Josué Coy Dick, a fourth-year student at Bethel College from North Newton, Kan., is the winner of the 2024 C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest.

In his speech, “Jesus and the Wounded,” Coy Dick said peacebuilding must include healing that addresses trauma and cannot exclude those harmed by systemic and collective violence.

Coy Dick used Black, womanist and liberation theologies on suffering to interpret the biblical story of Jesus and the blind man. Drawing a parallel to his father’s journey of healing from systemic violence, he urged engagement with the marginalized and traumatized as Jesus did.

Coy Dick will receive a $500 cash award and a $500 scholarship to attend a peace conference of his choice.

Micah Peters Unrau of Canadian Mennonite University won second prize for “Stories of Decolonization: The Myth of Apology and the Task of Repentance.” Kalkidan Ararso of Conrad Grebel University College won third prize for “Echoes of Nahum: A Miner’s Lament.”

In its 50th year, the annual contest is administered by Mennonite Central Committee U.S.