Peacebuilder 2019-20 - Alumni Magazine of EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding by Eastern Mennonite University

PEACEBUILDER THE MAGAZINE OF THE CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND PEACEBUILDING AT EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

2019-20

PEACEBUILDER 2019-20

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

GLOBAL COMMUNITY JAYNE DOCHERTY

PEACEBUILDER is published annually by Eastern Mennonite University, with the collaboration of its development office: Kirk L. Shisler, vice president for advancement, and Lindsay Martin, CJP associate director of development. The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) is rooted in Anabaptist-Christian theology and life, characterized by values and traditions that include nonviolence, right relationships and just community. CJP educates a global community of peacebuilders through the integration of practice, theory and research. CJP is based at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and offers two master’s-level degrees and certificates, as well as non-degree training through its Summer Peacebuilding Institute and the Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program. Donations to CJP are tax-deductible and support the program, the university that houses it, scholarships for peace and justice students, and other essentials. Visit www.emu.edu/cjp for more information.

LEADERSHIP TEAM SUSAN SCHULTZ HUXMAN / President FRED KNISS / Provost JAYNE S. DOCHERTY / CJP Executive director CJP PROGRAM MANAGERS JAYNE S. DOCHERTY WILLIAM GOLDBERG JANELLE MYERS-BENNER HANNAH KELLEY STAFF LAUREN JEFFERSON / Editor-in-chief JON STYER / Creative director MACSON MCGUIGAN / Photo manager CHRISTOPHER CLYMER KURTZ / Staff writer JOSHUA LYONS / Web designer

For more information or address changes, contact: Center for Justice and Peacebuilding Eastern Mennonite University 1200 Park Road Harrisonburg, VA 22802 cjp@emu.edu 540-432-4000 www.emu.edu/cjp

FOR 25 YEARS, CJP has been convening a global community of peacebuilders for mutual learning. The widely publicized case of the Palestinian student coming to study at Harvard only to be turned away at Boston Logan International Airport is nothing new for CJP. For the past two years, a growing number of our admitted students and SPI participants have been denied visas.

At SPI 2019, our US students were disappointed that they had fewer classmates from other countries. The cross-border learning is a highlight of the CJP experience. We just enrolled a new class with only two new students arriving on a student visa. Clearly, this challenges our ability to sustain our mission. And, ironically, this is happening just as we have grown our capacity to offer more scholarships to international students. I firmly believe that when our plans and activities are radically disrupted, we are being called to rethink our assumptions and recognize problems we have not yet noticed that need our attention. More than 70 million people have been displaced by decades of war, climate change and natural disasters. In spite of current limitations on refugee resettlement, many families from war zones have migrated to the U.S. Their communities need assistance with internal conflicts, trauma and broken relationships. Like Bishop Andudu (page 13), many members of those communities continue to lead peace efforts in their home countries. By expanding our understanding of an international student, we can continue supporting peacebuilders working on conflicts around the world. Four hundred years after the first enslaved Africans arrived at Point Comfort in Virginia, it is long past time to reckon with the legacy of slavery and its aftermath as well as the genocide and displacement of the indigenous peoples of North America. Students like Talibah Aquil (page 14) challenge us to continue expanding our work on racial justice in the U.S. while others push us to address the violence that is woven into our criminal justice system (Caitlin Morneau, page 18). We are grateful for the many ways we continue to learn from people who are, in the words of John Paul Lederach, “colleagues masquerading as students.” I invite you to join us on the journey to whatever is next for CJP. The world might change, but it will always need leaders committed to building peace rooted in authentic justice, human dignity and right relations among people. Jayne S. Docherty Executive Director

CONTENTS

FOCUS

6 MEET THE STUDENTS New ‘colleagues masquerading as students’ join the CJP community

7 PEACEBUILDER OF THE YEAR

Kenyan grad earns highest accolades from CJP colleagues.

ON THE COVER Talibah Aquil MA ‘19 in a spring 2019 performance of “Ghana, remember me...”

YEAR IN REVIEW

PHOTO BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

Check out CJP’s highlights from the 2018-19 academic year

FEATURES PROGRAMS

2 THE CIRCLE MAKES EQUAL POWER 6

South Korean teacher invites colleagues to CJP for trauma and resilience training.

14 “GHANA, REMEMBER ME...” A Q & A with Talibah Aquil MA ‘19 about her practicum experience and the art that came from it.

4 RESTORATIVE JUSTICE FOR BRAZIL

Brazilian RJ advocates are determined to ‘change the world and make peace’

DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING Grad leads Catholic organization’s efforts towards ‘healing, humanizing’ restorative justice

20 LEARNING FROM AND WITH OTHERS

Practice, practice, practice - facilitation course provides opportunity, coaching

22 CHANING THE NARRATIVE ON SEXUAL HARMS A special new STAR curriculum addresses sexual harms

FEATURES

Eunkyung Ahn MA ’19 facilitates class with fellow teachers from South Korea. PHOTOS BY ANDREW J. STRACK

‘THE CIRCLE MAKES EQUAL POWER’ South Korean educators learn, share at CJP SOUTH KOREAN EDUCATOR Eunkyung Ahn MA ‘19 began her CJP studies with an intensive short course about trauma and resilience – and she knew she wanted to pass the skills and values she learned to others. “My key learning at CJP is the importance of embodied learning in peacebuilding, which is new to peacebuilding education here but also in Korea,” she said. In February 2019, Ahn did just that – hosting a five-day course at EMU on “Building Resilience for Body, Mind and Spirit” for 18 visiting South Korean K-12 educators. “This arts-based, expressive experience was designed to revitalize creativity for working in nonviolent social transformation and to exercise creative muscles, a critical foundational practice for challenging violence,” said course creator Katie

2 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

Mansfield, the lead trainer of the Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program. Offered in past years at CJP’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute, the course was tailored for this group by Ahn and Mansfield. Goals included an understanding of how systemic and cultural violence affects individual trauma; building resilience in body, mind, and spirit through arts-based, embodied learning; and empowerment for making social change, Ahn said. Participants engaged in visual artistry, music making, movement exploration, poetry and short story development, and final presentations. A session with visiting co-facilitator and experienced public schools peace educator Ram Bhagat GC ’19 involved drumming and contemplative practices. Mansfield appreciated the group’s engagement: “I was so impressed at how deeply and directly the educators connected the various expressive arts exercises to the challenges they face as educators, restorative justice practitioners and citizens of South Korea.” The educators are members of the Center for Restorative Justice in Education, an affiliate of the Movement for Good Teachers, a grassroots Christian teachers association in South Korea. Formed in 2011 in response to a rise in school bullying, the teacher-members work to promote nonviolence and peace in the school environment. Course participants Inki Hong, Eunji Park and Byeongjoo Lee are senior teachers at schools in urban neighborhoods near

FEATURES

From left : Teachers Sun-Young Lee, MyeongSook Cho and Young-Mi Seo participate in an exercise during their intensive short course.

Seoul. All learned about circle processes and restorative justice in different ways in Korea, including teacher academies and international workshops, some involving Jae-Young Lee MA 03, founder of the Korea Peacebuilding Institute. Before learning about restorative justice, Hong says he played the role of a judge with his students. “Before, when children fight, I would have to decide who is wrong and who is right,” he said. “Now, I don’t decide. I help you figure out what happened and how to make things right. The circle makes equal power and equal power is not usually found in classrooms.” Children in Korea “do not know how to express themselves,” said Park. “In the circle, they know how. It really develops metacognitive skills.” Lee, who teaches middle and high school English, said he has appreciated “how the philosophy of RJ can be shaped into many circle styles.” All three educators work with newcomer teachers in their home settings and plan to share their learnings in hopes of contributing to cultural and systemic change in the educational environment. After graduation in May, Ahn took STAR II and visited spirituality-based peacebuilding communities before returning to her teaching position in South Korea. “I am so passionate about growing as an educator and helping to educate others about valuing our whole beings,” she said. “It is so important to live with our true selves in our individual and communal lives, and I hope to share that with my students and their parents and other educators in the future.”

