Released on Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11, the free six-week course focuses on biblical reflections and insights about trauma with significant input from a third source.“Returning Veterans, Returning Hope: Seeking Peace Together” was created by and the and .

Evan Knappenberger, an Iraq War veteran studying at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ in Harrisonburg, Va., spent the summer researching and writing as part of a nontraditional .

“I did a lot of coordinating with veterans in the Mennonite world,” he said. “In almost every little Mennonite community there is one or two, if not more. There are a lot more in the Brethren in Christ church in Pennsylvania.”

The idea for the curriculum was hatched when Knappenberger crossed paths with MCC U.S. peace education coordinator Titus Peachey and PJSN coordinating minister Jason Boone at .

The group sees the materials as a relatively new field — addressing how Christian pacifists can embrace returning warriors. For this, Knappenberger looked on his own experience.

As an intelligence analyst for the Army, he developed doubts about the military’s role and actions after joining out of high school three days after the war started in 2003. When the Army tried to “stop-loss” him for two years of active duty beyond his required time, he managed to secure a general discharge — later upgraded to honorable.

“I didn’t consider myself as a peace person until I was out for a couple months,” said the .

New kind of analyst

Since his discharge, Knappenberger enrolled at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ, where he is finishing his bachelor’s degree and planning to enroll at next year. He has attended in Harrisonburg for more than two years and has enjoyed getting to know the broader Mennonite church.

His experience in two worlds most people consider quite different brings a fresh perspective.

“There are a lot of potentially good things that veterans can offer churches,” he said. “There are good qualities of soldiers and veterans. Gandhi was a veteran; Tolstoy was a veteran. The people who teach us nonviolence, many of them wore a uniform.”

He said both veterans and Mennonites have stories of trauma.

“Any time you can connect the experience of trauma in a community that is focused on wholeness like the Anabaptists are, that’s helpful for both sides,” he said.

“ . . . Veterans are very mission-oriented people. That’s part of our indoctrination — mission first — and that’s also a value of at least some parts of the Mennonite world. There’s also a big focus in the military on community.”

Making community isn’t always easy. Knappenberger acknowledged fundamental differences could lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions, but that’s not a reason to avoid each other.

“I think the thing to remember is that it is going to be messy,” he said. “But I think if it’s done in the spirit of love, the messiness won’t override the intention, which is good.”

The curriculum is available at no cost online at Ěý´Ç°ůĚý.

Courtesy of Mennonite World Review, Dec. 15, 2014

Byron J. Peachey’s call to pastoral ministry, forged over several decades, was publicly recognized in a chapel service Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ.

Peachey was licensed to the ministry for his continuing role as associate campus pastor. He is a member of the team, formed in August, 2003, that includes Brian Martin Burkholder and Julie A. Haushalter.

Prior to the installation ceremony, persons close to Peachey told stories, laced with humor, that were pivotal in shaping his call to ministry – Laban Peachey, Peachey’s father; Johann Zimmerman, who worked closely with Peachey in urban ministry in Washington, D.C.; and Deanna Durham, Peachey’s spouse. They met in Washington in 1983.

"God has a special twinkle in His eye today as we celebrate Byron’s readiness to do God’s work," said Haushalter in opening the service.

Items that symbolize Peachey’s life and special interests appeared on the platform – books by Catholic writer Thomas Merton (meditation as spiritual discipline), a cross from El Salvador (peace and justice concerns) and an old wooden pitchfork (his farming background and adherence to a theology of the land).

Peachey, of Harrisonburg, was interim campus pastor at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ during the 2002-03 school year. Earlier, he served four years as co-director of the