Peace Gathering 2003
When the Saints Go Marchin'
Summary statement

We rejoice:

• in the spirit of grace and hopefulness modeled to us by Vincent, Rosemarie, and Ruby;
• that telling our stories and finding healing is an important part of our own peacemaking;
• in the on-going presence of ancestors and forbearers who join us on our journey as a cloud of witnesses reminding us that we are not alone;
• that even in Pharaoh's household, his daughter resisted his command to kill; today we can continue to find resistance where we least expect it;
• in the power of human touch to connect us one to another, to be both healed and healer; and
• that quality peace and justice resources, such as videos from the Veterans of Hope Project and the Second Mile curriculum, are available to our members and congregations;

• that the Bible invites us to hear God's call to break with the culture of violence and build a new world;
• the commitment of the men and women who participated in the Southern Freedom Movement; their openness to God's love continues to be a source of light to us;
• that God makes mountains into open spaces we can walk through-making a way out of no way; and
• that we must actively do our part to build the Beloved Community.

• that there have been so many moments in our church's history in the United States when our witness for God's truth in the face of gross injustice has created enmity in our congregations;
• that people haven't found needed sustenance for their Christian peacemaking in their local congregations and families, whether it was during the Southern Freedom Movement or continuing to witness to Christ's way of peace in the midst of the war on terrorism; and
• that while some of us rebelled against plain coats, coverings, and authoritarian biblical interpretation, we lost a sense of the creative possibilities that accompany transforming nonconformity.

• our faith community to begin reading the Exodus story in a new way, seeing it as a story of invitation from God to break with a culture of violence;
• Euro-American Mennonites to confess and confront the racism that is deeply embedded in their thoughts, feelings, language, and behaviors; and
• the church to courageously and boldly confront authority when it runs counter to God's hope for us and the world;

• all Mennonites to join us in changing our vocabulary from Civil Rights Movement to Southern Freedom Movement;
• attendees of Atlanta 2003 to abstain from consuming Coca-Cola products during the convention out of respect for Colombian union organizers killed or intimidated by paramilitaries acting on behalf of Coca-Cola plant managers; and
• the convention-going community to let their lights shine all over Atlanta this week.