciences and Professions and longtime CJP professor,
• Jayne Docherty, executive director,
• Bill Goldberg, director of the Summer Peacebuilding Institute,
• Barry Hart, professor of trauma, identity and conflict studies,
• Katie Mansfield, Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program lead trainer,
• Janelle Myers-Benner, academic program coordinator,
• Gloria Rhodes, professor of peacebuilding and conflict studies,
• Carl Stauffer, professor of restorative and transitional justice and co-director of the ,
• Johonna Turner, professor of restorative justice and peacebuilding and co-director of the , and
• Howard Zehr, distinguished professor of restorative justice.

Senior Lindsay Acker, Nicole Litwiller ’19 and Luke Mullet ’19 also presented their project , which includes stories from survivors of sexual violence, visual art and audio accompaniment. Acker and Litwiller are now studying at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, while Mullet has joined 91短视频’s admissions team. Junior Aaron Horst was also present.

The following article from the August 5, 2019, issue of Mennonite World Review is reprinted with permission.

ELSPEET, The Netherlands 鈥� More than 200 peacebuilders launched a Global Anabaptist Peace Network at the second Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival June 27-30 at Mennorode retreat center.

Rooted in Mennonite World Conference鈥檚 Peace Commission, the network hopes to share prayer and advocacy requests, empower one another, develop a membership directory of peace-related Mennonite organizations and create spaces for encounter.

During the conference, panels, workshops, concerts, live theater, poetry reading, singing, prayers and other activities explored the theme 鈥淥n the Way of the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace,鈥� building on an ecumenical initiative promoted by the World Council of Churches.

One of the goals was to create a network of people from different contexts and fields related to Mennonite peacebuilding. Renate Enns, one of the volunteers, was moved by how connection grew during informal moments.

鈥淓veryone engaged with each other anytime,鈥濃�圗nns said. 鈥淵ou saw people from different ages and contexts talking with each other. That made this conference special. It showed that people really wanted to listen to each other.鈥�

Paulus Widjaja spoke about the challenges of working with Christians and Muslims in Indonesia.

鈥淧eacebuilding is not meant to just end conflict but to prevent future conflicts by building strong infrastructure,鈥� he said.

Widjaja鈥檚 reference to infrastructure exemplified the importance strengthening relations among Mennonite peacebuild颅ers, learning from peace practices and discerning together about ways to engage with different contexts.

Presenters, panels and artistic performances addressed racism, colonialism, discrimination, exclusion and gender-based violence. Theatre of the Beat鈥檚 play #Churchtoo confronted people with issue of sexual abuse in churches. It was a catalyst for weighty questions, and many people were brought to tears.

Comforting for peace

One activity was 鈥淐omforting for Peace,鈥� under the guidance of Jeannette Stenvers and Marjan Huisman. Participants contrib颅uted to stitching comforters for refu颅gees. One was made around the theme of 鈥淢ennonites and Peacebuilding.鈥�

More than 100 participants designed single patches to be sewn into a comforter and offered to the World Council of Churches as a sign of how Mennonites are joining the ecumenical 鈥淧ilgrimage of Justice and Peace.鈥�

Jeannette Stenvers was moved not only by the number of people who joined to let their hands work for peace but also by the connections people made during this work and the many stories it brought out.

As the Global Anabaptist-Mennonite Peace Network was launched, Fulco van Hulst, a representative of the emerging network, said: 鈥淚n God鈥檚 grocery store we cannot buy things like world peace and the end to hunger but only the seeds of peace to spread across the world.鈥�

The first conference was organized in 2016 by Conrad Gre颅bel University College in Waterloo, Ont. 91短视频 in Harrisonburg, Va., has expressed willingness to organize a third conference in 2022 but welcomes a bid from an institution in the Global South to host instead.