SHORT-TERM GROUP TRAININGS MEET SPECIFIC NEEDS Interested in a group training or workshop on restorative justice, conflict analysis or trauma and resilience? CJP has hosted a growing number of U.S. and international groups for short-term trainings, including judges from Nepal, educators from South Korea and the United States, and two cohorts of restorative justice practitioners from Brazil. Building on years of experience facilitating trainings around the world, CJP faculty and staff from various programs help group leaders co-create innovative, beneficial educational experiences to meet each group’s specific goals. “More and more, we see groups looking for creative, culturally-relevant and sensitive approaches to conflict analysis, restorative justice and trauma awareness and resilience,” said CJP Executive Director Jayne Docherty. “Our goal is to support change-makers in recognizing their own strengths and growing their toolkit for response in their professional and cultural context. Our strengthsbased pedagogical practices tap into personal experiences, build relationships and engage different learning styles in a safe space.” Visit emu.edu/cjp for more information or to inquire.

—LAUREN JEFFERSON

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 3

FEATURES

BRAZIL COMES TO SPI Fifty-four RJ practitioners visit CJP to train, plan and network their way to more transformation within their country.

4 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

FEATURES

FOR HUMAN RIGHTS and constitutional law attorney Diego Dall ’Agnol Maia, attending the 2019 Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) alongside more than 50 of his fellow Brazilian restorative justice (RJ) practitioners and advocates was transformative. “We don’t need to be lawyers, prosecutors, judges or social workers here,” he said. “We just need to be humans and talk about our experience, to change the world and make peace.” Maia helped organize the group of 54, the largest of any one nationality to attend SPI at one time. It included people who are judges, RJ promoters, officials of the judiciary, lawyers, university professors and municipal guards. Dozens more were on a waiting list. The Brazilian judicial system has shown growing interest in RJ, said SPI director Bill Goldberg MA ‘01, and for years EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding has been developing a relationship with people there. Director Emeritus of the Zehr Institute Howard Zehr and circle processes trainer Kay Pranis have each traveled there to provide training. Brazilians have also come to EMU for SPI in previous years, and 25 came to campus in 2017 for a weeklong series of RJ lectures and training. Most participants this year took courses on Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) and victim-offender conferencing. The SPI courses, Maia said, provided tools that will broaden how RJ is used in Brazil, where current guidelines proposed by the national council of judges focus on the use of circle processes. “Here at EMU, we are learning that RJ is not what the law says, but what the community and people feel about the justice,” he said. “It has given me a new lens, and prepared me and other people in the group to talk more about restorative justice, and be ready in our spirits to go back to Brazil and talk about how these theories and practices are important to the community and not only to judges, prosecutors and lawyers.”

TRAUMA-INFORMED JUSTICE RJ, which is grounded in repairing the harm of crime in processes that engage individuals and other community members, is well served by trauma training, said second-time SPI participant Mayara Carvalho. She has practiced RJ in the Brazil juvenile justice system, schools and university settings, and she earned her PhD researching restorative practices in communities. She is also laying the groundwork for an RJ center. Carvalho incorporated the STAR training she received at last year’s SPI into her work with a young boy in Brazil who had been convicted of murder and drug dealing, but who had also suffered poor health and bullying. “When I put trauma and resilience together on the table, we could see him as a person,” she said – and “he started to think

about himself as a person, not as a victim or as an offender.” In addition to her book Justiça Restaurativa na Comunidade, about using RJ in communities, Carvalho has written a guide titled “Programa NÓS - Belo Horizonte” for using restorative practices in schools. Brazilian schools, she said, are often “a kind of door to criminalization” because of how they respond to students with problematic behavior. “We’re trying to develop nonviolent communication, restorative practices and circle processes inside schools,” she said, “to work on conflicts in a better way.” CHANGING THE CONVERSATION The SPI experience has shaped the Brazilian conversation about RJ, said Maia, and prompted the group to think about “what we’re doing in Brazil and what needs to be changed to do better, to expand this restorative understanding, and then to [bring] this powerful tool to the community for transformation.” It’s not only about law, he said: It’s also about a social theory of justice. “In Brazil we just see what the law says, and apply this in cases,” he said. “Now, we are starting to think, ‘Is this justice, to resolve the case only by law? Or is justice to give people the chance to heal their trauma?’” Tentative plans are for another group of 25-50 to attend SPI 2020, with the current group returning the following year to take STAR II and an RJ course that has a dual focus of RJ in education and RJ in the legal system, Goldberg said. —CHRISTOPHER CLYMER KURTZ

Matthew Hartman MA ‘08 and Aaron Lyons MA ‘08 lead a class on victimoffender conferencing to the group from Brazil. The duo, with Catherine Bargen MA ‘08, co-own Just Outcomes Consulting and have consulted on justice issues around the world. PHOTOS BY MACSON MCGUIGAN AND JON ST YER

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 5

FOCUS

MEET THE NEW STUDENTS

JOSE JUAN HERNANDEZ is a graphic designer who has studied education for peace at Javeriana University of Colombia. In Colombia, he worked in programs against military recruitment and for LGBTQ rights. He’s also developed integrated, inclusive dance strategies for and with people with disabilities, and has global experience working in HIV-AIDS education/prevention.

MAKAYLA FULMER from Harrisonburg and Richmond, Virginia, and Spain, has worked in immigration law case management with NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center and in ministry field placements in Thailand and Spain, where she has also studied.

AMINATA WALLET MOHAMED was born in Mali and grew up in Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mauritania and Ghana. She has worked as a caregiver for senior citizens and interned with refugees through Church World Service.

HELEN ODUFA MOMOH LINDSAY ACKER

DARIUSH MERAJ

JES STOLTZFUS BULLER worked in Colombia for nearly eight years, and is now the U.S. peace education coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee. A 2008 graduate of Goshen College, she majored in sociology and Bible, religion and philosophy.

grew up in Iran, spent years in Turkey as a young adult, and immigrated to the United States as a refugee. He is passionate about dialogue between Muslims and Christians and breaking down social and ideological barriers between conflicting groups.

DAWN CURTIS-THAMES was drawn to EMU through trauma awareness training. She has studied theology and public policy. Her current research interest is looking at biographical disruption for Alcoholics Anonymous persons working with mental health crises. She is a hospice nurse in Dallas, Texas.

PAUL REESER

ANNE HILB is the founder of Graymake, LLC and holds a master’s degree in organization development from American University. She does consulting and facilitation from Baltimore, Maryland.

who lives among more than 40,000 refugees in Clarkston, Georgia, has been involved in the community in a variety of work, including English language instruction, urban agriculture, sports programs, conflict transformation in local schools, neighborhood nonviolence programs, youth ministry and community organizing. He holds a degree in Bible, theology and ministry from Lipscomb University.

NICOLE LITWILLER a 2019 graduate of EMU with degrees in liberal arts and global development, is interested in how art can be used to communicate about justice-related issues. She has engaged in arts-based projects exploring anti-racism and whiteness, as well as sexual and environmental abuse.

ANGIE WALKER studied psychology and has a master’s degree in counseling. She worked as a crime victims advocate before moving overseas to teach English. For the past few years, she has been back in Oregon helping her parents with their farm and teaching at a literacy center.

6 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

FABIANA ESPINAL from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, plans to become a counselor and integrate her knowledge of restorative justice in her career and advocacy work. She graduated from EMU in 2018 with a liberal arts degree.

CORINNE GUNTER heads the Grace Church Center for Leadership Development in Noblesville, Indiana, where she has worked in various roles since 2002. For the past five years, she was in Rwanda with African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries. She has also worked in market research and business strategy.

from Buffalo, New York, is a senior at EMU, with crosscultural travel experience in Palestine and Israel. She has worked with the Mennonite Jewish Relations Working Group of Mennonite Church USA, and presented at the Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Festival about sexual assault.

