A few days ago over coffee, I enjoyed a good conversation with a Muslim friend whom I met on my first trip to Bosnia. He shared with me how much he loved a recent message from Pope Francis that called Christians to focus on simplicity, charity, and love instead of the materialism and greed that usually accompanies the holiday season. He also lamented how Muslims are often trained to try to persuade Christians through arguments, rather than spending time learning about and from them.

It’s a diverse community with the potential for dangerous divisions. But it’s this very diversity that is bringing people of different faiths and all walks of life together. A major refugee resettlement city, Boise is home to new Americans from around the world, a majority of them Muslims, and Peace Catalyst peacemakers Nick and Laura Armstrong are at the heart of local efforts that are bringing community members together in deep and perhaps unexpected friendships.

In mid-December, an NGO in Bosnia and Herzegovina that we partner with called Small Steps hosted over 100 youth from around the country for a celebration concluding a 2-year program, “Encouraging Children to Accept Differences.” Over these last two years, the kids have gotten to know each other while participating in nonviolent communication workshops and traveling to neighboring municipalities to spend time with youth of other ethnic and religious backgrounds.

You don’t have to live with the violence and hatred in the headlines. You can make peace instead. Peacemaking teams of Muslims and Christians are working together in cities across the U.S. and around the world to heal the fear and division that leads to violence. This work happens because of you, so with every year-end donation you can help expand these partnerships and bring peacemaking teams to even more cities.

So, what do Muslims believe about Jesus? That was one question on the minds of representatives of the Valley Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Reseda, CA, on a recent evening at a local mosque. It is indeed possible to have productive and respectful conversation with those who differ from us, and these two Reseda communities are showing us the way.

On Saturday a gunman with anti-Semitic views opened fire at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing 11 and wounding 4. In tragic irony, this happened on the very same day the world observes International Religious Freedom Day. Today we stand in solidarity with this community and mourn their losses with them.

If you’ve kept up with recent world news, you may have heard what’s happening to the Uyghur people in China. Most ethnic Uyghurs identify as Muslim, and over one million of them are currently detained in Chinese prison camps just north of Tibet with the stated purpose of “preventing terrorism.” These prison camps resemble those established by oppressive regimes throughout history, and Uyghurs around the world are living with that deep pain. That’s why, through the bridge-building efforts of Peace Catalyst staff members Bill and Julie Clark, a Pasadena Foursquare church hosted close to 20 Uyghur adults and children for a Peace Feast.

A Peace Catalyst peacemaker for several years, Andy Larsen now uses photography and his experience in the Holy Land to lead peacemaking trips to the region. This is one of his many experiences in Israel/Palestine this spring during the convergence of explosive events in the area.

We’re not just peacemakers; we’re Jesus-centered peacemakers. Here’s how we do it and how you can get started.