In Harm's Way: A History of Christian Peacemaker Teams

In 1984 Evangelicals for Social Action founder Ron Sider posed the questions What would happen if we in the Christian church developed a new nonviolent peacekeeping force ready to move into violent conflicts and stand peacefully between warring parties? . . . Everyone assumes that for the sake of peace it is moral and just for soldiers to get killed by the hundreds of thousands even millions. Do we not have as much courage and faith as soldiers? Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has been trying to answer those questions since 1986. CPT has responded to invitations from grassroots organizers on five continents who are using nonviolent strategies to confront systemic oppression. This book provides a glimpse into the mistakes and successes the triumphs and tragedies that teams have shared in with local co-workers in various nations. It also continues to pose the question What would happen if CPTs efforts were multiplied by millions of Christians with a radical commitment to Jesuss nonviolent gospel? In Harms Way is the remarkable story of Christian Peacemaker Teams: courageous groups of Christians willing to risk their own lives in non-violent actions that aim to advance peace and justice. Even those of us who are not pacifists will find this moving and honest story of work in such places as the Middle East Haiti and Central America compelling. It is a story that will push all Christians to serious thought about the cost of following Jesus in todays world. - C. Stephen Evans University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities Baylor University and Jan E. Evans Associate Professor of Spanish Baylor University Kathleen Kern has worked for Christian Peacemaker Teams since 1993 serving on assignments in Haiti; in Washington DC; in the West Bank city of Hebron; in Chiapas Mexico; in South Dakota; in Colombia; and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kerns articles and essays have appeared in Tikkun magazine and in the Baltimore Sun. Her chapter describing the work of CPT From Haiti to Hebron with a Brief Stop in Washington D.C.: The CPT Experiment appeared in From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to International Peacebuilding (Oxford University Press 2000).