RABAB HASAN lived in Iraq until five years ago, and now calls Harrisonburg and Norway home. She has tested children and adults all over Iraq for PTSD, and researched the mental health effects of war, using her findings to develop the Child Women Friendly Space program. In 2006 she started a project with UNICEF in Erbil-Iraq villages that were attacked by chemical weapons.

is a Nigerian finance expert, social entrepreneur and banker. She has a degree and diploma in business administration from Federal Polytechnic Ado-Editi, a master’s degree in banking and finance from Bayero University Kano and a post-graduate diploma in business finance from the University of Calabar.

EMILY POWELL PRERNA BARUA from India, has a master’s degree in conflict analysis and peacebuilding from the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution and a post-graduate diploma in conflict transformation and peacebuilding from Lady Shri Ram College for Women. She completed internships in the Ministry of External Affairs in India and with Youth for Peace International.

JESSICA BRINKLEY from Brandywine, Maryland, is an education program and policy analyst with a focus on trauma-informed schools, and has helped foster children with trauma. She also volunteers with the Keybridge Foundation diversion program for schoolchildren.

ISAIAH DOTTIN-CARTER

SOPHIA HUTCHISON from Oahu, Hawaii, and Traverse City, Michigan, was the assistant director of the David O. McKay Center for Intercultural Understanding, interned as a community involvement assistant director at my LIFEspeaks in Haiti, and was a peer mediation teacher at Moroni High School on the island of Tarawa, Kiribati. She co-authored the report “Disturbing the Peace of the Devil: Peacebuilding as a Mormon Faith Vocation.”

comes to CJP with an academic focus on trauma and resilience, with emphases on embodied healing and identity studies.

MAGGIE RAKE has been working in education – as a mentor through AmeriCorps, teacher of English, and facilitator of cultural exchanges – since graduating from the University of Texas in her home state.

PAUL KAYEMBE from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, graduated in 2019 with a degree in peacebuilding and development at EMU, where he has been active in student government and the International Student Organization. Peacebuilding is “the only thing that has precluded many like me from losing hope,” he said.

TIM RASMUSSEN from Nevada and Hawaii, has been a security supervisor at Brigham Young University Hawaii Public Safety Department, has conducted workshops on conflict transformation for married or engaged couples, and was a full-time missionary.

FOCUS

Tecla Namachanja Wanjala MA ’03, CJP Peacebuilder of Year, with longtime friend and former CJP staffer Jan Jenner MA ‘99. PHOTO BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

TECLA NAMACHANJA WANJALA HONORED AS CJP’S 2019 PEACEBUILDER OF THE YEAR Tecla Namachanja Wanjala MA ‘03 was honored as the 2019 Peacebuilder of the Year in May during the Summer Peacebuilding Institute. She accepted the award on behalf of her family, several of whom were present, but also “on behalf of Kenya, and not just Kenya, but Africa.” “I don’t want to think that this is just my honor,” she said, adding thanks to EMU and to her fellow CJP alumni working together in Africa on peacebuilding initiatives. Over nearly 30 years, Wanjala has worked in many countries, including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia and Rwanda, in various aspects of peacebuilding, from arbitration and mediation to reconciliation and trauma healing. Currently the board chair for the Green String Network, she has served as commissioner and acting chair of Kenya’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission and in other roles with organizations such as PeaceNet and Pact International. Wanjala’s peacebuilding work began with Somali refugees in 1991, encountering “trauma when we didn’t know what trauma was.” She came to EMU after meeting Jan Jenner MA ‘99, then a co-country representative with Mennonite Central Committee in Kenya. (Jenner ultimately became the first director of CJP’s Practice and Training Institute and then of the Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership Program.) “Jan is the one who identified me in a small village and saw my

potential,” said Wanjala, who was working with Catholic Relief Services on resettlement issues. “She brought me on the national level, encouraged me to come to EMU. I looked for funding and she said come by faith.” At EMU, Wanjala took five courses in trauma, including Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) trainings. She created an independent study to synthesize concepts, “to think about how we do this in Africa.” Later, she collaborated with colleagues from the Green String Network who also were familiar with STAR materials: “We communicate best through folklore, stories and images, and so we took the STAR material, translated it into Kiswahili and developed images for each session. This is how Kumekucha was born.” The Kumekucha program – Kiswahili for “It’s a new dawn” – empowers local leaders to create “space for people to talk, to cry, to affirm each other” in dealing with the country’s historic and current trauma, Wanjala said. The social healing program has expanded from communities to police and prison wardens. Wanjala was among six Kenyans and three internationals selected as commissioners to the Kenya Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, established to investigate human rights violations and other historical injustices in Kenya between 1963 and 2008. She eventually became acting chair, leading efforts to record and witness testimony. Though implementation of the commission’s recommendations has not been fulfilled, she says that is not a reason to give up on the hope of reconciliation and the creation of healing spaces in communities. It is important to be ready to see “windows of opportunity” and to gain supporters who agree in the approach and importance of the work. “Start small, people will hear and join the river along the way,” she said. —LAUREN JEFFERSON

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 7

FOCUS YEAR IN REVIEW

2019

CJP HIGHLIGHTS

Planning begins for CJP’s 25th anniversary celebration in summer 2020.

2018-19

2018 First-year students participate in the first annual Grounding Day, with the goal of building community; connecting to local history and current social, political, economic and environmental justice realities; and exploring concepts of intersectionality.

2018

The first-ever virtual book launch hosted by the Zehr Institute showcases The Little Book of Racial Healing, authored by Coming To the Table president Jodie Geddes MA ‘16 and executive director Tom DeWolf. A CJP Creative Initiatives grant enables Renata Loberg, Kajungu Mturi MA ‘18, Eunkyung Ahn, Kirby Broadnax, Emily Higgins and Yasmiene Mabrouk to lead an arts-based peacebuilding workshop for immigrant and refugee students from Harrisonburg High School.

A class of 33 new graduate students begins studies. The Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice begins its 2018-19 webinar series with a discussion of funding RJ programs.

Funded by a CJP Creative Initiatives grant, student Katrina Poplett organizes and co-facilitates the first all-campus restorative justice workshop with student Mikayla Waters Crittenton, Professor Johonna Turner and EMU administrator Jon Swartz MA ‘14.

The first of three on-campus STAR I trainings begins, with trainers Elaine Zook Barge MA ‘03 and Najla Elmangoush MA ‘15. Additional trainings are held in Chicago, in partnership with Mennonite Central Committee Great Lakes.

SEPTEMBER

EMU graduate counseling students participate in a two-day STAR training, funded by a federal grant to prepare counselors to work with underserved Virginia populations.

NOVEMBER OCTOBER

Eighteen South Korean K-12 educators visit EMU for a multiday workshop on “Building Resilience for Body, Mind and Spirit” facilitated by student Eunkyung Ahn and STAR lead trainer Katie Mansfield. MCC and STAR partner to provide STAR I trainings in Lebanon and Afghanistan. In Lebanon, Elaine Zook Barge MA ‘03 and Ayman Kerols MA ‘16 train those working with refugees. Katie Mansfield and Heather Peters train MCC partners in Afghanistan.

JANUARY FEBRUARY

DECEMBER

Students Yasmiene Mabrouk, Kirby Broadnax and Katrina Poplett facilitate campus conversations around Indigenous Peoples Day. CJP and EMU host the world premier of “The Eagle and the Condor,” a film about Standing Rock directed by Paulette Moore.

The National Park Service contracts a multi-day training and discussion on trauma, resilience, restorative justice and culture change by Katie Mansfield, Jonathan Swartz MA ‘14, and professors Carolyn Stauffer and Johonna Turner.

2018 A one-day trauma awareness and resilience building training for immigrant and refugee youth from Harrisonburg High School is held with Church World Service and STAR.

2018

CJP co-founder John Paul Lederach, now a senior fellow at Humanity United, wins the Niwano Peace Prize. Professor Carl Stauffer, Zehr Institute co-director, gives the keynote address at Harvard Law School’s annual restorative justice symposium. The fourth annual SPI Community Day hosts 120 participants including 30 local educators supported by a generous donation. Professor Kathy Evans and Soula Pefkaros MA ‘10 provide a keynote and lunch talk, respectively.

