We in Boise have seen the effects of recent Executive Orders concerning refugees first-hand and are responding by mobilizing churches to “stand in the gap” to help families who have recently arrived in the US but whose funding has been suspended. Read more to find out how.

If I could boil down my desire for our churches and communities into one word, I think it would be solidarity. Sometimes God teaches us how to build solidarity with one another by following his call for solidarity with the “other” - the wounded, oppressed, marginalized, widow, orphan, and even enemy. In the end, as we embark on a spiritual journey of solidarity with our neighbor, we will also find deeper solidarity with God, because we’re joining him in the work he’s already about and agreeing to meet him where he calls us.

Peace Catalyst’s Steve Schallert and Peter Digitale Anderson talk about about how Christians—especially those of us enjoying lives of safety and stability— can shift from a posture of service to one of solidarity with oppressed communities. Drawing on Steve’s years of experience practicing and teaching solidarity in South Africa and organizing pilgrimages in solidarity with Palestinians, we explore how others’ struggle for justice and liberation is also our own, and we also explore the theology and skills that can help us truly stand for peace.

Most therapy is talking. And that’s fine - but using a hammer can be very good as well. Ah, what a sound ceramic makes when it breaks! I would definitely be an artist in another life, another dimension. But in this life, I chose the path of a therapist, and art therapy and using our bodies in the therapeutic process are just as important as talking for holistic healing, especially for people affected by trauma. That’s why I especially love the art of Kintsugi.

What if we reimagine peacebuilding as a spiritual practice that we implement in our ordinary lives? If we see it as a Christian discipline to be lived out, as a natural response to our love for God, a direct action stemming from our love of neighbor?

In this work, I’ve seen how a shared meal can become a foretaste of the Great Feast Jesus spoke of. A table becomes a space where walls come down and the Kingdom comes near. In a broken world, breaking bread together becomes a revolutionary act. It’s a way of bearing witness to God’s love, awakening to the possibilities of reconciliation, and empowering others to join in the work of peace.

This summer at the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference in Palestine, I heard so many stories full of so much pain. But the thing is, I didn’t experience any of the events told in the stories. And when this happens, there are two possible responses. One response is to say, “well that didn’t happen to me, so why should I care?” Another response is to feel the pain as if it were my own and weep.

True peace is not just an absence of conflict or violence; it means that relationships have been restored both individually and collectively, both personally and in society. Tragically, this lack of true peace does not just exist outside of churches. This also exists within churches and other institutions of the Christian faith, even though these entities are supposed to be places of safety, healing and restoration, and reflections of God’s Kingdom found in what the Sermon on the Mount describes - a deeply profound, “Good News” Kingdom.

Today's children are not just tomorrow's leaders, neighbors, parents, and community members; they are also capable of leading today.

If we want to build a peaceful, flourishing future, we must begin teaching our youth the culture of peace now, empowering them to lead and make an impact today.

Join PCI's Peter Digitale Anderson for a conversation with U.S. peace educator Julie Lillie and Nigerian peace educator Moses Abolade about training young peacebuilders across the world. They reflect on the experiences and values that guide their work, approaches that they've found most effective across countries and cultures, and stories of the changes they've seen in their work.