Founded 1956 | ||
The German Mennonite Peace Committee (in German: Deutsches Mennonitisches Friedenskomitee, DMFK) is the peace office of those German Mennonites who are united under the name Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland (AMG). The peace office is financially supported by the congregations of the AMG and by interested lay persons. Its work is organized by the director, the DMFK board and active persons from the Mennonite congregations. The DMFK characterizes its vision for the world in the words "divine peace and justice taking on concrete forms" (Gottes Frieden und Gerechtigkeit sollen in dieser Welt Gestalt annehmen). The DMFK works with Mennonite and other congregations, seeking to nurture peace practices as well as theological reflections on it. The current director is James (Jakob) Fehr. The offices are located in Bammental, near Heidelberg.
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History
The DMFK was established in 1956 as a response to the resumption of conscription in the wake of the rearmament of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)) during the Cold War. German Mennonites saw the need to provide counsel and support to their young men in conscientious objection to military service, at a time when German conscriptors made it difficult for young men to gain CO status. The DMFK was established during a period of renewed peace witness among German Mennonites. In the aftermath of the German collapse at the end of World War II, the influence of North American Mennonites led to a recovery of the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition and a transformation in theological thinking toward peace church theology.
During the 1980s DMFK was very active in protesting the buildup of American military arms in Germany. DMFK planned and participated in protests and demonstrations. In 1986, while Mennonites were celebrating the tricentennial anniversary of the first Germans emigrating to America, the German and U.S. governments were developing close ties that led to the present military alliance of NATO. DMFK joined the protests, pointing out that good German-American relations need not be a "brotherhood in arms". DMFK informed the public that among the early emigrants to the USA were Mennonites and Quakers from Krefeld, Germany, who crossed the Atlantic to find religious freedom, including the right to refrain from military involvement.
In October 1984, DMFK established its permanent office under the directorship of Wolfgang Krauß and became active in uniting American and German peace movements. The anti-nuclear movement in Germany was particularly strong in Germany during the 1980s, some demonstrations being attended by more than 300,000 people. A human chain extended 100 km (62 mi) from Stuttgart to Neu-Ulm to protest against the new middle-range missiles that NATO and the Warsaw Pact wanted to deploy on both sides of the “Iron Curtain”. The concern that a nuclear holocaust could be imminent was widespread. The protest movement was denounced as “anti-American” by the German government. But the protesters formed their own alliance with American friends, peace groups and churches, in the conviction that transatlantic cooperation need not be guided by military prerogative. In 2003, shortly before the beginning of the Iraq War, DMFK re-established the Military Counseling Network to provide support and information to American military members stationed in Europe who were questioning their willingness to participate in warfare. DMFK ended its formal connection to Military Counseling Network in 2013.
Current Activities
DMFK re-organised itself in November 2007 (Zukunftswerkstatt), forming a new board and new initiatives. It now offers peace and conflict transformation seminars for church congregations and youth groups and helps to organize and plan conferences and seminars on issues of faith and peace. It supports the Mennonitisches Friedenszentrum Berlin in its project to encourage Christian-Muslim dialogue in Neukölln.
A major field of activity of the DMFK is the promotion of the work of Christian Peacemaker Teams in Germany and other parts of Europe. DMFK has organised CPT delegations to Hebron, Iraqi Kurdistan and Grassy Narrows. It provided financial aid for persons seeking to absolve the CPT peace trainings and for the new CPT Europe project to accompany and protect migrants on the European border.
Michael Sattler Peace Prize
The Michael Sattler Peace Prize was first awarded in 2006 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the German Mennonite Peace Committee. The Prize is named after Michael Sattler, one of the early, influential leaders of the Anabaptist movement, who was burned at the stake in Rottenburg on May 20 or 21st, 1527. The Sattler Prize was established to honour and bring attention to persons or groups that have practiced a nonviolent peace witness to Christ, worked for reconciliation between enemies or have encouraged and engaged in dialogue between diverse religions and/or worldviews. The prize is awarded approximately every three years. Recipients of the Sattler Prize have been:
2006 - Christian Peacemaker Teams
2007 - Tent of Nations, Bethlehem, Palestine
2010 - Howard Zehr, Professor of Sociology and Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University and
2013 - Judy da Silva, lay leader and peace activist of the Canadian First Nation of Grassy Narrows
2016 - Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)
The Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa is based primarily in northeastern Nigeria. As the largest Christian church in the region, it has suffered for years from attacks by the Islamic terror organization, Boko Haram. Of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls abducted in April 2014, the majority (178) are members of the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa. In spite of this aggression, the EYN has held fast to the peace witness of the Gospel and has renounced calls for retaliation. The Church teaches its members, and especially its youth, in the Biblical way of peace and reconciliation, and has established contact with Muslims and mosques open to dialogue.
The prize in 2016 focusses on the work of CAMPI, the Christian and Muslim Peace Initiative of EYN.