2019

8 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

FOCUS 2019

2019

Thirty students graduate, including five Fulbright scholars.

Twelve hikers trek to the top of Kilimanjaro to commemorate the life and legacy of murdered United Nations armed group expert Michael J. Sharp, a 2005 EMU graduate, and raise more than $136,000 for an endowed scholarship in his name.

2019

Summer Peacebuilding Institute begins. Approximately 200 people from 35 countries and 25 U.S. states, plus Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C. attend 19 courses. Tecla Namachanja Wanjala MA ‘03 accepts the Peacebuilder of the Year Award for her 30 years of dedication and work. More than 20 students, faculty and staff participate in the Friends Committee on National Legislation’s annual Spring Lobby Weekend, advocating for a more just and humane U.S. immigration policy.

A cohort of 54 Brazilian judges, lawyers and other restorative justice practitioners take specialized courses at SPI; they represent the largest single-country group to ever attend.

MARCH

Second-year graduate students prepare to facilitate new student orientation with emphasis on preparation for deep learning about power, privilege, historical harms and ways to decolonize CJP practices and theories.

MAY APRIL

JULY JUNE

CJP benefits from LovEMU Day: 55 donors gave a total of $5,332 to the CJP Annual Fund.

AUGUST

SPI Horizons of Change luncheon speakers include Dignity author Donna Hicks, Syrian radio star Honey Al-Sayed; and The Little Book of Racial Healing co-authors Jodie Geddes MA ‘16 and Tom DeWolf, both of Coming to the Table. Jonathan Swartz MA ‘14 and Katie Mansfield lead resilience training for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

2019

A new class of 23 begins their studies.

2019

Daryl Byler, executive director since 2013, announces his departure to take a position with the D.C. Bar Foundation in Washington D.C. Dr. Jayne Docherty, former academic programs director, is announced as executive director.

2019

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 9

HOMECOMING AND FAMILY WEEKEND

EMUTenTalks IMPACT. CELEBRATE

JOHN E. SHARP

Retired history and Bible professor at Hesston College

INFLUENCE. INSPIRE.DREAM REFLECT

TAMMY KRAUSE National defense-victim outreach coordinator

DARSHEEL KAUR

Educator, cultural worker and artist, youth advocate and restorative practitioner

EMU, University Commons MainStage Theater • Saturday, October 12, 2 p.m. During EMU’s Homecoming and Family Weekend, TenTalks will focus on CJP’s 25th anniversary theme. Listen to inspiring 10-minute presentations by three transformative peacebuilders, followed by Q&A. Open to the public.

emu.edu/homecoming/schedule Harrisonburg, Virginia

10 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

CJPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION GATHERING FRIDAY, JUNE 5 - SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2020 Join us for a weekend of celebration, reflection and reconnection during Summer Peacebuilding Institute. Registration opens Jan. 15, 2020 Visit emu.edu/cjp/anniversary for more information.

COME EARLY TO TAKE A CLASS OR STAY TO TAKE STAR.

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

Registration................................................................................................................................................2-10 p.m. Picnic supper.................................................................................................................................... 5:30-7:30 p.m. Opening ceremaony........................................................................................................................... 8-9:30 p.m. Late evening informal gatherings music, fire at the hill, lit-up gazebo, trips downtown, etc.

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020

Breakfast.................................................................................................................................................... 7-8:30 a.m. Plenary event I.......................................................................................................................................9-10:30 a.m. with John Paul Lederach and others Break...................................................................................................................................................... 10:30-11 a.m. Breakout sessions....................................................................................................................11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on theme of racial, economic, social and gender justice Lunch.......................................................................................................................................................12:30-2 p.m. Plenary event II....................................................................................................................................... 2-3:30 p.m. with founding women of CJP Break/free time....................................................................................................................................... 3:30-6 p.m. Banquet and speaker................................................................................................................................. 6-8 p.m. (tickets available as single event)

SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2020

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 11

John Sharp scatters his son’s ashes on the summit of Kilimanjaro. Remembrances were also shared of Zaida Catalan, MJ’s colleague, and Glen Lapp ‘91, a peacebuilder who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. PHOTO BY CHRIST Y K AUFFMAN

KILIMANJARO TREK RAISES MORE THAN $136,000 FOR M.J. SHARP PEACE AND JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP As the story of murdered United Nations armed group expert Michael J. Sharp continues to spread around the world, the endowed scholarship set up in his name by friends and family to support Congolese peacebuilders at CJP grows as well. Sharp was a 2005 graduate of EMU. David Nyiringabo,the first recipient of the scholarship, enters his second year of graduate studies in conflict transformation at CJP this fall. One reason Sharp’s legacy continues to grow is a March 2019 trek up Kilimanjaro in Tanzania that helped to raise more than $136,000 and garnered international publicity. Climbing the mountain was always something the United Nations armed group expert had planned to do, but his work kept him from the goal. At the summit, MJ’s father John scattered his son’s ashes.

12 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

The 8-day effort earned the attention of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki R. Haley and Nobel laureates Leymah Gbowee MA ’07 and Dr. Denis Mukwege, each of whom sent video greetings and encouragement to the hikers as they made the ascent. Actress and activist Jane Fonda also posted a message of support on her blog. In the months following, more donors have been inspired by his story to help Congolese peacebuilders. Recent donors include a group of Amish youth, a former Central Intelligence Agency official who had worked in the region, and two couples who matched each other’s gifts. —LAUREN JEFFERSON

Donate to the M.J. Sharp Scholarship: Visit emu.edu/dream-hike

FOCUS

LOBBYING FOR PEACE IN WASHINGTON D.C.

‘AN APOSTLE MOVING IN THE WORLD’ Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail MA ‘18, a Sudanese Episcopal bishop in exile, advocated for his people at the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. this summer. His graduation from CJP more than a year ago has freed his time to fully concentrate on his role as bishop of the Diocese of Kadugli of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan. He works from the United States and a liaison office in Juba, South Sudan, to pastor his dispersed congregation, many of whom are in refugee camps in six African countries. The people of the Nuba Mountains, along with areas of Abyei, Blue Nile and Darfur, are caught between the governments of North and South Sudan and suffer from raids, bombing and starvation. More than 50,000 refugees live in the United States. To minister to them, Andudu has traveled to 35 states. Before he completed his degree, he developed a powerful and promising model to help the Sudanese refugee community to learn more about trauma and resilience and restorative justice. With the help of co-instructors such as Kajungu Maturi MA ’18, of Tanzania, Andudu organized and facilitated a series of educational workshops in diaspora communities in Dallas, Texas; Richmond, Virginia; and Denver, Colorado. Andudu hopes to work with CJP to host more workshops and to encourage Sudanese and south Sudanese community leaders to gain more training at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute. “This is the right place for Sudanese and south Sudanese,” he said. “This is a place where we can heal.” The same blessing might be said of his own work. “You are like an apostle moving in the world,” said Professor Carl Stauffer. “You model deep commitment to your family and the needs of your church and your nation. Your work is valuable to the Sudanese and South Sudanese community and to the Anglican Church. We are honored to accompany you in this work, because you are helping us all.” —LAUREN JEFFERSON

