Peace in the news!

Take a look at this Globe and Mail article which talks about peace and commemoration of the war of 1812:
"Bicentennial Military events an affront to Stouffville, Ont's pacifist roots".

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bicentennial-military-events-affront-to-stouffville-onts-pacifist-roots/article2423730/

A river runs through it

by Carol Penner

Look at the land here…does the land on one side look any different than the land on the other side?  It’s a picture taken from Queenston Heights…the land on the right is the United States, the land on the left is Canada.

I’ve been reading a book about the Battle of Queenston Heights, and it says that the communities on either side of the river were very connected socially.  For a long time the only portage around Niagara Falls was on the American side; everyone used it.  People in Youngstown on one side of the river and Newark on the other had parties and were constantly going back and forth.

Of course the declaration of war in 1812 changed all that. For the non-resistant Christians, they refused to buy into the declaration of war…no one was their enemy.  They had friends on both sides of the border, and tried to treat everyone the same.

But how good have churches been at keeping up those connections? It used to be that Mennonites had strong connections with Mennonite churches on the other side of the river.  But gradually over time, we too have divided into national churches, rather than cross-national church bodies. I know and have visited churches all over Ontario but I find that I know almost nothing of my Mennonite neighbours in New York State.

While we never believed in enemies, how has the division between countries influenced how we work as a church?

An interesting article

Check out this interesting article by Mags Story at Christianweek.org, entitled "Christians questioned war response in 1812, too".
http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1938

Preaching helped fuel war of 1812

by John Longhurst

When it comes to war, religion is often one of the first to enlist -- or be conscripted. That was certainly true 200 years ago, during the War of 1812.

That war, which ended with both sides claiming victory, will be the focus of many commemorations, conferences, re-enactments and other events during this, its 200th anniversary.

           

As a history buff -- and as someone who grew up near some of the old battlefields in the Niagara region -- I've read a lot about the origins, strategies, battles, heroes and outcomes of that conflict. But I can't recall ever hearing anything about the role of religion during the war. What impact did it have?

           

A big one, as it turns out, especially in the U.S.

CO experience foreign to my generation

Can historical remembering bring about a new witness to peace?

I think so. But it has to move us forward in our witness as historic peace churches. Unfortunately, I think we'd rather relive the same old story.

As a twenty-something born and raised in Canada, I have absolutely no experience of what it means to be faced with the decision to engage in warfare.

To be honest, I have hard time imagining that ever happening in my lifetime (though I suppose my forebears before me must have thought the same).

So reflecting on past Conscientious Objectors' experience does little to motivate me to a life of peace witness today. And I'm not alone.

One young adult put it this way, in the Brethren in Christ publication Shalom:

“I suspect that most young people are really not interested in talking about what happened decades ago in a world we no longer inhabit…. [They] are a little disgusted with boomer-ism. Almost everything the ‘hippie generation’ tried to do has been unsatisfying, and brought on a world that younger people will have to live in and clean up. So, hearing stories about being a C.O. [conscientious objector] is not productive.”

To be sure, the 1812 CO experience goes well beyond the hippie generation, yet it is one event in a long history of peace churches saying NO to war, yet failing to provide a captivating YES alternative.

The most popular stories told and retold in peace church mythology are those who refused to give up their right to refrain from warfare. These are inspiring stories of courage, no doubt. I look forward to reading more on this blog.

But where are the stories of peacemakers courageously creating peace?

With little likelihood of being asked to serve in war today, I need stories that provide me a captivating YES for why we choose peace over violence. Whether abstaining from war is morally superior isn't enough. I also need to see what can happen when people band together in the way of peace. You know, glimpses of the peaceful kingdom of God.

Without them, our critics are right. We pacifists reap the benefits of those who fight for freedom on our behalf, while celebrating the heroes of bygone eras.

MENNONITE AND BiC HISTORICAL ACTORS WANTED!

A new documentary about the ravages of the War of 1812 in south-western Ontario is being developed. It will include the 1813 battle at Moraviantown (near Chatham), where so many Mennonites and Brethren in Christ suffered great losses. They had been helping with the retreat of supplies and refugees (technically: internally displaced persons) from the fortified locations near Detroit..

This is a key element of my ongoing research, in which I'm trying to determine the nature and extent of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ involvement in this transport operation. The film looks at the ugly devastation of war and also the inglorious acts of treason that were committed by many Canadian residents at that time, who seemed prepared to see victory go to the Americans.

“A Desert Between Us and Them: Raiders, Traitors and Refugees in the War of 1812”

By the way, they're still looking for actors, horses and wagons. Preferably, although not necessarily, the actors might also be horse-riding and wagoneering Mennonites and Brethren in Christ!?

Mennonites and Six Nations

The topic of Mennonites and Six Nations is not a new one. It's an uncomfortable one in some ways. Mennonites are implicated in the broken relationships that developed during the period following the early 1800s migration to the Waterloo region in particular.

To my knowledge there has been little systematic study of the interactions and relationships between various First Nations groups and Mennonites during the War of 1812. What I've found in my research indicates that some Mennonites had startlingly amicable relations with First Nations while some others were thornier. There are some fantastic tales and some embarrassing ones, for those us of who identify with Mennonite heritage and are prepared to recognize the benefits we derived from an unequal relationship between our ancestors and First Nations.

At the Grand River Heritage workshop (I referred to in a previous blog) the key highlight for me was Rick Hill, a First Nations historian. He spoke of a message of peace and socio-political separatism from the imperial societies in which First Nations lived.