wfn.org | Newsline: Delegation trips to Israel/Palestine and Chiapas, Mexico

["COBNews Newsline" <cobnews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service -- Sept. 29, 2008
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director
800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org

DELEGATION TRIPS PLANNED TO ISRAEL/PALESTINE AND
CHIAPAS, MEXICO

(Sept. 29, 2008) Elgin, IL -- Two Church of the Brethren agencies have
announced delegation trips in January:

--A trip to Israel/Palestine on the theme "Plant Peace" is being offered
by On Earth Peace on Jan. 6-19, 2009.

--A "Faith Expedition" sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington
Office to an indigenous coffee cooperative in Chiapas, Mexico, is
offered on Jan. 24-Feb. 3, 2009.

The trip to Israel/Palestine sponsored by On Earth Peace will be led by
Rick Polhamus, a former fulltime volunteer with Christian Peacemaker
Teams in Hebron. The delegation will meet with Israeli and Palestinian
peace and human rights workers, will join the CPT teams in Hebron and
the village of At-Tuwani in a limited amount of accompaniment and
documentation, and will join in a public witness. "This is an opportunity
to get an on-the-ground perspective on the conflict in the Middle East,
how it impacts communities, and how some communities are making a
stand for peace," said On Earth Peace. Participants are expected to
prepare by becoming familiar with current conditions in the Middle East,
and upon return communicate about the experience with congregations,
community groups, and the media. The $2,100 cost includes
international airfare, in-country travel, simple accommodations, two
meals per day, honoraria, and delegation fees. Contact On Earth Peace at
410-635-8704.

The Faith Expedition to Mexico sponsored by the Brethren
Witness/Washington Office is planned in partnership with Equal
Exchange and Witness for Peace. The group will stay in the homes of
coffee farmers in the area of Chiapas, and will learn about the economic,
political, and historical context. Topics will include the 1994 uprising  in
Chiapas, low-intensity conflict, and human rights abuses against
indigenous people. Participants will learn how global economic forces
and local social hardships, for example the global price of coffee,  affects
the livelihoods of poor farming communities. The trip also will include a
visit to an indigenous women's artisan cooperative, and the opportunity
to learn about the role that faith and Liberation Theology has played in
the lives of people in rural Chiapas. For more information about cost and
how to apply, contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at 800-
785-3246.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its
faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and
Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches.  It
celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts more than 125,000
members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and
sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and
India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org

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