Peace advocates have moved Congress to rare consensus around a new mandate “to help prevent acts of genocide and other atrocity crimes.” Drafted with the help of Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), overwhelmingly supported in Congress, and signed into law by the president on January 14, 2019, the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 calls for the enhancement of the government’s “capacities to prevent, mitigate, and respond to such crises.” “Engaging with policymakers is absolutely vital to building a more peaceful, more just society, particularly in this moment in Washington,” said Theo Sitther, a 2013 CJP graduate and, until earlier this year, an FCNL lobbyist based in Washington D.C. Quakers were historically involved in the abolishment of slavery, and founded FCNL 75 years ago to lobby Congress for a more peaceful and just society, which included advocating for civil rights and other causes. Its work on conflict prevention began after Congress authorized the president to invade Iraq 15 years ago. Back then in Washington, “preventing violent conflict was a foreign concept,” he said, and so FCNL made it the focus of its lobbying efforts. Peacebuilding “takes time,” Sitther said, and requires “building mutually transformative relationships.” “Even in the most divisive relationships that you can find, you’re going to find some common ground,” he said. “One of FCNL’s strategies has been, even where we can find just that ounce of agreement, we stake it out and make sure that we try to grow that common ground.” CJP students collaborate with FNCL and other organiations on annual Lobby Weekend activities in Washington D.C. —CHRISTOPHER CLYMER KURTZ

PHOTOS BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 13

PROGRAMS Kenneth Wilson (right), president of August Town Peace Builders, receives the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation from Prime Minister Andrew Holness April 25, 2018, at Jamaica House. PHOTO BY YHOMO HUTCHINSON/JAMAIC A INFORMATION SERVICE

“GHANA, REMEMBER ME…” With Talibah Aquil MA ‘19

IN GHANA this spring on her capstone project research travels, Talibah Aquil stepped into a slave castle-dungeon, where over the course of 400 years, hundreds of thousands of Africans were imprisoned by European traders before embarking on a terrifying, often deadly journey to a life of enslavement. “It was one of the hardest yet most fulfilling moments,” she remembers. “Many African Americans know nothing of our family tree tracing even six generations back. Visiting the castle dungeons was one of the only times that I KNEW I was standing in some place where my ancestors stood.” Particularly painful, she said, was the knowledge that in the space above, their white European captors worshipped God. She remembers a sign above the small door that the Africans were forced to walk through as they entered the ships that carried them away from their homeland: “It read ‘The Door of No Return.’ In that moment I knew. I returned for them. THIS was for them.”

14 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

THIS describes her moment of ancestral connection, historical trauma and suffering from long-borne scars. THIS also describes new wounds from her experiences at CJP and the healing that comes from new learning and understanding. Months later, after creating and sharing a multimedia performance about that journey, Aquil moves confidently forward in her ministry. Here is some of her story.

COMING TO CJP I grew up in a Mennonite church in Bronx, New York, called King Of Glory Tabernacle. The name Eastern Mennonite University has always circled many of the spaces I was a part of — I had even spent some time on campus with the seminary’s Learning, Exploring, Participating (LEAP) Program for high school students in 2003, before attending the Global Youth Summit and the 14th Mennonite World Conference Assembly

PROGRAMS

THIS EXPERIENCE WAS MORE THAN JUST FULFILLING A PRACTICUM REQUIREMENT FOR ME, I WAS ABLE TO GAIN THE POWER I NEEDED TO REIMAGINE, RETELL AND RECLAIM MY/OUR STORIES CENTERED AROUND BEING A PERSON OF COLOR IN AMERICA.

THEORY OF CHANGE • If we provide spaces for people of the diaspora who are misplaced from the legacy of slavery to learn about their history pre-slavery by traveling to West Africa, Ghana, then we can contribute to a positive identity formation within their community AND within themselves. • If people of the diaspora who were misplaced due to the legacy of slavery are able to connect to their ancestral history (pre-enslavement) by traveling to Ghana, West Africa, then that will contribute to the relational healing between African Americans and Africans. • If others outside of Africa are provided with holistic images of the continent of Africa, then this can contribute to dismantling the incomplete single-story “poor” narrative of Africans and the Continent. • If I shared more images and told stories of Americans across the continent of Africa, then less Africans would aspire to move to America for “a better life” and would continue to have more pride in their own country and community.

PHOTOS BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. However, I never thought or had the desire to attend the university itself. I graduated with a degree in musical theater from Howard University, travelled worldwide as a performer with STEP Afrika, and served in the Peace Corps in Rwanda. As this term of service was ending in 2016, I realized my passion for listening and supporting people through their difficult trials and holding space for people to share and release their trauma. Among other experiences, as a member of the Peer Support Network for Peace Corps volunteers, I had spent many hours visiting my neighbors in my village to lend a supportive ear. I began looking for graduate programs that incorporated performing arts therapy/healing. The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding kept coming up in my search engine. The flexibility to create my own capstone project at the intersection of arts and trauma healing was compelling. In my spirit, I just KNEW that I was supposed to come to CJP. It was one of the times in my life where God gave me clear direction of where I was supposed to be.

MOVING TOWARDS A CAPSTONE PROJECT My studies at CJP led me into so many concepts around power and privilege and I gained the language and skill sets to begin to articulate many of the grievances I had around the way my identity as a Black person in America has always been portrayed. Many painful emotions arose around this. I began to read up on some of the stories of other people of color who felt the same way … first Dr. Maya Angelou’s All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes and then Homegoing by Yaa Gjasi. This is how Ghana first spoke to me. A major objective of my practicum was to learn about my ancestry pre-slavery – from a place that does not begin with pain and trauma but that also adds to the fabric of my identity. In Africa, I was often asked “where I was from” on the Continent. This question led me to conduct research with ancestry.com. I found out that out of all of the African countries that I was from, Ghana had the highest percentage. Ghana truly chose ME. It was a beautiful place to begin my journey of learning about my people and myself.

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 15

PROGRAMS

My arts-based independent research project centered around exploring healthy and holistic approaches to reimagining the “identity formation” of African Americans and people of the diaspora who are descendents of slavery. I spent three months in Ghana during the “Year Of Return” to document the lived experiences of people of the diaspora who decided to move to Ghana and how that transition and connection to their history has shaped how they see themselves now. I also documented my own personal journey of self-discovery and healing. Ultimately, this collected “data” was shared through the lens of poetry, music, dance and video in a performance titled “Ghana, remember me…” GIVING GIFTS I continue to reflect on this powerful experience. Ghana changed my life. It reshaped the way I see myself AND the way I show up in the world now. This experience was more than just fulfilling a practicum requirement for me, I was able to gain the power I needed to reimagine, retell and reclaim MY/OUR stories centered around being a person of color in America. This trip to Ghana healed historical trauma, broke generational curses and counteracted all of the incomplete and harmful narratives that were told to me about “who I am,” from the world…. I will forever be grateful.

16 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

Now, I must go out and create more spaces and platforms for others to experience this same kind of healing that was gifted to me, and to celebrate the magic and the power that comes from the beautiful Continent of Africa. WHAT’S NEXT The performance truly opened up a door for myself and I believe for many who came to experience it. At the request of CJP, I’ll perform it again this fall. My preparations have included more reflection on how I can open space to much-needed healthy dialogue around identity, healing and storytelling. Part of those plans include continuing the storytelling work through documentary film. To prepare, I took a documentary film course at Duke University this summer. CJP has asked me to co-teach a class this fall semester called “Reimagining Identity” and I am truly excited and honored about that. In January 2020, I move to Ghana to partner with the Peace Corps in more trauma healing work and the start of a docuseries, “We Are Magic.” I will be journeying to different parts of the beautiful continent of Africa and sharing the stories of those I am blessed to meet.

