150+ Canadians Day 20: Christian Peacemaker Teams
Christian Peacemaker Teams contribute to peace by challenging violence in the world through personal witness in conflict zones.#Canada150
CPT has roots among Mennonites, the Church of the Brethren and the Quakers. They place teams at the invitation of local peacemaking communities that are confronting situations of lethal conflict. They have been involved with about 20 countries, cities and other communities around the world.
Teams believe that they can lower the levels of violence through nonviolent direct action, human rights documentation, and nonviolence training. CPT sums their work up as “…committed to reducing violence by getting in the way “. CPT has a full-time corps of over 30 activists who currently work in Colombia, Iraq, the West Bank, Chiapas, Mexico, and Kenora, Ontario, Canada. These teams are supported by over 150 reservists who spend two weeks to two months a year on location.
“Unless we . . . are ready to start to die by the thousands in dramatic vigorous new exploits for peace and justice, we should sadly confess that we never really meant what we said, and we dare never whisper another word about pacifism to our sisters and brothers in those desperate lands filled with injustice. Unless we are ready to die developing new nonviolent attempts to reduce conflict, we should confess that we never really meant that the cross was an alternative to the sword . . .” – Ron Sider