What We’ll Be Doing in the Coming Year
Friends and Peace Catalyst community,
This has been quite a year, hasn’t it?
Across Peace Catalyst and in the world around us, we’ve seen many beautiful things happen. In California, we see Christian and Muslims working together to feed neighbors in need; in Kentucky, they’re meeting in community and learning about each other’s culture and faith; in Idaho and Washington, Christians are welcoming and walking alongside refugees. In South Korea, Koreans are imagining a future of peace and reconciliation with North Korea. Across Europe, churches and Christian organizations are learning about the theology and practice of peacebuilding. Globally, Christians with a heart for compassion and justice are advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza with their voices, bodies, and resources. The Spirit is alive everywhere we look. See a recap of our work stories of impact for the last year.
But there is also so much today—too much—that is leaving people afraid, enraged, and devastated. War, genocide, and famine is continuing and growing; authoritarianism and nationalism is spreading in the US and globally; and the most vulnerable in society are being scapegoated and deprived of their rights. In fact, neighbors of all beliefs, backgrounds, and political affiliations are watching their savings disappear, their businesses struggle, and their futures becoming increasingly fragile.
As peacebuilders—as people of peace, of justice, of reconciliation, of hope—what is required of us in this moment?
It isn’t enough to push for a return to normalcy, to simply go back to “how things were.” For far too many of those on the margins, the status quo has never worked for their benefit. Our global crises have grown, but they aren’t new. We can’t go back—we need to move forward toward something better.
We are called to be people of hope, but also people of vision. Christ has given us a vision of the world as it ought to be, a “kin-dom” of shalom marked by right relationships and flourishing for all. It is this vision of a better future—of the justpeace that God is growing in the hearts of people across the world—that guides us as we care for our neighbors, work for justice, and walk humbly with God.
This is the moment to hold fast to our hope in God’s promise to reconcile and make all things new, and our trust that God’s peace can and will emerge from the rubble of destruction.
How will we be doing this at Peace Catalyst in the coming year?
WE WILL MOBILIZE THE CHURCH. We believe all Christians are called to the work of peacebuilding, today more than ever. Through workshops, peace pilgrimages, experiential learning, resources like small group guides and toolkits, and more, we aim to continue and deepen our mission of helping the church partner across differences for peace in their personal lives, their community, and beyond.
WE WILL GROW AND DEEPEN OUR COMMUNITY. Many Christians long for peace but struggle to find others who believe the same. Peace Catalyst has become a home for Christian peacebuilders seeking a community of support and purpose. We aim to both deepen how our team members connect and care for each other, and cultivate pathways—such as the Christian Peacebuilding Network, our monthly Taste of Peace events, and new opportunities—for many others to be in community with us.
WE WILL EXPAND OUR NETWORK. For years, Peace Catalyst’s peacebuilders have become embedded in local communities and networks, working directly for peace and justice while inviting faith communities and neighbors to work alongside them. We have added several new team members and locations in recent years. We will continue welcoming in new team members, especially indigenous peacebuilders from communities of struggle, while also expanding opportunities for people to join us as volunteer Peace Ambassadors leading peace projects in their own congregations or communities.
There’s a lot to be done if we want to see the church model and witness Jesus’s way of peace, and Peace Catalyst is going all in. How will you build peace with us this year?
Peter Digitale Anderson is Peace Catalyst Executive Director. He and his partner Liz are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where, locally, they are equipping community peacemakers and collaborating with others for racial justice and healing. Peter also leads trainings in conflict transformation, nonviolence, trauma awareness and healing, and community-based peacebuilding.
