wfn.org | Re: MCC/MBM peacemaker honored by Queen of England

[Mennonite Central Committee Communications]

TOPIC:  MCC/MBM PEACEMAKER HONORED BY QUEEN OF ENGLAND
DATE:   January 10, 1997
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

"Clearly well deserving of the accolade," local newspaper says
A joint release of MCC and Mennonite Board of Missions

AKRON, Pa. -- The queen of England has awarded the coordinator of
Mennonite work in Northern Ireland a high honor for his outstanding
service to the community.

Joe Campbell has been bestowed an MBE -- Member of the Order of
the British Empire -- for his work in "the art of diplomacy and
bridging the divide," as the Spectator, a North Ireland newspaper, put
it.

Campbell, who is Irish, directs Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
and Mennonite Board of Missions programs in Northern Ireland.  He
also works with the Mediation Network of Northern Ireland.  Campbell
and colleague Brendan McAllister received national recognition for
their key roles in facilitating a peaceful settlement between Protestants
and Roman Catholics at Drumcree, North Ireland, in summer 1995.

Campbell, a Presbyterian elder, was one of 12 persons in Northern
Ireland to receive this year's MBE award, also known as the "New
Year Honour," for "Service to the Community."  Later this year,
Campbell and his wife, Janet, will go to London for a ceremony at
Buckingham Palace, to formally receive the honor from the queen.

"This award also goes to all the other people who have worked
alongside me in all of my jobs," Campbell says, "whether it was in
teaching, the YMCA, the Frontier Youth Trust for disadvantaged
young people or the Mediation Network."  Campbell gives special
thanks to Janet, "whose wise counsel and encouragement on the
journey of peacemaking have been essential."

Receiving the award has a down side, however, Campbell notes.  He
worries Catholics may perceive his acceptance of the honor as "being
bought over by one side."  This especially may be the case because the
bestower is the most prominent symbol of the power that, in Irish
Catholics' eyes, has hindered peace in their communities.

"But in the end these awards are part of our national life and as such I
accepted it on behalf of many, many people who are working for
peace and justice, and as an encouragement for others to join in this
important work," Campbell says.

MCC Europe director Hansulrich Gerber notes the award comes at a
time when further deterioration of Northern Ireland's fragile situation
appears imminent.  "Joe needs our prayers, along with all his fellow
peace workers," Gerber says, adding he is "honored to have a
colleague and friend winning such a distinguished award."

Campbell's work is highlighted in the Mennonite Media Ministries
video "Ekklesia-Peacemaking: Healing and Hope."  The seven-minute
segment is called "Northern Ireland: Living Peace."  The 30-minute
video, also featuring segments on Colombia and India, is available for
free loan in both English and Spanish from all MCC offices.  MCC
also sells the Ireland segment for $15.  Mennonite Media Ministries
sells copies of the full video for $29.95; to order phone 1-800-999-
3534.
                                 -30-
esw10january1997

MCC photo available:  Janet and Joe Campbell (MCC photo by Al
Friesen)TOPIC:  MEDIATION TRAINING SEMINARS IN THE WEST BANK LED BY MCC WORKER
FROM ZAMBIA
DATE:   January 10, 1997
CONTACT:  Charmayne Denlinger Brubaker
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

JERUSALEM -- At least 200 Palestinians and Israelis participated in
conflict resolution seminars held recently in the West Bank and
organized in part by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

Janet Schmidt, a mediation trainer from Winnipeg now working in
Zambia for MCC, traveled to the West Bank to lead the 10 days of
mediation training seminars. The four afternoon workshops and two
weekend seminars were sponsored by Wi'am Palestinian Center for
Conflict Resolution located in Bethlehem, and the Jerusalem-based
reconciliation group called Musalaha.

One workshop Schmidt conducted brought together Israeli and
Palestinian youth to focus on cross-cultural conflict resolution.

The site of the four-hour seminar was carefully chosen to minimize
personal risks to the participants. 

Because the borders between Israeli-controlled Jerusalem and the West
Bank are closed to Palestinians, workshop planners decided to hold the
seminar at Tantur, a non-denominational church institute on the border
between Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank.