PROGRAMS

PHOTO BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR CALLS FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN AFGHANISTAN Lasting peace in Afghanistan, a Fulbright scholar at CJP wrote in an April Georgetown Public Policy Review article, will require restorative justice processes that seek to “restore the relationships which are paramount to unity and reconciliation.” Bahman Shahi completed his CJP practicum as a strategic planning fellow at Search for Common Ground (SFCG) in Washington DC. With SFCG’s associate vice president and head of strategy and program quality, he helped develop a 10-year strategic plan for Central and South Asia, which includes his home country of Afghanistan. In July, he began as a senior associate and project manager for the international consultancy firm Acasus. In that role, he will work with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health senior officials in central and provincial governments to improve healthcare delivery. This spring at SFCG, Shahi analyzed the region’s conflicts, mapped donors and partners, reviewed literature, and assessed regional peacebuilding operations. Along with multiple other activities, he also met with USAID and State Department officials and assisted in the registration process of SFCG’s Afghanistan office. “Any deal will not last unless Afghanistan reckons with its past,” Shahi wrote in his Review article “A Restorative Framework for Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation in Afghanistan.” “As negotiations carry on,

many Afghans are waiting for a long hoped-for peace. However, the many cycles of violence and terror have left many in Afghanistan harmed, and the victims are looking for justice. Afghanistan needs to consider seriously the precepts of restorative justice as a way to pair peace with justice.” SFCG, founded during the Cold War, asserts that “we all ‘win’ when the focus is on what we want to achieve – not what divides us,” according to its website: “Using everything from traditional diplomacy and mediation to video games and virtual exchange, we work one step at a time to change the nature of conflict – from a destructive force to a constructive one.” Restorative justice asserts that wrongs must be named, acknowledged and repaired to the extent possible, according to Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice at EMU. In Afghanistan, Shahi said in his practicum presentation, the needs of victims must be met, or the country’s deeply rooted issues will continue to resurface. “We need to create a discussion of nonviolence, justice and reconciliation,” he said. “Real change always starts from the bottom. It’s difficult, [and takes] long-term commitment.” Shahi, who holds an English literature degree from Kabul University, has been active in Afghanistan’s civil society and debate circuit. He has worked for Seeds of Peace, a peacebuilding and leadership development organization, and at the Kabul-based Afghans for Progressive Thinking. A total of 84 Fulbright scholars from 28 countries have graduated from CJP. The Fulbright program is led by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. —CHRISTOPHER CLYMER KURTZ

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 17

PROGRAMS

‘AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING’ CJP alum Caitlin Morneau is the first Catholic Mobilizing Network director of restorative justice FOR CAITLIN MORNEAU, the work of mobilizing the 20 percent of Americans who identify as Catholic began with cowriting a book foreword with Eastern Mennonite University’s Howard Zehr, an early translator of indigenous practices into the restorative justice movement. The book, Redemption and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Restorative Justice (Liturgical Press, 2017), was a production of the Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), and Morneau, who is Catholic, was immediately drawn to the organization. Just months later, in July 2017, she became its first director of restorative justice. In her role, Morneau oversees RJ programming, the creation and publishing of educational materials, messaging and grassroots efforts for RJ advocacy. She also was the lead adapter for Harm, Healing and Human Dignity: A Catholic Encounter with Restorative Justice (Liturgical Press, 2019), a faith formation guide that introduces the topic in an “accessible and reflective” way, she said. “Restorative justice values are consistent with Catholic principles including human dignity, solidarity and encounter,” said Morneau, who graduated this spring with a master’s degree in restorative justice from CJP. “They invite us into an entirely different way of thinking about justice itself, one that is healing and humanizing rather than vengeful and isolating.” Based in Washington DC, CMN was founded a decade ago to embolden Catholics and others to advocate for the end of the death penalty and to promote restorative justice. The collaborative effort included the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, murder victim family members, Dead Man Walking author Sister Helen Prejean and her religious order, the Congregation of St. Joseph. CMN calls for the transformation of the U.S. criminal justice system and works to build social capacity for restorative practices. The movements are “mutually beneficial,” said Morneau. “Efforts to educate, pray and advocate for an end to the death penalty open doorways for people to learn about restorative justice who may not have otherwise heard about it, and when we create a more restorative culture, the death penalty becomes

18 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

obsolete and irrelevant.” CMN recently launched a blog for the people implementing RJ practices in Catholic settings to share stories, wisdom and lessons learned. It is also hosting two-day workshops leading up to a fall circles training, and will host a national RJ conference in 2020. For her CJP practicum, Morneau – a self-described “systems thinker” – primarily focused on the internal workings of CMN. She established an organizational steering committee to provide vision for growing CMN’s RJ programmatic reach and to advance the RJ movement and integration of RJ ethics in Catholic contexts and ministries. Among the committee’s members are Chris Castillo, whose mother was murdered, and Felix Rosado, co-founder of Let’s Circle Up inside the Phoenix State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania, among a number of other experienced facilitators.

PROGRAMS

WE DO THIS WORK BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT EVERY HUMAN IS MADE IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD, HAS INALIENABLE HUMAN DIGNITY, AND DESERVES TO BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY, NO MATTER THE HARM THAT WAS SUFFERED OR CAUSED.

Caitlin Morneau MA ‘19 oversees restorative justice programming in her role with Catholic Mobilizing Network. PHOTO BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

“If we are to be true to the movement, we need to create structures that allow us as an organization to be informed by the experiences of those doing the work in communities,” she said. She has also worked on building strategic relationships with leaders and grassroots coalitions “in order to amplify prominent voices and mobilize the masses in calling for life and human dignity,” she said. The Catholic church’s social teachings, while less widely known, are “a framework for peacebuilding, not something that’s separate from it.” Morneau recognizes that a significant challenge in working closely with the Catholic community is the current clergy sexual abuse “reckoning.” As Catholics throughout the country are looking for responses to harm that uphold both healing and accountability, she is hopeful that a deeper understanding of restorative justice among Catholics will inform processes

Top: Facilitating a circle at CMN’s first Restorative Circles Intensive in Washington D.C. Above: With colleagues and fellow activists at the annual Starvin’ for Justice Fast and Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty in front of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. PHOTOS COURTESY OF C AITLIN MORNEAU

that center the voices of victim survivors and communities harmed while including individual and institutional accountability that facilitates amends and a new way forward. The church’s extensive membership and structures are “capable of influencing great change,” she said. “We do this work because we believe that every human is made in the image and likeness of God, has inalienable human dignity, and deserves to be treated with dignity, no matter the harm that was suffered or caused. That drives everything that we do.” —CHRISTOPHER CLYMER KURTZ

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 19

PROGRAMS

LEARNING FROM AND WITH OTHERS Students facilitate processes for local clients, gain from peer coaching

CJP IS A PRACTICE-ORIENTED PROGRAM, preparing students from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds to engage proactively and reflectively in complicated real-world settings of conflict and injustice. But what does that mean in actuality? It means each CJP student doesn’t only read about and discuss core theories and skills of mediation and negotiation, facilitation and nonviolent mobilization for social change. And they also have the opportunity to apply learnings to a real situation with a client and then reflect, drawing on the wisdom of others – and the wisdom within – throughout the process. The result is a transformative and challenging learning experience that contributes to both personal and professional growth, says Practice Director Amy Knorr MA ‘09. And, she adds, the process benefits the community. In recent years, as this outreach was emphasized by Knorr and faculty, CJP students have developed a strong reputation among local organizations as skillful communicators. Many organizations

20 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

bring specific needs to CJP; Knorr helps to link these opportunities to coursework or as extracurricular volunteerism. “The combination of the theory, the practice opportunity where skills are implemented, and the collaborative interaction with and feedback provided by classmates, faculty and staff here at CJP creates a potent learning situation,” Knorr said. As an example, take Professor Catherine Barnes and her spring 2019 facilitation class. To her teaching, Barnes brings decades of experience designing and implementing deliberative dialogue processes in more than 30 countries. That lends credibility to one of her goals stated in the syllabus: Participants will become familiar with a variety of methods and techniques to achieve process goals, with groups ranging in size from three to 3,000. During the class, students pair up to design a deliberative process for a client, then implement that process, receive constructive feedback from their partner, the client and Knorr. Barnes meets with the students in a final coaching session.

