Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth Peace
In July 2008, a liturgical and musical Workshops took place at the evangelical theological seminar in Matanzas (Cuba), jointly organized by the World Council of Churches and the "Crearte" network (Latin America), with the financial support of FEAUTOR (USA), as a step towards the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, which will take place in May 2011 in Jamaica.
Taking this opportunity, the Council of Churches in Cuba and the Matanzas seminary invited the churches in the region to a festival of songs and prayers for peace.
Religion, Power & Violence
Religion has the potential both as a soothing balm and as an explosive fuel in situations of conflict. The 6th Willem Visser t Hooft Consultation, held at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, June, 2004, gathered some 30 people from various religious traditions, soliciting their spiritual resources to create a common experience of interfaith community. The consultation's objectives were to articulate responsible ways of exercising power in order to overcome violence and to identify inter-religious models, resources, and networks for peace building.
In this video, participants ponder the issues around religion and violence, and ask what it really means to be truly human and to recognize the other - even on the adversaries' side - as truly human. "Mohamed and Yehuda will talk politics as Mohamed and Yehuda, not as representatives of the Arabs or of the Israelis... this is very different." Dr Mohamed Mosaad
Length 13'30
Includes Film Study Guide
The Roots of Violence
"Where are you, God? It's something I have often asked myself. But I have learned that the real question is whether I have the courage to look for God in the midst of violence". (Tom Barnet, Lutheran pastor in Sierra Leone)
Does God hide when the evil side of humankind takes over?
In Sierra Leone thousands of people were massacred, had a limb amputated or were forced to fight as child soldiers in a meaningless civil war. Now a fragile peace has come to the country. Muslims and Christians work together to heal the deep wounds, but what does it take to build reconciliation?
From Sierra Leone, those who committed the atrocities and their victims talk about their experience of violence and how they perceived God during the war.
Length 29 minutes
Available in English (VHS) or English, French, German (DVD)
Watu Wa Amani: People of Peace
In August 2004, near Nairobi, Kenya, the Historic Peace Churches of Africa gathered for the first time in history. The purpose of their gathering was a focus on making peace theology relevant to the challenges of conflicts in Africa. A part of the Bienenberg Conference Series and World Council of Churches Decade to Overcome Violence, Watu Wa Amani (People of Peace), was a time for the churches in Africa to tell their stories of struggle, faith and hope. The Watu Wa Amani DVD allows the world to learn from these African messengers.
32 minutes.
Peace to the City! Stories of Hope
Based on the "Peace to the City" campaign of the WCC's Programme to Overcome Violence, this is a survey of imaginative efforts being made by local groups and organizations in seven cities around the world to overcome violence through cross-community work. The video consists of a 23-minute introduction and seven 30-minute locally produced videos highlighting local efforts in the seven cities. A discussion guide is included.
- Full-length version (233 minutes) available in English (PAL, NTSC, or SECAM formats available - please specify).
- A shorter version (23 minutes) is available in French (PAL or SECAM format), German (PAL format), and Spanish (NTSC or PAL format).
