Longtime Disciples Missionary Receives Disciples Peace Fellowship “Will Wittkamper Award”

Pablo Stone was awarded the Will Wittkamper Award at the Disciples Peace Fellowship (DPF) Breakfast on July 12, 2011 at the General Assembly. The Wittkamper Award honors persons who have dedicated themselves to a lifetime of advancing the causes of peace. This is the 30th anniversary of the biennial award.

Pablo worked in food development for 30 years in Latin America as a missionary. Because of his
faithful service he was declared “persona non grata” by the Nicaraguan government. He also served as a volunteer representative for DPF in Washington DC for 10 years, followed by service on the Executive Committee of DPF. He is well known for his “bumper sticker” and now vest ministry: his car is easily recognized by its 80-plus peace and justice messages holding his car together.

Pablo was born January 3, 1928 in Hartford, Conn., where his parents were preparing to be missionaries in South America. Because of the economic depression at the time, there were no funds available to support their quest for a missionary appointment and they moved to Kentucky, where Pablo grew up in a number of small communities where his father held pastorates. From 1944 to 1952, Pablo hitchhiked 73,000 miles across 30 states. This was travel to jobs, school and visiting home and friends. He spent three summers working in the Kansas wheat harvests. With a dream of becoming a missionary himself, Pablo attended Arkansas Tech Junior College, Berea College, and Phillips University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and history. He was commissioned as a missionary by the then United Christian Missionary Society, forerunner of the Division of Overseas Ministries and Disciples Home Missions in 1953. Pablo spent 30 years serving as a missionary in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Columbia and Mexico working on agriculture and food development issues. Pablo is retired and lives in Black Mountain, NC.

DPF Executive Committee Release
The Co-Moderators, Craig Watts and Bruce Ervin, announce to the
membership the appointment of Jon Lacey as volunteer Program Coordinator
for Disciples Peace Fellowship. Jon will coordinate a network among Executive
Committee members, be supervised by the Co-Moderators toward the
goal of renewing and facilitating the Disciples Peace Fellowship’s witness for
peace and justice within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), ecumenically
and in regional, national and international forums. He will liaise with
Disciples Home Missions, Global Ministries, the Office of General Minister and
President, the General Board, and other mission units related to the Christian
Church (DOC).

Jon will assist members of the Executive Committee who carry responsibilities
for communications, planning, fund-raising, and membership development.
Jon Lacey retired as Regional Minister serving the Christian Church
Michigan Region in May 2010. He previously served Michigan State University
in the Office of International Development and was Director of the HIV/AIDS
Education and Training Center within the medical schools of MSU. He had
served as ecumenical campus minister at MSU; regional director of United
Ministries in Higher Education in Western South Dakota and Chaplain in Residence
at Chapman College (now university).

Jon was a member and co-moderator of DPF and member of the General
Board, General Nominating Committee and Time and Place Committee.

Ben Saunders spent his first week in North Carolina, discussing such things as labels/stereotypes, economic struggles, white privilege/racism, sexism and the conflicts in the Middle East. He was thrilled that his daily interest groups gained more in attendance each day. It is exciting that our church’s young people are so excited about learning about these important issues!

We urge you to follow Ben’s summer travels as he tracks them on his blog: peaceinternben.tumblr.com/

Chrissy Stonebraker also had an exciting week, spending it in the Tres Rios Area of the Southwest Region. She touched upon multiple issues including sustainability/fair trade, multicultural and interfaith relations, Violence/Pacifism/Just War/Just Peace and their tie to faith, unity and peace. She was also given the opportunity to pray in Spanish to dedicate the Spanish side of the camp’s new peace pole!

You can follow Chrissy’s experiences on her blog: sotheworldmayliveasone.tumblr.com/

Erin Taylor spent her first week as an intern at the Michigan Disciples’ sponsored Peace Week of Motown Mission, a mission organization in Detroit. She noted the one-on-one conversations with participating youth as her highlights of the week, discussing poverty, hunger and homelessness, as well as other relevant peace and justice issues.

Keep up with Erin this summer as she blogs about it here: http://pet116.blogspot.com/

We’d like to include a couple pictures from our training week: a picture of the interns with our General   Minister and President, Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins as well as a picture of them with the very first Peace Intern ever (1975), and DPF Co-Moderator, Rev. Bruce Ervin! These three interns are truly courageous leaders in our church, continuing the tradition of bringing the messages of peace and justice to our young people! Thank you for your continued support of this important mission.

In each photo, the interns are, left to right, Chrissy Stonebraker, Erin Taylor and Ben Saunders.

Please support our DPF Peace Intern program with your tax deductible financial gift. Mail your
check to DPF, PO Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1896. Or make your donation online at: http://www.dpfweb.org/donate/

Blessings,

Phoebe Spier, Interim Intern Coordinator                             

Helen Hempfling Enari, Fundraising Coordinator

Friends!

What a joy it is to write to you as the Disciples Peace Fellowship’s Interim Peace Intern Coordinator!  I am honored to accept the charge of sending this year’s interns out into the world.  The 2011 class of interns class has been chosen and I would like to take this opportunity to briefly introduce them:

Ben Saunders is a lifelong Disciple, active in his local church, the Christian Church in Virginia and the General Church.  He is a student of filmmaking and religions studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, expecting to graduate in May.  His most recent film, Blank Street, recently premiered in Richmond and documents economic injustice in Virginia.  You can see a trailer and learn more about the film at www.blankstreetproject.com!

Christine Stonebraker is a graduate of Hiram College and is currently a Master’s student at Kent State University studying Higher Education Administration.  Christine’s wealth of experiences include co-founding “The Olive Branch” (www.hiram.edu/fairtrade), the first fair trade store of its kind on a college campus, as well as holding multiple key justice-related positions within the church and her community.

Erin Taylor is pursuing degrees in social work and religion at Texas Christian University and also expects to graduate this year.  Sponsoring Chi Rho youth, leading recovery groups after Hurricane Rita, and interning with Catholic Charities’ Street Outreach Services Team are among many undertakings with which she is building a foundation for ministry.

With these strong young adults leading our mission in camps and conferences across the country, I am confident we will continue DPF’s important traditions of planting seeds of thought and mentoring young peacemakers. 

They will do this throughout this summer, in un-airconditioned mess halls that will shake with raucous rounds of silly camp songs, and on moonlit hills far away, where sunburned teenagers will burn up in sweatshirts just to keep mosquitoes at bay.  This is where our newest generation of peacemakers will learn what it really means to be Christian… and our interns will be there.  Year after year, they are there, tasked with the important challenge of meeting God’s people where they are, listening to their hopes, their fears and ideals, and moving them to live as our Creator calls.  Often, they will witness the moment where the message is grasped, where the pointing of the finger is removed and the breaches are repaired.  But perhaps just as often, they will witness the moment where peace is planted against one’s will, where worldviews crash together like an earthquake, where our messengers may feel criticized and isolated.

I remember my own peace intern experience, thinking that the message of peace and justice was an easy one to bring.  I thought naively, “Who doesn’t like peace and love?” believing the summer ahead would be fun and inspiring, but uncomplicated.  But we peacemakers bring a radical message; one that shatters the status quo and got our savior killed.  The mission our interns embark on each summer is a brave one.  It changes lives. It opens eyes and hearts and inspires difficult conversations and intimate introspection.

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:44, 46-48

Perfection is a tall order, but if we can’t pursue it in our own camps and conferences, how can we attempt it with the rest of the world?

With many thanks for your continued support of this important mission,

Phoebe

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October 18th will mark the day of the "official" anniversary celebration, which will be held in Indianapolis, IN. More details are to come.