PROGRAMS

Left: Ed Hagan listens to a client during a facilitation at Our Community Place in spring 2019. Above: Erin Campbell works with employees from educational nonprofit On the Road Collaborative as they update their mission and vision statement. PHOTOS BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

“We want to support the development of ethical, self-aware practitioners,” Barnes said, “who not only know how to use appropriate techniques but who also understand the deeper underpinnings of processes for working in complex contexts, with a lifelong habit of continually learning from experience for increasing effectiveness in the most challenging environments.” Your partner in such an exercise could be a seasoned diplomat like Jim Herman, who served for a time as consul general of the largest U.S. consulate in the world in Frankfurt, Germany. He’ll retire soon, after a career that includes service in six other countries and Washington D.C. Or it might be someone like Dawn Curtis-Thames, a hospice nurse whose years of experience working with patients and families in the liminal spaces of life and death brought her to more intensive study of peace and conflict. Herman, who plans to start a coaching and teaching firm rooted in RJ principles with his wife of 27 years, says that the way in which Barnes carefully designed her facilitation course to “create safe space” for the sharing of different perspectives “enriched our interactions.” Not only was his own learning deepened in the classroom, but he was reminded through his practice partnership with classmate Kate Smucker that “two people with such different backgrounds can come together and complement each other’s skill set.” Interviewed a few short weeks after the semester’s end, Herman said he’d already used several new facilitation methods in his current work. Polarity management helped his team explore a touchy issue and the eventual “recognition of the interdependence of two seemingly different ideas.” Several

other techniques helped to “defuse office conflicts, which were negatively affecting morale, customer service and productivity.” As a result, communications improved and colleagues began to rebuild morale. Growth in knowledge and skills is one obvious benefit of practical application. Another is networking, building connections through which students hone skills and deepen their self awareness and confidence as practitioners. That was the case for Curtis-Thames, who worked with Our Community Place, a Harrisonburg-based nonprofit focused on meeting the needs of homeless people. She and classmate Ed Hagan, an attorney and mediation expert, facilitated a listening session with the organization’s clients, utilizing the world café method to learn more about daily concerns of both individuals and the group as a whole. “Hospitality is a core value of this organization and the world café facilitation strategy shared that value. I was so pleased and energized by the engagement of the clients. We were really in their zone, which is how it should be,” Curtis-Thames said. “Facilitation is about offering the leadership to hold the space open and keep communication real, making a good space for meaningful and purposeful conversation that leads to social change.” As with many practice opportunities, student-facilitators are often engaged beyond the initial exercise. Later, Curtis-Thames and her partner were asked to present the results at a city council meeting. In the coming year, Curtis-Thames will return to the organization for her practicum and capstone. She’s excited to continue the learning experience. “I learned so much from watching the organization staff and clients interact with each other,” she said. “I learned probably as much in that as I did in the whole process.” —LAUREN JEFFERSON *Ed Hagan and Kate Smucker graduated in May 2019.

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 21

PROGRAMS

‘CHANGING THE NARRATIVE ON SEXUAL HARMS’ Eastern Mennonite University professor Carolyn Stauffer is leading the development of a new Strategies for Trauma and Resilience (STAR) curriculum focused on sexual harms. The “Changing the Narrative on Sexual Harms” (CTN) project, which is funded by a JustPax Fund grant, is housed in the STAR program under the leadership of trainer Katie Mansfield and program director Hannah Kelley. Project contributors include Richmond Public Schools manager of school climate and culture Ram Bhagat GC ‘19 and neuroscientist and practitioner Joy Kreider. EMU’s Title IX coordinator Rachel Roth Sawatsky and the Collins Center crisis response coordinator Rhoda Miller, a CJP grad student, are also key contributors. STAR has facilitated trauma and resilience trainings with thousands of participants from more than 60 countries. The curriculum will deepen the program’s work addressing sexual trauma specifically and will engage all affected parties – from individuals to institutions – in proactive, preventative and restorative approaches. “Worldwide there is a growing admission that the topic of sexual harms is quickly moving from invisible peripheries to conspicuous center stage,” Stauffer said. “The CTN project provides a viable way to be visibly present at a critical time in this important conversation. This proactive approach frames the paradigm shift opportunity offered by CTN.” The grant includes funding for assembling focus groups in local and international settings, interviewing global practice leaders, and accessing expertise at institutions such as Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. The project is collecting input from survivors across diverse communities, thereby ensuring the inclusion of voices from marginalized and underrepre-

22 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

Professor Carolyn Stauffer, pictured with students in an SPI course, is working with colleagues on a grant-funded project to develop a new STAR curriculum focused on sexual harms. PHOTO BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

sented communities. In addition to the harmful impacts of sexual violence on individuals, the curriculum will address how power disequilibria can foster cultures of violence in communities and organizations. “Many organizations do not have processes in place to support individuals in a trauma-sensitive manner nor the impetus to push for proactive policies that prevent sexual violence in the first place,” Stauffer wrote. “Daily we hear of ‘sexual misconduct’ that gains notoriety precisely because institutions are non-compliant with current legislation and ignorant of trauma-sensitive intervention protocols. Such gaps not only compound the profound harms already done to victims, but they also put the integrity, legality and legitimacy of organizations at risk.” The JustPax Fund focuses on individuals and organizations working for effective change through innovative approaches to societal challenges relating to gender, environmental and/or economic justice. It is administered by Everence Charitable Services through the Everence affiliate Mennonite Foundation. “This project is the heart of what JustPax is all about,” said Teresa Boshart Yoder, managing director for Everence in Harrisonburg. “We want to reach out to the underserved or vulnerable and begin programs that will bring about effective change.” This $6,600 grant is the second Stauffer has received from JustPax. A 2016 grant of $10,200 supported a project called “Silent Violence,” which studied strategies of resilience among domestic violence survivors from within communities of homeless women, undocumented Latinas, and Mennonite women from Old Order or conservative church communities. —CHRISTOPHER CLYMER KURTZ

IMMEDIATE IMPACT Donors help fund special projects LIKE MANY CITIZENS, retired music professor Marge Maust and her partner Sandy Bahr have been dismayed and disheartened by accounts of increasing violence in communities and schools. Their conversations on the topic eventually centered around two questions: Who to help? How to help? In our conversations, we came to the consensus that we need to reach the children in our communities to teach and practice another way of dealing with our differences and disagreements. And who better to do that than our teachers who in many cases spend more quality time with students? If teachers could model and teach a way of working together to solve problems with patience, mutual respect, trust and connection, these children could then incorporate those skills in the professions and relationships in which they choose to be involved as adults. This theory of change led them to CJP. Brainstorming opportunities and possibilities with CJP Development Director Lindsay Martin and former executive director Daryl Byler eventually led to a beneficial result. The couple funded 30 SPI Community Day scholarships to help introduce local educators to peacebuilding and restorative justice concepts. They also sponsored 20 local educators to attend EMU’s Restorative Justice in Education Conference and a special extra day of training to work on individual implementation plans. In its fourth year, the summertime event for novice and experienced practitioners brings in more than 100 educators from around Virginia and other states to learn from and be inspired by each other to make change in their classrooms. While many donors wait to gift money in their wills, Maust and Bahr have decided they want to contribute to a better

Marge Maust (middle) and Sandy Bahr sponsored several scholarships for educators to attend restorative justice events at Eastern Mennonite University. The couple worked with CJP Development Director Lindsay Martin (left) and administration to identify specific interests and then develop learning opportunities to make the most impact. PHOTO BY MACSON MCGUIGAN

world today. After all, if just one of those teachers returns to the classroom and helps one child to learn more peaceful ways of interaction, the impact is immediate and beneficial. “We figured that if we assisted our teachers now rather than later,” Maust said, “those same children they are teaching can pass it forward that much sooner.” The same philosophy – “getting the ball rolling while we are still living” – drives a few of their other philanthropic efforts at CJP. “It gives us great hope to know that we are contributing to the lives of persons who are committed to making the world a more peaceful and just place” Maust said. —LAUREN JEFFERSON

GET STARTED! Decide the areas you’d like to help impact. Make an appointment to meet with EMU’s Development Office. Get creative and brainstorm opportunities. See your donation make a difference!

emu.edu/cjp | PEACEBUILDER | 23

A YEAR OF CELEBRATION AND OPPORTUNITY I feel privileged to work at CJP on this milestone year celebrating our 25th anniversary! I look forward to many meaningful interactions with our alumni and supporters, but especially at our weekend celebration June 5-7, 2020. You are invited to join us and I hope to see you there. While you’re here, come early to take a class or stay to take STAR. Taking a CJP class is truly one of the best ways to more fully understand the transformative impact of our distinctive model of teaching.

