Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked significant reflection and questions about the merits of nonviolent civil resistance in the face of massive violence, injustice, and war. Is nonviolent action a viable response when tanks are rolling in or authoritarian rulers threaten people with prison for speaking out? Is it possible to combine nonviolent action with armed resistance? Questions like these are playing out before our eyes as Ukrainians heroically defend their land against Russian aggression using both armed and nonviolent resistance strategies. For those who follow Jesus, many are asking themselves, what is a faithful response?

Our first ever Trauma-Sensitive Peacebuilding course has officially wrapped up! It deepened participants’ awareness of the reality of trauma in all our lives and the ways in which we can personally experience post-traumatic growth or live with courage in order to help our group move toward healing. Here’s how it went and how you can be involved in future courses.

The parallels between the United States and Bosnia, a deeply divided post-war society, are many and alarming. Living in Bosnia and learning from and working with Bosnian peacemakers has given me a different vantage point to reflect about the challenges and divisions in the United States, now more than ever. I’m continuing to learn from local peace activists about how Bosnians think about group dynamics, the challenges that each ethnic and religious group face in Bosnia, and how they deal with the past in constructive ways to move together toward a better, shared future.

So, what are some things that Bosnians are teaching me that might be relevant to what’s happening in the States?

On Saturday, May 16, police sealed off the area around Sarajevo’s Catholic Cathedral, where Bosnian Archbishop Cardinal Vinko Puljic said mass to a congregation of few dozen Croat dignitaries and priests. The US and Israeli embassies and the World Jewish Council condemned the mass, and thousands of Bosnians, many wearing masks, demonstrated that same day.

But why all the uproar over a Catholic mass in Sarajevo?

Christians often think peacemaking work between religious groups requires setting the bar really low in terms of the results we hope for. “Peace” must just mean getting along at some basic level, being able to have nice conversations, and not offending people from other groups. But that’s not the case. So what is peacemaking really?

COVID-19 is upon us, but don’t let yourself be overcome by stress and anxiety. Here are some ways to deal with it in healthy, constructive ways and use it for positive transformation in yourself, your relationships, and your community.

A friend recently told me, “Rather than Bosnia becoming more like America, America is becoming a lot more like Bosnia.” Bosnians look onto the vicious exchanges between political parties in the U.S. with a certain amount of grief. Although many feel that the West has made a lot of harmful mistakes in the Balkan region, they strongly prefer American leadership in the world to an autocratic Russian or Chinese influence. While we grieve and become frustrated about social fragmentation in the U.S. and rhetoric that dehumanizes people, our Bosnian friends often remind us of what is so great about America and why its ideals, although imperfectly enacted, are desperately needed in the world today.

How can religious tourism and peacemaking go together? In a place like Bosnia, where the negative impacts of division, conflict, and war are tangible, travelers can’t avoid being confronted with the violent past. When that happens, there’s a choice about how to engage with the past, and to either contribute to peace or division.

Our Bosnia “Catalyze” peacemaking trip wrapped up a couple weeks ago after an exhilarating and rewarding 10 days filled with new relationships, dialogue, history, and learning across religious and ethnic differences.