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In November 1996, José "Chencho" Alas, FSSCA Executive Director, rural development specialist, and theologian, began conducting more than 35 peace workshops with hundreds of community members and leaders in El Salvador's Bajo Lempa region. Using participatory methods, these workshops examined human rights and responsibilities, conflict management and transformation, participatory democracy, and sustainable economic development. Although the workshops were ecumenical and included some non-religious community members, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible served as a common point of reference for community principles and values. These early peace workshops took place in partnership with a nascent grassroots organization, the Coordinadora del Bajo Lempa. The Coordinadora's Executive Director, Aristides Valencia, credits these workshops with laying the groundwork for the organization's later success: "The principles and values are the secret of the Coordinadora's success. They set it apart from other NGOs. There are many other NGOs in El Salvador working on environmental or agricultural or similar projects. But even our rivals recognize that we do 10 times the work with 1/10th of the resources. That's because we work based on principles and values." The fruits of the peace workshops manifested in 1998. The Coordinadora and its constituent communities committed themselves to ending the high level of violence that had been endemic to the region since the end of their country's civil war. They declared their communities a Local Zone of Peace and resolved to change the region's culture of violence to one of reconciliation, collaborative problem solving, and non-violent conflict management. The contents of the Local Zone of Peace project are: 1) education in human rights and responsibilities, 2) conflict management and transformation 3) democratic participation, and 4) sustainable economic development. The Local Zone of Peace is more
than a declaration: it is the living framework for the Coordinadora's
work today. It embodies the communities' principles and values,
which in turn appear throughout organization's work, including its
2003-2005 Strategic Plan. Thus, firmly rooted in local principles
and values, the Coordinadora is overcoming the self-centered individualism
that pervades modern western culture and that had locked its communities
in a cycle of violence and poverty. It successfully executes projects
in sustainable agriculture, marketing, local organization, democratic
participation, conflict mediation, and disaster prevention. As a result of the 2000 conference, communication and solidarity have grown among the participants. The Coordinadora's relationship with the U.S. Jewish community has deepened, and it hosted hundreds of volunteer students and professionals since 2000. The contribution of the Jewish community to help assure the success of the Coordinadora's quest for self-sufficiency in food production and the introduction of new agricultural technologies has become very important. A new relationship developed with the Episcopal community in El Salvador, leading to the Episcopal Church funding of reconstruction work by the Coordinadora following the earthquakes in January and February 2001. A similar spirit of cooperation is developing with the Lutheran Church. In May 2001, the FSSCA and AJWS held a follow-up conference in New York in which participants reflected on, studied, and discussed fundamental themes of the Theology of Peace and reflected on the methodology for using it in peace building. Based on their reflections and experience, participants proposed that future Theology of Peace conferences be convened with the following themes, each of which will also form a chapter of a forthcoming manual on the subject:
Meetings with grassroots leaders in 2002 made clear that a peace project focused only on theology would exclude many good people who are not religious but who can and indeed must play a role in building sustainable peace and justice. For many people, such as the Maya, spirituality is the most important source of principles and values. Others, particularly secular professionals, are motivated above all by culture. Thanks to grassroots peacemakers and leaders, this project fully opened its doors to the diversity of Central and North America to become the Culture, Spirituality, and Theology of Peace Project. The Culture, Spirituality, and Theology of Peace Project What is the Spirituality of Peace? What is the Theology of Peace? |