I got off the phone tonight from a Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Steering Committee call thinking about CPT’s work around the world and the Peacemaker Congress that is happening right now in Detroit. 

I represent Friends United Meeting (FUM) on the board/steering committee where currently I’m the only Quaker since the other FUM rep, Brian Young rotated off after over ten years of service. (Thank you so much Brian for your faithful work!) We are looking for another FUM member to serve, so if you’re interested send me an email! 

This particular call was one of our routine check-ins and we got to hear from Sarah Thompson, the Executive Director of CPT, about the very recent delegation that preceded the Peacemaker Congress. It was a delegation for “people interested in getting an in-depth picture of the humanitarian crisis and social justice response in Detroit.” (www.cpt.org/PeacemakerCongressDetroit)

Sarah shared how much leading this delegation felt like her experiences leading international delegations. Detroit, the most trafficked city between the USA and another country, is on the front lines of our impending water war. The stories of people facing water shut-offs, corrupted public services and undemocratic governmental structures are very real and the people whom CPT talked to and walked with this past week are living out these realities. 

And as angry and hurt these people justly are, the delegation heard over and over again the need to not cultivate capitalism but the need to cultivate our souls. It is the spreading of love and a determination to bring about the fullness of life that drives the hearts and souls of the people the delegation talked to in Detroit. And from this place of human depth, the people of Detroit and the delegation found themselves connecting to peacemaking in contexts around the world.  

Sarah shared “I’m grateful to be working through the manifestation of love that is CPT.” Our worship, public action, and peacemaking skills join others in this determination to be whole; this determination to bring about the manifestation of love. 

If you’re interested in learning more about CPT or about the Peacemaker Congress in Detroit, go to www.cpt.org/PeacemakerCongress Detroit. You can also read about other delegations that CPT sends to Palestine/Israel, Kurdistan, Iraq, Kenora, Ontario Canada, Borderlands between the USA and Mexico, and Barrancabermeja, Colombia at www.cpt.org/work. I’m also more than happy to talk with you by phone if you’re interested in participating on a future delegation to any of these places.