The couple wishes to remain anonymous, but wanted to share their motivation for this gift: “During the past 15 years, we have been privileged to host many CJP students from other countries. Their work to resolve conflicts around the world has been an inspiration to us. Their courage and perseverance in the midst of so many difficulties is evidence of their commitment to nonviolence. It is with pleasure that we were asked and are able to make a donation for the 25th anniversary as a matching gift.”

CJP started in 1994 as a small seed, one that has been watered and tended by our community of supporters. From our founding donors James and Marian Payne who committed to covering CJP’s expenses that first year to the individuals and church congregations who organized events to connect CJP students with their communities to our more than 90 Partners in Peacebuilding today – our giving circle has grown from 1 to over 800, with more than $800,000 in total giving to CJP last year!

The match challenge includes gifts from new donors and gifts from donors who have not given in a year or more. I hope you will join us in recognizing the incredible growth and impact of CJP over the past 25 years. If you haven’t yet become a supporter, now is the time to make your first gift and double your impact. And if you are a consistent, renewing donor – first of all, thank you! And second, help us spread the word to new folks and expand our community of support!

But why stop there? One of our goals for CJP’s 25th anniversary is to continue to expand our community of supporters. To that end, all new gifts to CJP’s annual fund during our 25th anniversary year (ending June 30, 2020) will be MATCHED up to $25,000 by a generous donor couple.

With gratitude, LINDSAY E. MARTIN Associate Director of Development for CJP lindsay.e.martin@emu.edu 540-432-4581

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT CJP DURING OUR ANNIVERSARY JOIN 25TH ANNIVERSARY PARTNERS

Give $5,000 or more during our anniversary year to join a special giving circle, the 25th Anniversary Partners.

ENDOW A LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP

FUND A SPECIAL PROJECT

Invest in our peacebuilders by funding an endowed scholarship, which helps to make graduate peacebuilding education affordable for all students.

Where do your peacebuilding passion and our mission meet? Let’s talk about how you can fund a project most meaningful to you, like the course on restorative justice for educators featured on page 23.

INCLUDE CJP IN YOUR ESTATE PLANS

Add CJP as a beneficiary on your IRA or donor-advised fund, or include us in your will. We’re happy to talk through details and options with you!

Contact Lindsay or EMU’s Development office to discuss any of these giving options. Thank you for your past and future partnership with CJP!

emu.edu/cjp/support 24 | PEACEBUILDER | 2019-20

THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS DONORS! FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018-19, ENDING JUNE 30, 2019

PARTNERS IN PEACEBUILDING ($1,000+ TO CJP ANNUAL FUND) Anonymous (7) Emily & James Akerson Richard Alper & Kate Herrod Rick Augsburger & Jane Rutt Murl Baker Robert & Elva Bare Lowell & Verna Bender Ian & Beverly Birky Brenda Bowman Lena & Michael Brown E Lynn Brubaker & Debra Hutchinson Hero Brzw David Bucher & Sharon W. Hoover R Bradley & Mary Ellen Chewning Melvin & Lorna Claassen Eldon Christophel Angela Dickey Jayne Docherty Bill & Diane Elliot Bruce & Jeanette Flaming Fred & Gail Fox Bob Gillette Elizabeth Gingrich Stan & Susan Godshall Nancy Good Grantham Brethren in Christ Ray & Rosemary Hershberger Herb & Joanne High Dave & Cathleen Hockman-Wert Liz & Ralph Hofmeister Nelson Hoover Horace W Goldsmith Foundation Bob & Eloise Hostetler Doug Hostetter & Barbara Smolow Helen & Elvin Hurst Duane & Joan Kauffman Lois Kenagy Rosemary King John & Martha Kreider Bruce & Paula Brunk Kuhns Wayne & Kathleen Kurtz Wendell Lantz & Doris Weaver Ruby Lehman J. E. & Emma Lehman Ruth & Emerson Lesher Allen & Sara Jane Lind Joe & Constance Longacher Alexandra MacCracken

Lois M. Martin Marge Maust & Sandy Bahr Tom & Barbara Melby J Phillip & Betsy Moyer Larry & Janet Newswanger Mark & Judith Nord Elmo & Ella Pascale Kay Pranis Calvin Redekop Barbara & Alan Robbins Marvin & Darlene Rohrer-Meck James & Gloria Horst Rosenberger Henry & Charlotte Graber Rosenberger Lynn & Kathleen Roth Clarence Rutt Verne & Carol Schirch Erma Schnabel Howard & Willeane Schrock Melinda Scrivner Sewickley Presbyterian Church Andy & Marjan Shallal Sisters of St. Francis Gary Smucker Margaret Squier & Larry Levine Bruce & Neva Stambaugh Mary Beth & John Stauffer Donald & Mary Sundberg Stirling Telemachus Foundation Paul Thomas Vaughn & Inga Troyer United Service Foundation Inc. Valley Friends Meeting Samuel H. & Margaret Weaver Bob & Lena Wenger Mary & Raymond Whalen Steve & Dorothy Wiebe-Johnson Robert & Lois Witmer Marion & Eleanor Yoder Linda Yoder Pearl E Zehr Donald & Priscilla Ziegler Cheryl Zook

DONORS OF $1000 + TO OTHER CJP FUNDS Anonymous (3) Alper Family Foundation Inc. Jake Baer III Jacob Baer Jr. R Bradley & Mary Ellen Chewning Joseph & Barbara Gascho Keith & Jenna Grubaugh Clement & Donna Haldeman Esther Harder & Carlos Bustamonte Harder

Phoebe Kilby & Barry Carpenter Klingstein Foundation Jennifer & Gregory E. Larson-Sawin Ruth & Emerson Lesher Joseph & Rachel Martin Marge Maust & Sandy Bahr Krista & David Powell Calvin Redekop Norm Rittenhouse Margaret Squier & Larry Levine Kris Stoesz Randall & Ellen Stoesz Barbara & David Swan United Service Foundation Inc. Jay & Nancy Yoder

DONORS OF $1,000+ TO MJ DREAM HIKE Anonymous Sanford Alderfer Sr. Gustavo Bamberger John & Linda Bomberger David Bucher & Sharon W. Hoover Daryl & Cynthia Byler Gary & Patricia Combs Gwen & Michael Garmon Susan Gotwals Leo & Ruthanne Heatwole Calvin & Janet High Gerry & Linda Horst Colette Hostetler Alden & Louise Hostetter Susan & Jesse Huxman Ruth & Timothy Jost Kenneth & Jane Kauffman Allon & Doris Lefever Bruce Martin Vernon & Linda Martin Mary Ann Miller Donna Minter & Bruce Brunner Jeanne Moore Thom & Martha Moore Zihindula Mulegwa Emerson & Cynthia Nafziger Randall & Marcia Nelson Henry & Charlotte Graber Rosenberger Salford Mennonite Church Twila Schrock Erin Sharp & Alex Levene Marcus Sharp J David & Shirley A Shenk Martin & Sheri Swartzendruber Janna & Jerry Zirkle

1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg VA 22802-2462

1994—Present

GLOBAL IMPACT

Master’s degree or graduate certificate: 668 alumni in 69 countries Academic and non-degree training at EMU SPI - Summer Peacebuilding Institute: More than 3,500 alumni in 124 countries STAR - Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience: More than 5,400 participants from 62 countries Peacebuilding institutes modeled on EMU’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute: Located in nine countries – Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Ghana, Fiji, Mozambique, Northeast Asia, Philippines, United States, Zambia

Our vision is to create a critical mass of peace and justice leaders in every region of the world who have the skills to transform their communities, organizations, and nations. Evidence of CJP’s impact can be seen daily in the work of our students, graduates and our programs.

APPLY TODAY • emu.edu/cjp • cjp@emu.edu • 540-432-4490