On Thursday , this Thursday, September 14, Hannah Redekop, our daughter, will be speaking on Colombia’s recent Peace Treaty. It will happen at 7:00 pm . It is a fundraiser for Woolwich Counselling Center here in Elmira.
Hannah has been working in Colombia for the last four and a half years in the area of human rights. The organization she works for is Christian Peacemaker Teams, and it is committed to “standing in the way” to prevent violence from happening . In Colombia, they work with many small farmers whose land is being threatened by many more powerful groups.
Hannah will be speaking on the recent treaty that ended over 40 years of civil war . It took years at the bargaining table to reach the agreement that has led the rebel group ( FARC) to laying down its arms, and returning to civilian life. There was much violence by the FARC, the government and the private paramilitaries, and so there is much healing to happen. It is not easy to forgive the people that killed your family members
Come out and hear Hannah speaking to the possible future in Colombia . Come and hear what it means to be a peacemaker in another area of God’s world. You might hear a nudging of the Spirit, to work at peacemaking in your family or here in our community. What does it mean for you to work at peace in your own neighborhood ? What does it mena for you to be live a non-violent life ?
Colombia is a large country with a population of almost 50 million . It is more than the civil war and drug cartels. It is about everyday people trying to live their lives the best they can. We visited Colombia in March of this year, and met a few farmers trying to live out their lives growing livestock, cacao ( chocolate ), corn, beans and other things . We met one farmer who was the pastor of a local church, the community organizer, the cheerleader of the community, and he had a price on his head. He needed a bodyguard with him 24/7 . He was positive and had a smile on his face ( almost all the time ), but he was passionate that his and other farmer’s land would not be taken away from them. And he was committed to non-violent action.
What do you know about Colombia ? Come with an open mind to hear Hannah speak of her experience of living and working there. Come and listen to the bigger questions through the eyes of ?hannah who works alongside the regular folk in rural Colombia.
The early church writer, Paul of Tarsus ), spoke to his community about the work of Jesus as a peacemaker. To be a person of peace was central to the work of Jesus Christ . Read the works of Paul in Ephesians 2:15-17:
“His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”
Come out next Thursday at 7:00 at Gale Presbyterian to hear about Colombia.
Ponder Anew 