Posted on 11/16/09 at 01:33 PM

It’s been a week since I returned from Christian Peacemaker Teams training in London. As is always the case during these trainings, I did not have the time or energy to write about the trainings as they were happening. But coordinating the CPT training was a big chunk of my life and now that I have a bit more breathing room, I thought I’d share about it here.

The month long training was for people interested in working on CPT projects as reservists or full timers. My main role in the training was coordinationg local trainers who taught many of the modules as well as all sorts of background logistics. The trainees included three people from Sweden, two from Scotland, two living in Germany (one from England and one from the Netherlands) and one person from California.

It was a great group of people to spend a month with. We worked through modules focusing on biblical themes of nonviolence, undoing opressions, conflict media, working styles, human rights documentation. We also planned and carried out two public actions. One was a communion service blocking the gates of the Northwood Military HQ, a base where the bombing in Afghanistan are coordinated. The other was a day of action outside Body Shop stores in the UK asking them to pressure one of their suppliers, Daabon Organics, who displaced one of CPT’s partner communities in July. Both actions were creative, powerful events thanks to the team effort of the trainees, trainers and two members of the London Catholic Worker.

As I said to in my last post, the training really brought my years in London and my work with CPT. I began thinking about the idea back in 2003, even before I went to England. Rich Meyer, who was then part of the CPT support team, mentioned to me that it was a long term dream of CPT to have a regional group in the UK and perhaps a training. So when I got there in 2004, I began connecting with British folk already in CPT and exploring the idea of a regional group. Most of my efforts were focuse in London, making connections there and eventually forming a group that got together for a meal once a month. Interestingly, there was no one living in England who participated in the October training. For me, this has been a quite but clear reminder that it’s God, not us, that does the moving. We’re just along for the ride.

In 2006 when I left England, Dora-Marie Goulet, a Canadian Mennonite, took over some of my responsibilities at the LMC. She was instrumental in 2008 in following up with CPT delegates from across Europe to invite them to the 2009 training. It was her persistence that put us across the threshold of applicants we needed to continue with the training at the end of December 2008. She also organized a speaking tour for former CPT director Gene Stoltzfus around the UK in January of this year. The tour was directly responsible for at least one of our trainees joining CPT. The training wouldn’t have happened without Dora-Marie’s work and the space and the support the London Mennonite Center offered her to do it. And of course there was the critical work of the Europeans who were already part of CPT: Jan, John, Maureen, Laura, Martin, Ilse, Alwyn, Justin and Jenny.

Aside from reconnecting with friends from London, another rewarding part of the training for me was was simply being in the physical space of the LMC again. Most of the training happened in the chapel of the LMC, a space that was synonymous with fellowship and contemplation during my years at the LMC. It was the perfect size for the training with the 11 or 12 of us filling the room from sun up to sun down every day with songs, worship, learning and lively discussions. And of course, there was the garden. Even in October it was still filled with blossoms and green leaves thanks to London’s warm dampness. We spent many hours walking and running through the garden doing role plays or light and livelies when we needed a break from sitting in the chapel. I also was able to sleep in the same room where I lived in 2005 and 2006. It was like pulling on a comfortable pair of jeans that you haven’t worn in years.

But the Mennonite Centre wasn’t just a venue, it was also a community that pitched in a thousand different ways during the month of training. The hosts, Ed and Phyllis, helped out trainees and trainees with all sorts of logistical challenges and scheduling issues. Kathy, wife of the director and a former CPT delegate, did the grocery shopping for the group, a monumental task. And all of the staff put up with having us all over the building at all hours of the morning and night. On top of this, members of Woodgreen Mennonite Church helped out by making a few meals on days when trainees didn’t have time cook.

The most exciting opportunity coming out of training for me is the doubling of the European CPTers and the tremendous opportunity for building CPT in Europe. In the week after training ended, I visited with Mennonites and Quakers in the Netherlands and Germany who are interested in promoting CPT in their countries and getting more people on delegations. We also have 4 CPTers in Sweden with an interest in outreach in their communities. Just today I spent 3 hours building a new German language section of the CPT site.

With all these new CPTers joining CPT right now, the biggest challenge is financial. We’re coming into the end of the year with a 5 percent budget deficit, which is better then expected, but still not enough to support the kind of potential growth in 2010 we could have with the more 40 new CPTers coming on board in 2009. So my next month and a half will be focused on calling donors, writing letters and trying to support others in CPT in their fundraising. If any of you have suggestions or would like to help, please let me know. I’m convinced that CPT is on the edge of a new period of growth and evelopment and its an exciting journey to be along on.