Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) offers an organized, nonviolent alternative to war and other forms of lethal inter-group conflict. CPT provides organizational support to persons committed to faith-based nonviolent alternatives in situations where lethal conflict is an immediate reality or is supported by public policy. CPT seeks to enlist the response of the whole church in conscientious objection to war, and in the development of nonviolent institutions, skills and training for intervention in conflict situations. CPT projects connect intimately with the spiritual lives of constituent congregations. Gifts of prayer, money and time from these churches undergird CPT’s peacemaking ministries.  (from www.cpt.org)

CPT Founding Principles

> “We believe that the mandate to proclaim the Gospel of repentance, salvation and reconciliation includes a strengthened Biblical peace witness.

> “We believe that faithfulness to what Jesus taught and modeled calls us to more active peacemaking.

> “We believe that a renewed commitment to the Gospel of Peace calls us to new forms of public witness which may include nonviolent direct action.”

- CPT founding conference: Techny, Illinois,  December 1986

For more information, visit the CPT website.

We celebrate the memory of  Church of the Brethren longtime peacemaker, Art Gish, (pictured above) who died July 28, 2010 in a farming accident at his home in Athens, Ohio.  The two links below offer a fascinating glimpse into the life of Art and his wife Peggy who have both been active participants in CPT delegations to Palestine and Iraq.

Old Radicals (Art & Peggy discuss their work with CPT)

Love to Aged Perfection (Art & Peggy talk about their marriage)