"These steps lead to a sustainable peace: education of the less powerful
people, confrontation between the two parties to equalize power, and
then negotiation," Schmidt explained to the young people at the event. 
"Balanced power -- moving to a point where both sides have equal
power -- is essential if negotiations are going to lead to a positive,
long-term outcome."

"We are still in the confrontation stage," said a Palestinian.

"We are negotiating, and we have resolutions (the Oslo Accords), but
the resolutions haven't been implemented," said another. "We are
somewhere between confrontation and negotiation because power
between the two sides is still unbalanced." 

Schmidt pointed out that premature negotiations lead to unjust peace,
which only complicates the process and necessitates a return to
negotiations at a later date after an authentic balance of power has
been achieved.

"This workshop was important," said Zoughbi, director of Wi'am. "In
this cross-cultural setting Janet served as an objective third party,
creating an environment of trust, confidence and freedom of
expression."

Referring to the content of Schmidt's presentations, Zoughbi observed: 
"This is a topic that is new for many people here, although we have a
deeply rooted tradition of conflict resolution (known as sulha). It is
good to be exposed to different (Western) points of view.  We can
blend the positive points of the old and the new to come up with more
effective ways to deal with conflict."

Schmidt was also invited to give training workshops for people
working in the field of non-violence and conflict resolution, for the
general public in the Bethlehem area, and for volunteers and staff
people at the Wi'am Center.

The Wi'am Center was started in 1995 as a cooperative effort by
MCC, World Vision Jerusalem, and the Jerusalem-based Catholic
Relief Services. Janet Schmidt, former director of Mediation services
in Winnipeg, is currently serving a three-year MCC term in Zambia
where
she coordinates a peace education program at Mindolo Ecumenical
Foundation in Kitwe.

                                 -30-

Carmen Pauls, MCC West Bank

rjf10january1997

MCC photo available: Janet Schmidt facilitates as Israeli and
Palestinian youth engage in an activity designed to challenge the
win-lose mentality that often interferes with the resolution of conflict. 
The activity was part of a workshop on cross-cultural conflict
resolution held at Tantur Ecumenical Institute near Bethlehem in early
December.  Workshop participants pictured here, left to right: 
Palestinian Munjid, Israeli Noah, Palestinian Amal, Janet Schmidt and
Israeli Michael.  (MCC photo by Carmen Pauls)
TOPIC:  VOLUNTEER PACKS A MILLION
DATE:   January 10, 1997
CONTACT:  Charmayne Denlinger Brubaker
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

AKRON, Pa. -- No matter how often it is said, the phrase,  "We
couldn't survive without our volunteers," rings true at Ten Thousand
Villages, formerly SELFHELP Crafts of the World.  This year, one
volunteer's record perfectly illustrates that fact.

On December 20, 1996, Oland Kauffman passed a significant
milestone in his four-month service assignment.  With the last order he
packed here in the Ten Thousand Villages warehouse, he topped the
$1 million U.S. mark in retail value of packages shipped.  Kauffman
kept a daily log of the orders he packed and their retail values.

To reach this total, Kauffman packed an average of $12,000 U.S.
worth of handicrafts each work day.

Oland and his wife, Josephine, who are from Fairview, Mich., and
members of Fairview Mennonite Church, were part of the large group
of volunteers during the busy September to December season at the
Ten Thousand Villages warehouse.  While Oland was hard at work in
the shipping department, Josephine was busy filling orders for
consignment sales.
        Kauffman was quick to point out that he was not the only one
packing orders in the warehouse.  Others were Bill Swartzendruber
from Wellman, Iowa; Dave Dirks of Chilliwack, B.C.; Al Friesen from
Akron, Pa.; and Willi Bogdanov of Osthofen, Germany.  In addition,
many others filled in from time to time.  From pricing to pulling
orders and working at the Ephrata store, volunteers keep Ten
Thousand Villages running during this busy time of the year.  This
year, between September 1 and December 20, warehouse workers
filled orders that totaled 51 percent of the orders received in 1996.

