Steps on the Journey: Becoming a Peacemaker – by Joff Williams
Posted: 11 February, 19:58 by Jon Dorsett
In November 2008 I spent two weeks in Israel and Palestine, meeting grass-roots peace activists as part of a delegation with Interfaith Peace Builders (IFPB). But what led me to do this and how have I come to a place where I now call myself a peacemaker?
Although peace has always been a value that I have treasured, it hasn’t always been something that I would have linked closely with my faith, or indeed purposely pursued. I grew up in a Christian home with mixed Anglican and Evangelical influences. But my journey to becoming a peacemaker really started after I joined the Workshop course in 2005. I had been asking questions about The Bible and its wider implications for the world, which weren’t really being addressed by my local church. Through the Workshop program I found that many of the questions I had been pondering, others were also asking and many of the truths which I’d felt unable to articulate, I could explore at Workshop. Among these truths was the Biblical vision of Shalom and the centrality of peacemaking within the Christian faith. I became increasingly convicted that a commitment to personal non-violence and peacemaking should be central to my faith walk.
One year after I completed the Workshop programme, a good friend of mine, Jon Dorsett approached me to design the website for Peace School; a brand new programme exploring the value of shalom and peacemaking. He asked me whether it was something I would be interested in doing. At first I was uncertain, as I didn’t consider myself a qualified peacemaker! But after some encouragement from Jon and reading the programme online I couldn’t resist! It was through Peace School that I could really wrestle (non-violently!) with the idea of peace, not simply as an abstract value, but how it related to my own spheres of influence, real world problems and indeed my spiritual journey.
I was so revved up after completing Peace School, but I didn’t really know what to do next! A short while later, friend and fellow Peace School participant Martha Beale from the Fellowship of Reconciliation invited me to join a delegation to Israel and Palestine. The Israel/Palestine issue had already raised itself through work I was doing for a client at the time and I had already begun to follow the conflict. This was an opportunity to fully engage with the issue and test my metal as a peacemaker in a conflict zone.
So in November 2008 I traveled to the Middle East with my fellow delegates, where we encountered Palestinians and Israelis, Muslims and Jews, Peacemakers and Troublemakers. To varying degrees I experienced fear, intimidation, anger, disbelief and despair. However, I also came away inspired and hopeful through the incredible people we met and their spirit of dignity, endurance and resistance.
These past few weeks I have found it very difficult to turn on the TV or open a newspaper. But as I’ve watched the tragedy in Gaza unfold and the death toll rise I’ve realised that these are important times for peacemakers and I remain convinced by these words from Martin Luther King, “One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.”
Bears, Wolves and Clowns: Developing a Playful Creativity – by Jonathan Dorsett What if the hokey-cokey is what it’s all about? – by Rachel Smith