In September 2012, I was a junior in college and just beginning to ask myself some hard questions about my identity and place in society. Words like “deconstructing” and “decolonizing” come to mind, but if I’m being real, I wasn’t even at that level yet. I was, however, intrigued enough to sign up for an… Continue reading Uncle Sam Goddamn
I think my understanding of reconciliation has been shaped through three main lenses: academic, practical, and spiritual. Academically, I studied theories of reconciliation while doing my Master’s in Conflict Analysis & Resolution. John Paul Lederach was of course a biggee here. I recall reading about his describing reconciliation as the place where Justice, Peace, Truth,… Continue reading How do I understand reconciliation…
I had a nagging hunch that something was missing. I noticed how focused I could be on trying to experience God in the future that I failed to notice God in the present. In the midst of doing too much, not seemingly doing anything very well, wondering where it any of it was going or… Continue reading Remember
My college life centered around a Wednesday ritual: staying up past midnight finalizing the week’s edition of our student newspaper. Sometimes I was editing copy, or designed the page layouts or translated the content into our website. The other days of the week, I assigned stories, wrote copy, or photographed campus events. In this work,… Continue reading The pull towards peace journalism
I grew up in a family of five—I (Linda) am the oldest, followed by my two younger brothers (Matthew and Paul). What began as a happy childhood was sideswiped by drugs as my brothers entered adolescence and started exploring the world of illegal substances. Our happy little family was never the same. As we turned… Continue reading Paul Janney
Growing up in the 80’s with the accepted mindset of “it’s all gonna burn” set the stage for my early passivity towards reconciling any of the brokenness in the created world. The hope was that if things got bad enough, Jesus would come back and we’d all be whisked away from this very broken, very… Continue reading Stories in Creation
Last week, my husband and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. As we spent time re-watching our wedding video and reflecting on the past decade, I was reminded of a statement I made in my vows. I said, “I can’t imagine anyone better for me than you.” At the time, that sentiment was wrapped up… Continue reading The Beauty in the Difference
Describe who or what has most shaped your understanding of reconciliation. What immediately pops into my head is my brother Andrew when I think about reconciliation. He was born deaf and since we are 2 years apart I learned early on the different ways we walked throughout the world. I learned about places where he… Continue reading An Ability to Speak Truth
