Stories and ideas about being in harmony and at peace with one's Being.
As we plan through the second half of 2019, our leadership team at PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. (PBCI) continues to explore the possibility of partnership with Energy Development Corporation (EDC). I believe that EDC’s mission — “to provide present and future generations a better life with clean and renewable energy” — is in line with our economic-ecological transformation principles at PBCI.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/07/pbci-and-edc-explore-partnership-based-on-economic-ecological-transformation-principles/
Lakambini (aka Joji Pantoja) travelled to Amsterdam from 23 June to 02 July 2019 as part of her duties as Chair of the Peace Commission of the Mennonite World Conference. In that capacity, she welcomed the participants at the 2nd Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/07/lakambini-represents-pbci-at-a-global-peacebuilding-conference-and-festival-in-amsterdam/
At the 2019 Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP), Dr. Gordon Zerbe and Lakan Sumulong teamed up in teaching “Justice, Peacebuilding, and a Theology of Struggle.” Dr. Zerbe provided the theological and theoretical frameworks and analyses. Lakan shared his peacebuilding field stories. Their 12 students, who came from 8 countries, gathered in Winnipeg last 17-21 June.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/06/the-canadian-school-of-peacebuilding-invites-lakan-to-share-pbci-cfp-stories/
Nonviolence is not a fluffy ideal full of rainbows and happily ever afters. It is also not a beautiful dream of the oppressors and oppressed singing Kumbaya together. It is a science that is carefully planned as much as an art that listens deeply to the Kairos moments. It digs deep into a sacredness bigger than myself.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/06/to-love-our-enemies-choosing-nonviolence-while-wailing-out-against-injustice/
Last year, we were invited to listen to local folks from a coffee farming community in Central Mindanao. They expressed their desire for a long-term inclusive development initiative. We shared our social entrepreneurial approach framed in Peace and Reconciliation (PAR). Soon, more coffee farming communities have invited us to work with them.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/06/par-seeds-are-well-planted-among-coffee-farmers-in-central-mindanao/
Seven years ago, I got into coffee farming and I asked another elder how to know if a tree promotes biodiversity. He said, “Look at it. Are there orchids or ferns or moss in its trunk? Are there birds in its branches? Are there animals that feed off it? Are there other plants and trees around? If yes, then you have your answer.”
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/05/learning-from-my-indigenous-elders-about-biodiversity/
Lakan and I were invited to serve as principal sponsors at the marriage ceremony of Aduna Saway and Jay Manpatilan. It’s a great joy to be invited into the merging clans and respective tribes of this beautiful Talaandig bride and this handsome Higaonon groom. With the expressed blessing of Jay and Aduna, we’re sharing their wedding story to our global community.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/05/the-indigenous-wedding-of-aduna-and-jay-enriched-my-intercultural-outlook/
I felt energized by the Spirit of the Great Creator as I listened to my fellow Erumanen Ne Menuvu. I’m aware that the Creator is always with me in everything that I do. Before I left for this trip, I prayed that the Spirit would strengthen me with love, joy, and patience. That’s exactly the strength I experienced. Love. Joy. Patience.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/05/energized-by-love-for-the-indigenous-people-of-mt-agkir-agkir/
Last year, three Catholic priests were killed in the Philippines. Last December, bishops who were perceived as opposing the ‘war on drugs’ were tagged as “useless fools” to be killed. These prompted church leaders to condemn what they describe as a “culture of violence” that has “gradually prevailed in our land.” Catholic Archbishop Socrates Villegas delivered his Maundy Thursday homily addressing these challenges.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/04/archbishop-villegas-death-is-not-a-threat-martyrdom-is-our-mission/
How do we proceed towards healing — as individuals, as communities, as peoples — from the legacies of widespread violence and of massive human rights abuses in the past and in the present? We’re looking into Transitional Justice as “Dealing with the Past” — initiatives that uphold the people’s right to know, right to justice, right to reparation, and guarantee of non-recurrence towards conflict transformation and reconciliation. As a team of peace and reconciliation (PAR) missionaries, Transitional Justice is a motivation for us to contribute to the healing of our multi-ethnic country, one PAR community at a time.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/04/dealing-with-the-past-a-path-of-the-people-towards-healing-the-future-of-our-nation/
Peace and justice advocates are facing great challenges and difficulties as the government intensify their anti-insurgency campaign. In 30 March,14 farmers were killed by the police and military in Negros Oriental. Last 04 April, the president made a public threat to arrest critics and declare a ‘revolutionary war.’ A UN rapporteur testifies that there is a silent war being waged on Philippine indigenous communities. As faith-based peace-and-justice field workers committed to active nonviolence, how should we respond to these challenges?
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/04/pursuing-peace-and-reconciliation-amidst-the-political-challenges-were-facing/
Last Thursday, 28 March, the provincial government of Davao Occidental invited Joji to be the keynote speaker at their 2019 National Women’s Month Celebration. Speaking on the theme “We Make Change Work For Women,” Joji emphasized both the reproductive and productive roles of women as community leaders. She shared her journey as a mother and her Coffee For Peace story to illustrate the main points of her speech.
Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/03/joji-shares-coffee-for-peace-story-to-inspire-women-in-davao-occidental/
Together with Mennonite Church Canada Witness and our international peacebuilding partners, we journey in companionship, nurturing relationships that strengthen our collective commitment to justice, reconciliation, and lasting peace.
