MennoLink Books and Music

John Paul Lederach shares insight gained from years of work in international mediation and deep spiritual reflection on the task of reconciliation. He draws on personal experiences in deep-rooted conflict and relates them to the biblical narrative of God seeking reconciliation throughout history. Conflict will come. We choose how we respond to it. True reconciliation must couple spiritual disciplines with personal, social, and international capacities to interact helpfully with conflict. The author accompanies people divided by hatred and violence on their journey to encounter themselves, each other, and god.

People in all walks of life and in various settings will find this book compelling and insightful. Lederach offers help for conflicted families, church communities, neighborhoods, and nations working toward healing and understanding.

This book addresses the personal and justice issues encountered after a violent act. Derksen, whose daughter was murdered, writes especially for victims of crime, their friends and family and service providers.

Copyright 2003.

Later she joined a support group of other parents of murdered children where it became obvious that forgiveness was considered an "F" word. Since, she has teamed with Sunday school teachers, pastors, and counselors in the Winnipeg, Manitoba area to explore how storytelling can become a method and the message of moving toward forgiveness of others.

In this study guide, Wilma L Derksen, Tym Elias, and Brenda Suderman share a seven- session tested approach on storytelling. This is a vital resource for persons in classes, study groups, and congregations who wish to take steps toward forgiveness.

Copyright 2005 Herald Press.

Noted writers from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America tackle such questions. Drawing on rich traditions and experiences, they ponder peacemaking in local and global settings through stories of real people and their work. Stories like these can anchor us in the life of the church as it is experienced, through times of hope and optimism as well as through fears and crises. This is practical peacemaking at work.

Today the emphasis is on the need to build a just peace in direct and tangible ways. The large issues and threats are still with us, but our response is led by the stories of communities mobilizing to resolve problems through immediate and direct participation.

It contains the final version of the statement on violence that was discussed at the Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church conventions in 1997, along with a six-session study guide by Lois Barrett. along with a list of resources, it also includes true stories of Mennonites who have dealt with different forms of violence. The study, designed for participants and leaders alike, will help you: reflect on your own experience with violence; consider what the Bible says; plan possible learning outcomes; and take action.

Copyright 1998.

Copyright 2004 Herald Press.

In fresh, confessional language, Roth shares his convictions about Christian pacifism, inviting others to consider this possibility, all the while humbly admitting the difficulties.

What would happen if Christians assumed that their allegiance to God, their identity with Christ, and their commitment to the church would inevitably lead them to respond to the world's pain differently because of their faith? In the face of violence, are there any options open to the Christian believer other than the "default" impulse toward patriotic unity and a steely determination to exact "an eye for an eye"?

A must-read for anyone concerned about the endless cycles of wars and violence, and the possibility that God's love is stronger than our society's current answers.

Copyright 2002.

With easy-to-use teaching materials, creative activities, hard-hitting discussion questions, and reproducible student sheets, these studies tackle the complicated issue of following Christ in the real world of the 1990's. Generation Why Bible Studies offer a topical yet systematic approach to the study of Scripture. The studies require no student pieces and are appropriate for Sunday school, youth group, retreats, or small group study.

Will victims of crime always be bystanders in the justice system? ("We're having a problem forgiving the judge and the system," says the father of a young man killed in prison.)

Is it possible for anyone to transcend such a comprehensively destructive, identity-altering occurrence? ("I thought, I'm going to run until I'm not angry anymore," expresses a woman who was assaulted.)

Howard Zehr presents the portraits and courageous stories of 39 victims of violent crime. Many of these people were twice-wounded: once at the hands of an assailant; the second time by the courts, where there is no legal provision for a victim's participation.

"My hope," says Zehr, "is that this book might hand down a rope to others who have experienced such tragedies and traumas, and that it might allow all who read it to live on the healing edge."

Includes more than 75 artistic photographs.

Copyright 2001.