Oland is a retired school teacher and Josephine worked in the school
library in Fairview.  Both first became aware of Ten Thousand
Villages while organizing the Northern Michigan Relief Sale held in
Fairview.  After talking with Mennonite Central Committee U.S. staff
Brenda Wagner and Lowell Detweiler, Mennonite Disaster Service
director, they decided fall 1996 would be a good time to experience
what it is like to work in the Akron warehouse.

It has turned out to be an unforgettable experience.  Oland says, "Not
only am I impressed with the fact that these volunteers are here to
serve and to do something good, they are people who will be my
friends for the rest of my life."  While the work was physically
demanding, working with others made the time pass quickly and
Kauffman will consider volunteering again.

Ten Thousand Villages is always looking for volunteers to help get
handicrafts ready for shipment to stores across the United States.  If
you are interested in volunteering for a day, week or several months,
call (717) 859-8100 and ask for Sherrie Ober who coordinates short-
term volunteer assignments at the Ten Thousand Villages warehouse
here.
                                 -30-
Larry Guengerich, Ten Thousand Villages
10january1997TOPIC:  MCC U.S. COMMENTARY: RESTORATIVE JUSTICE HITS THE BIG TIME
DATE:   January 10, 1997
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

But will it remain true to its vision, values?

HARRISONBURG, Va. -- "A revolution is occurring in criminal
justice.  A quiet, grassroots, seemingly unobtrusive, but truly
revolutionary movement is changing the nature, the very fabric of our
work."

These words open a set of articles being published by the U.S.
government's National Institute of Corrections (NIC).  One contributor,
Eduardo Barajas Jr., an NIC program specialist, claims the changes go
beyond most earlier reforms in criminal justice:  "What is occurring
now is more than innovative, it is truly inventive."

Another author in the collection acknowledges Mennonites' key role in
this movement toward restorative and community justice.
Who could have imagined?                  

We have come a long way since Mennonite probation officer Mark 
Yantzi and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) worker Dave Worth
first pushed two shaking offenders toward their victims' homes in
Elmira, Ontario, in 1974.

And who could have imagined, when we began our version of VORP
(Victim Offender Reconciliation Program) in Elkhart, Ind., several
years later, that we were at the vanguard of a movement with the
potential to revolutionize 
justice?

Paradoxically, restorative justice is moving from a peripheral
grassroots movement to center stage, its ideas migrating from the
margins to the mainstream at a time when society has reached
unprecedented levels of punitiveness.

In any case, the philosophy and practice of restorative justice (see
Sidebar #3, "What is Restorative Justice?) are now being discussed and
advocated in the highest circles:

U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and Supreme Court Justice Sandra
Day O'Conner have addressed the issue.

The National Institute of Justice and the National Institute of
Corrections have been sponsoring conferences and publications.

Federal funding is available to selected states through the Balanced
and Restorative Justice Project.

The National Institute of Corrections Academy sponsored a
nationwide satellite teleconference last December 12. (It was
particularly  interesting to hear panelists discuss the philosophy in
terms borrowed directly from some of us wild-eyed peacemaker
types!)

Similarly, the Corrections Services of Canada has been sponsoring 
conferences and consultations on restorative justice for several years.

States, communities have led the way

This nationwide interest, however, follows years of innovation at 
community and state levels.  VORPs have sprung up in several
hundred communities.  For several years Minnesota has had on staff a
Restorative Justice Planner to help communities invent new restorative
approaches.  Vermont has rethought the concept of probation,
designing a "reparative probation" system for non-violent offenses.

Native American and Canadian communities are finding ways to
implement some of their traditional approaches and values; these too
are being viewed as part of a restorative justice framework.

In academic and consulting fields, numerous restorative justice 
institutes and programs are emerging.  Some criminology books have 
begun to identify a "peacemaking" tradition of criminology that
incorporates restorative justice. 

This interest in restorative justice is not limited to North America.  
Many victim/offender reconciliation programs have developed in
Europe.  Germany has several hundred such programs and Finland
more than a hundred.  In New Zealand restorative justice has served to
guide and help shape a family group conference approach rooted in
indigenous Maori tradition.  Within a  few weeks I am scheduled to
meet with South Africa's law commission, which is seeking to write a
juvenile justice code incorporating restorative principles.

