Proclaiming truth and healing:
Follow-up to the Charlotte Public Witness

Mennonites gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 4-9, 2005, for the biennial convention, "Can't Keep Quiet!" proclaimed the source of their true security and offer healing to the wounds of our neighbors and enemies. This is a family event included dozens of people new to public witness!

We reclaimed Christ's Lordship of our bodies and money through a prayer pilgrimage from the Charlotte Convention Center to military recruitment and federal offices. We reaffirmed that our security rests in God alone. We witnessed that God calls us to life and to offer that life to others.

Brochure (70k PDF) with information on the Mennonite responses to military use of bodies and money for war:

News Articles

Mennonite Weekly Review article on the witness

mPress articles

Mennonite Church USA news services

Thanks for coming! Stay in touch!

Ideas to proclaim Christ’s truth and justice

	Start a church-based peace group. [www.ecapc.org/howtostart.asp]
	Read Mennonite Church USA statements on peace (Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective; And No One Shall Make Them Afraid), discuss them with friends, and choose one specific followup action.[www.mcusaarchives.org/library/resolutions/index.html]
	Read, study, and fill out a Christian Peacemaker Registration Form with a friend from an older or younger generation. [www.mcc.org/co/form]
	Ask your school district to not give the military your (teen’s) name and contact information.[www.mcc.org/co/form]
	Withhold a portion of your federal income taxes that go toward war or the federal excise tax on your telephone bill and redirect that money to an agency that supports life and peace. This is an illegal protest.[www.nwtrcc.org]
	Reduce your taxable income—live simply so others can simply live.
	Create opportunities and programs for youth in marginalized communities that will help them move away from the military as a way toward educational and economic opportunity.
	Enter into a prayerful and respectful dialogue with someone with whom you disagree. [peace.mennolink.org/agree.html]
	Participate in a study tour with Christian Peacemaker Teams, Mennonite Central Committee, or another church agency to a place of conflict.[www.cpt.org/delegations/delegations.php]
	Use curriculum such as Second Mile, Thermostat, or other peace/justice materials for study in a Sunday school class or small group. Follow up with a specific action.[www.gosecondmile.org,www.mcc.org/thermostat]
	Join others in planning a peace-oriented response to military recruitment in your local high school. [www.afsc.org/youthmil/default.htm, Choices: 202-583-5347]
	Form a relationship with your congressional representative and senators.Advocate only for the project that most tugs at your heart, but advocate often. Invite your Sunday school class and/or congregation to join you in local visits. [peace.mennolink.org/advocacy.html,www.mcc.org/us/washington]
	Receive a regular mailing to your home postal or e-mail address, about an issue you care about.Act on the suggestions you receive. [www.mcc.org/us/washington, peace.mennolink.org/peacesigns]
	Support the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund. [www.peacetaxfund.org]
	Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper—or the New York Times [www.mcc.org/us/washington/safespace]

Co-sponsors
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America [www.bpfna.org]
Center on Conscience and War (NISBCO) [www.nisbco.org]
Christian Peacemaker Teams [www.cpt.org]
Every Church a Peace Church [www.ecapc.org]
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. [www.mcc.org]
Mennonite Church USA Peace Advocate [www.MennoniteUSA.org/peace]
Mennonite Church USA Peace and Justice Support Network [www.MennoniteUSA.org/peace]
Mennonite Mission Network [www.mennonitemission.net]
National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund [www.peacetaxfund.org]
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee [www.nwtrcc.org]

Proclaiming truth and healing: Follow-up to the Charlotte Public Witness

Proclaiming truth and healing:
Follow-up to the Charlotte Public Witness