by Wayne Nitzsche

On September 17, Perkasie (Pa.) Mennonite Church joined with others in Seoul, Korea, Stellenbosch, South Africa, Wilmington, North Carolina, and Ottawa, Ontario, inviting people from our community to view the powerful documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell. About fifty people gathered, not only to watch a film, but to talk about how we might take risks for peace and justice in our communities and be a part of grassroots peace-building efforts. The vision is to make the documentary available around the world as part of a world peace tour, holding forth a way of peace that is nonviolent, yet powerful and effective.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell tells the heartbreaking yet hopeful story of many very ordinary, yet extraordinary women of Liberia, West Africa. They dreamed, prayed and acted for peace with great courage and imagination, born out of desperation. Witnessing the destruction of their country and the rape and murder of their children became unbearable. War raged on between the brutal tyrant Charles Taylor and the rebel warlords who were opposing him.

Leymah Gbowee, the main character in the documentary, says she "had a crazy dream" to pray for peace, and to organize the women of her church to join in prayer and conversation. This crazy dream caught on and grew to include women of the Muslim community, even amid criticism that the faith would be diluted by this cooperation. Their prayers took to the streets in protest, with a simple message calling for peace, and calling Taylor to meet with the warlords for peace talks. After weeks under the hot sun and driving rain, with growing threats by an angry Taylor, finally he could no longer ignore these persistent women, and he agreed to meet with the opposition in Accra Ghana.

A delegation of women traveled to Ghana to continue the pressure. But talks broke down, and the violence back home escalated. Reports of mass killings created greater despair among the women. Weeks passed with little hope from those who were leading the peace talks. Finally, the women organized a sit-in, blocking the doors and not allowing the delegates to leave until they pledged greater seriousness in their efforts.

I urge you to see the documentary. I will not tell you of the creative but effective ways the women chose to get their point across to their male audience.

The movie for me was much more than the tragic and ultimately uplifting events in Liberia, but about the power of ordinary people like us to intervene and make a difference for peace in our world. Pray the Devil Back to Hell reminds us that we can be change agents when we come together to pray, organize and act for peace if we are willing to do so with courage and unwavering commitment.

Learn more about the film and how you can be a part of this worldwide movement by going to the website: <http://www.praythedevilbacktohell.com>. Don't delay, let the women of Liberia inspire and transform you. Learn how you can pray the devil back to hell.

Wayne Nitzsche is pastor of Perkasie Mennonite Church in Perkasie, PA.