I could cite numerous other examples. Interestingly, most accounts  of
this phenomenon give Mennonites and their peacemaking values major
credit in the movement's origins. (See Sidebar #4,"How can you
become involved in restorative justice efforts?")
A passing fad?  

But will this new interest prove to be another passing fad?  Will it 
truly change how we approach justice?  What is our role -- as church,
as Mennonites, as individuals involved since the early years -- now
that restorative justice has all this attention?

Genuine dangers lie in this new acceptance. I worry the movement
may be peaking too soon, before sufficient groundwork has been done. 
There is much we still do not know, much we still have not tried.  Are
the principles and practices well-enough established to meet the high
expectations people will inevitably bring to a movement gaining broad
visibility?  As institutional efforts take root, will they stay true to the
values?  Will they be willing to take risks to experiment with new
frontiers?

Innovations in entrenched systems such as criminal justice are often
co-opted and diverted from their original visions.  Terms are watered
down; old approaches are justified with new concepts; programs are
instituted without the necessary value base, with the result that they do
not work or have unintended, negative consequences.

These processes have plagued most criminal justice reform efforts and
are will likely occur again, given the immense self-interest in
maintaining the status quo inherent in what researchers have called the
"corrections-industrial complex."   Alterations are already visible
within "restorative justice":  the term is being used for some
approaches that seem  diametrically opposed to restorative values, for
example, and  victim/offender mediation has on occasion been used to
punish offenders rather than provide opportunities for healing and
resolution to both victims and offenders.

Given these factors, the danger is great that the movement may be
discredited.  Communities may experiment with approaches not truly
restorative or grounded in good practice, then say, "We tried that; it
doesn't  work."  That too has already been heard.
Age-old promise remains

However, the dangers must not obscure the promise.  Research on 
programs such as VORP consistently find high levels of victim and
offender satisfaction.  Often I have heard people exclaim that
restorative justice, for the first time, provides a framework for hope in
an otherwise dismal field.   Many have noted it provides a way of
organizing and lending legitimacy to their long-time feelings. 

Restorative justice is not new.  In fact, it is as old as most people's
histories, as old as the Bible.  It's not abstract; it's common sense. 
Restorative justice, in other words, is not a grand system imposed by
"experts" but has profound roots in ordinary people's needs and
experiences.  That should provide some tenacity.

Now, as much as ever, those of us guided by Christ's model of 
salvation and peacemaking are needed.  The church, with its mandate
for justice that heals and restores, must play a key role in maintaining
the vision and values of restorative justice as it is managed and
massaged by  secular systems.  The church too must continue to
pioneer, to provide a framework where victims, offenders and
communities can take risks that professionalized systems too often are
afraid to allow.

It would be easy to conclude that we have planted the seed but now 
that others have begun to cultivate it, we should move on to new
fields.  The seedling is still young and insecurely rooted.  While we
cannot own it or control its growth, we must continue to nourish and
shape it until it emerges in an authentic form, and not some twisted
aberration.  A faithful gardener does not simply plant seeds and leave. 
Our job is not yet over.

                                 -30-

Howard Zehr, director of the MCC U.S. Office on Crime and Justice
and professor of sociology and restorative justice at Eastern Mennonite
University in Harrisonburg, Va.

esw10january1997

MCC photo available:  Howard Zehr (MCC photo by Al Friesen)
TOPIC:  MCC U.S. COMMENTARY: CAPITOL HILL AND GOD'S HOLY HILL
DATE:   January 10, 1997
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

Putting U.S. elections into perspective

        WASHINGTON -- The 20th century's last U.S. presidential
election, as well as the election of the 105th Congress, are now behind
us.  Political pundits will remember these elections for a number of
reasons -- the lowest voter turnout in more than 70 years, the rarity of
a Democratic president and a Republican Congress surviving re-
election, the enormous amount of money spent and the vast gaps in
preference between men and women.

But what does this periodic exercise in democracy mean to us
Anabaptists?  What should our attitude be toward elections?

