Tied to One Another
We sat in a large circle in the lounge, some sitting straight with legs crossed, others stretched out on the carpeted floor. One by one we passed the “talking piece” and we invited to say a few words about the experience of the last few weeks. I think the organizers of the evening from NARPI…
Creating a Space for Peace
Looking back, it was one of the most energizing and renewing courses that I’ve taught so far. The combination of my co-facilitator, the participants, and the content was great, but more than that was the space that we created together. Theory and Practice of Peace Education took place in the second session of the Northeast…
Forgiveness in all its Complexity
Mr. Koh’s story powerfully demonstrates the complexity of forgiveness. On Oct 9, his house was broken into and his mother, wife, and son were brutally murdered. Later, the person who committed the murder, a man named Young-Chul Yoo, was caught. It was discovered that he was actually a serial killer who had committed a series…
Chemical Weapons and Just Peace
Most of us had never heard of the tiny island off the coast near Hiroshima called Okonoshima. In fact, we discovered, it was also erased from many maps on purpose. Yet in this tiny space of just 4km across, things happened which still affect lives around the world today. This island played a significant role…
Introduction to NARPI
NARPI stands for Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute and is run through collaboration among several organizations across South Korea, Japan, and China. Their goal is to meet regularly for several weeks in the summer to gather peacebuilding practitioners and students from Northeast Asia to share their experience, get to know one another, and learn new…
Industrial or Ecclesiastical?
It took two weeks and some intense times together, but by the second “cultural night” of NARPI (Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute), groups were no longer isolated by country or regional cultures. A Mongolian and Japanese team did a dance, Korean and Japanese women led a song, and Chinese and Mongolian participants were the emcees.…
Akido and The Jesus Way
Akido is sometimes described as a nonviolent martial art. At the Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute in Hiroshima, Japan, I had the privilege of learning a bit from a Japanese Mennonite professor and akido practitioner. I remember a few key points that seemed a fitting metaphor for following Jesus’ nonviolent way. Our sensei (teacher) talked about…
Legacies of Hiroshima
It’s hard to hear the stories. The images are sickening. My imagination cannot grasp the kind of suffering the people of Hiroshima endured and even survived. My faith in humanity shakes when thinking of what humans did to each other and to creation. I heard these stories first 10 years ago with a visit to…
