Just the fax (Iraq)

"The Mennonite worldwide community of faith works daily to plant peace and nurture justice in contexts of tension and violence," Schrag wrote. "These global relationships, along with our 475 years of history as a Christian church, confirm our conviction that war is not the solution to our present stormy relationship with Iraq."

Rather than sending the letter with his signature alone, Schrag invited church members to add their names as well. The church responded quickly and in mass, faxing signatures to the MCC Washington Office.

From Sept. 9-13, the office's fax machine hummed constantly, spitting out page after page of names from around the country. In a five-day period, some 13,500 from 246 congregations. Eventually, the total reached more than 17,000.

When Jim Schrag spoke at a religious leaders press conference in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 12, he held a stack of signatures nearly six inches thick. It gave powerful witness that Schrag was not speaking alone.

For such a time as this (Colombia)

In this context of civil war, the United States has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid for the stated purpose off cutting of the cocaine drug supply that comes from Colombia to the United States. Many Colombians say that what is really needed is economic aid to provide markets for better crops, and for the United States to address the demand for drugs in its culture.

In July 2000, Colombian Mennonite leaders wrote a letter to Mennonite churches in the United States, appealing for help. But they didn't ask for money. They asked for advocates.

"Just as lighter fluid among flames produces more fire, more arms produce more war in the middle of social conflict," Colombian church leaders wrote. "We are asking you, just as Mordecai desperately pleaded with Esther, to not remain quiet at this time, but to unite your voices with ours to denounce the perverse nature of this kind of 'aid.'"

Mennonite churches responded with letters to the U.S. president and members of Congress. The MCC Washington Office produced a "Colombia: Seeds of Peace" advocacy packet to guide churches in their contacts with government officials. Some Mennonite Church USA congregations also formed sister church relationships with congregations in Colombia as a basis for ongoing dialogue and advocacy.

Bridges not walls (Israel-Palestine)

Much of the 430-mile long barrier - a combination of razor wire fences and 30-foot high concrete walls - has been built on Palestinian land rather than on the "green line," the internationally recognized border between Israel and the West Bank.

The impact of the separation barrier on Palestinians has been devastating. It cuts off 13,000 Palestinian farmers from their land and livelihood. It denies hundreds of thousands of Palestinians access to water, markets, and medical resources, and separates them from social, religious, political and cultural institutions in Jerusalem.

On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice at the Hague ruled that the sections of the barrier being built on Palestinian land are illegal and must be dismantled. In addition, the court ruled that compensation must be paid to Palestinian landowners whose interest have been damaged by the construction. However, the court's decision is not binding.

In response to an appeal from the Palestinian Christian and Muslim community, the MCC Washington Office issued a challenge to the church in the fall of 2004 to urge U.S. policymakers to do all they could to assist Israelis and Palestinians to build bridges not walls (www.mcc.org/us/washington/bridges).

Dozens of Mennonite Church USA congregations responded, producing nearly 1,900 letters and drawings which shared a dream for a just settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.