Support for Pan y Paz galvanizes Colombian church

BOGOTA, Colombia (Mennonite Mission Network) - Colombian Mennonites are publicly asking their fellow citizens to stand against pressures to take sides in their country's ongoing civil war. They have invited Mennonites in North America to join the effort in prayer, fasting, financial support and advocacy. The response has been swift.

Along with requests for prayer and letters of support, the Mennonite Church USA's Peace and Justice Support Network, of which Mennonite Mission Network is a part, and Mennonite Central Committee collectively raised nearly $22,000 toward Pan y Paz (Bread and Peace), a declaration by Colombian churches' committing themselves and asking those near and far to stand against violence in an increasingly tense environment.

Civilians in Colombia are increasingly caught in the crossfire with the government and illegal armed groups on all sides. The new president, Alvaro Uribe Velez, was elected after promising a fierce crackdown on guerrilla rebels. Since his inauguration Aug. 7 - a day marred by several deadly bombings in Bogotá - a state of emergency has been declared and military violence has increased, while guerrilla groups have stepped up kidnappings and attacks on civilians.

Adding complexity to the conflict, the U.S. State Department has documented that illegal paramilitary groups work in collusion with the Colombian military.

Through the Plan Colombia aid package, however, the U.S. government is contributing nearly $2 billion in training, intelligence systems and military hardware. While the overall stated intent is to reduce coca production and, in turn, curb drug trafficking, Congress and the Bush administration are also allowing funds to be used to fight guerrilla groups. President Bush is requesting an additional $450 million in aid for Colombia for the next fiscal year.

Christian leaders in Colombia are increasingly among those targeted as they stand against violence. More than 20 have been killed this year and armed groups are forcing churches to close. Gabriel Montes, a volunteer with the Colombia Mennonite Church's peace and justice ministry, Justapaz, was killed this summer. Some expatriate peace church workers have been threatened with deportation.

All of this has prompted Colombian Mennonites to take another step beyond their ongoing work for peace and make a public declaration of faith as a witness to their government, armed groups and other citizens. Thus began preparation for a prayerful fast to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Peace and Nonviolence on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Colombian Mennonites invited North Americans to participate in prayer and in advocacy to the U.S. and Colombian governments, as well as financial support to help pay for publicity in Colombian media about the fast, which also included the Pan y Paz declaration statement, and for a ceremony held in Bogotá's downtown plaza to break the fast. Justapaz estimated the cost at nearly $12,000.

MCC provided $2,000 and a late August appeal from the Peace and Justice Support Network sought to raise $10,000 by Sept. 11. Nearly $20,000 has been generated for the effort as a result of an e-mail to congregations and information posted on the Peace and Justice Support Network's website. The Colombia Mennonite Church and entities working with the Pan y Paz campaign will use the remaining funds for follow-up work resulting from the ads and the vigil.

"The response was much more than any of us hoped for," said Rachelle Schlabach, who works for the MCC U.S. Washington Office. She helped coordinate a congressional letter-writing campaign opposing U.S. military aid for Colombia.

"I'm amazed at the quick and overwhelming response from congregations," said Susan Mark Landis, peace advocate for Mennonite Church USA Executive Board, who juggled this endeavor with a letter-signing campaign seeking 5,000 signatures - the actual number has nearly tripled - opposing war with Iraq. "This really is a testimony to the church's commitment to peace," she said.

Landis also marveled at the risk the Colombian church was willing to take.

"We [North Americans] were being asked to put our signatures and dollars on the line, while our brothers and sisters in Colombia are putting their lives on the line," she said.

"An official from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees here has said that of all the countries where he has worked, Colombians dedicated to a certain cause in their country are the least willing to abandon the cause to protect their lives," said Bonnie Klassen, MCC country representative in Colombia and a mission associate with Mennonite Church Canada Witness.

The Pan y Paz declaration was published on Sunday, Sept. 15, in three of Colombia's major daily newspapers and the following Sunday in El Heraldo de Barranquilla. El Tiempo, the national newspaper, also included a front-page teaser - "Bread and Peace are possible." Radio announcements and other invitations to participate in the fast and vigil continued through the week.

"As followers of Jesus Christ, Son of God, whom we recognize as sovereign Lord," the declaration begins, "we affirm our biblical and historical belief that the way to peace is through active nonviolence and love for neighbor - especially the weak, the poor, the marginalized and enemies." The declaration concludes, "Bread for all, not bullets! Bread for the hungry, not bombs!"

Full text of the declaration is available on the Peace and Justice Support Network Website -- http://peace.mennolink.org/resources/panypaz/declaration.html.

Those who signed the declaration include:

• Pedro Daza, president of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Colombia;
• Ricardo Esquivia, director of Justapaz and of the Human Rights and Peace Commission of the Evangelical Council of Churches of Colombia;
• Hector J. Pardo, pastor of Tabernacle of Faith, Bogotá;
• Peter Stucky, Mennonite Church of Colombia president;
• and Ricardo Tovar, president of the Brethren in Christ Church of Colombia.

But as final preparations were under way for the public vigil Friday morning, the day before, Bogotá officials denied permission to hold the event at the Plaza de Bolivar.

"They provided us with a list of people and government agencies from which we need to gain clearance," said Janna Bowman, MCC worker in Bogotá with Justapaz. "We're working hard to jump through all the logistical hoops, but it feels like each time we do so another is raised before us," she reported in an urgent prayer request late that Friday.

Bowman later said they were never formally granted permission, "Although we were encouraged by different officials to emphasize that this was a church event, implying that we would not have problems with the government."

About 150 people gathered in the Colombian capital's main square and more than 100 gathered in at least two other locations around the country to proclaim a position for nonviolence after the day of prayer and fasting.

In Bogotá, police were present to monitor the event in case of trouble, but a few accepted an invitation to break bread.

"I saw a young man approach the commander of the police that had been standing at the borders of the crowd all evening," said Janine Martin, a Mennonite Mission Network intern working with Justapaz and the Mennonite Church of Colombia. "They spoke briefly, the commander nodded and then the young man ran over to where a group of police - most of whom were about the same age as him - were standing and began giving them bread."

Vigil participants were moved to learn of the scores of U.S. and Canadian church people fasting, praying and acting for peace with them, Bowman said. {See related story, First Person: Pan y Paz is God's call for Colombia.} "We listened to several letters of support from churches and church organizations of the north also committed to seeking a peace with justice in Colombia and the world. 'We are not alone,' whispered one elderly women to herself."

An appreciable expression for solidarity with those in the north committed to peace and the hope that a determination to stand with those working for peace in Colombia remains strong.

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Tony Krabill