Working on Capitol Hill, we in the Mennonite Central Committee
(MCC) U.S. Washington Office have learned our country's elections
bear important consequences.  Elections do much to determine whether
the cries of children in poverty get heard in Congress; whether aid to
people in Africa is forthcoming or withheld; whether gun violence in
this country receives sustained attention; whether our country becomes
a better steward of its resources -- both financial and environmental. 
Election Day is an important day in our country's life and in the
advocacy work we do in Washington.

Election Day's significance should not be overstated, however. 
Regardless of who wins, the church's work of giving voice to the
voiceless must continue.  U.S. elections have done little to disrupt the
agendas of Big Corporations, Big Military and others whose wealth
and influence can choke the aspirations and lives of people living on
the margins.

Additionally, election outcomes don't make us care for our neighbors
more, and they don't move churches to share the gospel more
effectively with all God's people.  In other words, we should not place
undue importance upon Election Day.

The modern notion of democratic elections is foreign to the world of
the Bible.  But biblical scholar Ched Myers suggests we can affirm
democracy and its elections as analogous to the Jubilee in Leviticus 25. 
Myers says, "Democracy is, like the Jubilee, a modest mechanism for
the periodic redistribution of power within the community."

However, in surveying the current state of democracy in the United
States -- with its disempowered and largely uninformed citizenry, and
its image-obsessed politics -- Myers adds that both democracy and the
Jubilee "remain good, if largely unrealized, ideas."

So November 5, 1996, was an important day, but not one of ultimate
significance.  It was a day of triumphs and disappointments.  And it
was a day, as are all election days, to recognize that Capitol Hill may
be an important hill, but it is not the holy hill, described in the Psalms,
on which our Lord dwells.
                                 -30-
Karl S. Shelly, MCC U.S. Washington Office
esw10january1997TOPIC:  UNPRECEDENTED FLOODS SWAMP CALIFORNIA
DATE:   January 10, 1997
CONTACT:  Pearl Sensenig
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

MDS appeals for volunteers, funds 

AKRON, Pa. --  Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) has established a
project office in Yuba City, Calif., and is seeking volunteers and funds
to help clean up and repair flood-damaged homes.

This week Jim Clymer Jr., California MDS unit chair, and three other
MDS investigators toured areas north of Sacramento, Calif.  They saw
houses engulfed with water, dead horses and livestock hanging on
fences.  Early reports indicate 25,000 houses damaged; this number
may triple as the situation unfolds.

The investigators also saw the human toll behind the property damage. 
They met people stunned by the sudden turn of events.  Among those
was a man recovering from heart surgery.  He and his wife were
searching for temporary housing.  A nine-month pregnant woman and
her family found shelter with friends.  But as she surveyed her
damaged house, she seemed in shock.  Her young son cried, unable to
understand why he couldn't sleep in his own bed.

MDS was able to assist these and other people.  MDS volunteers are
helping to shovel mud from houses, remove soggy furniture and tear
out saturated carpets.  Clean-up activity may take two months. 
Volunteers will be needed to do house repairs  throughout the spring
and summer.  For more information, phone the MDS Yuba City office
at (916) 671-5677.

The floods were caused by extremely heavy rains around Christmas,
followed by a sudden rise in temperatures that melted the Sierra
Nevada's snow pack.  Reservoirs became dangerously full and water
had to be released into the rivers.  This caused some levies to break.

"The volume of water we're dealing with is unprecedented," says
Clymer.  In one place, gushing water covered seven acres per second,
destroying everything in its path.

In 1986 MDS helped flood victims in Marysville, Calif., rebuild.  Most
of the current flooding is further west, but some homes MDS repaired
10 years ago have been damaged again. 

In addition to California, flooding has occurred in Washington,
Oregon, Idaho and Nevada.  MDS investigators are visiting affected
areas in all five states, and it is likely that MDS response units will be
established in other locations.  

Financial contributions to MDS, designated for "Western Floods," are
desperately needed.  Mail to MDS, P.O. Box 500, Akron, PA  17501.

                                 -30-

pls10january1997