The Telos Channel

How can we choose peace for others when we’ve lost everything for ourselves? 

Michael Laverty lost his parents as a child. He lost his community when he became a conscientious objector to the apartheid regime in South Africa. And he nearly lost his family in an act of violence that left him scarred for years. 

Yet despite all of this, he committed his life to peace: to undoing systems of injustice, to standing beside the poorest and most broken of the world, and to giving himself away. Through the years, he has worked to help elect Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa and empower young Christians to make active commitments of peace in Australia. But he’s learned along the way that making peace with the world also requires making peace with ourselves.

His healing and peacemaking work is centered by his evangelical Christian faith, which he believes compels him to act on behalf of the most marginalized, as Jesus would. Michael’s life represents our Practice of peacemaking, “Own Our Agency and Responsibility.”

*CW: This episode has references to violence, including sexual assault and traumatic events* 

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It’s pumpkin pie season! We got the US team together this week to discuss all things Thanksgiving. We talked through some of the fun stuff, like our favorite dishes and thoughts on Black Friday shopping, but also opened conversation on where peacemaking might come in this holiday. 

We discussed the purpose of and truth behind the “original Thanksgiving,” and talked through strategies for building relationships across lines of difference—even at the Thanksgiving table.

Happy thanksgiving listeners—we’re thankful for you!

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René August is a veteran of the anti-apartheid movement, an Anglican priest, and a reconciliation trainer. She grew up in a racially segregated township in the land now known as South Africa, a land that gave her only one quarter of the vote of a white citizen. 

Her political life came alive when a group of mostly Black South African theologians released the Kairos Document—a spiritual and political challenge to the Apartheid regime. In that document, she found a spirituality that was big enough for the challenges her nation faced. It told the truth, it repaired what was harmed, and it moved toward the other in love.

Today, she embodies that spirituality in a place still struggling with the legacy of apartheid. She challenges her people to live out that spirituality every day, and she challenges us to believe that no matter how deep the pain, change is always possible. René embodies our first principle of peacemaking: Growth.

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources: http://eepurl.com/cG1LGH

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“If our criminal legal system actually made people safer, Louisiana would be the safest place in the country.”

One of Will’s first interactions with the police happened during cross country practice in high school. The experience forever reshaped how he understood race, policing, and justice. Today, he is on the forefront of transforming the criminal legal system to bring justice to the most incarcerated state of the most incarcerated country in the world: Louisiana. 

Will serves as the Director of the New Orleans office of the Vera Institute of Justice, an organization committed to securing equal justice, ending mass incarceration, and strengthening families and communities. Will represents our third principle of peacemaking: Justice.

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources: http://eepurl.com/cG1LGH

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Resources from this episode:

The Vera Institute of Justice

Louisiana Incarcerated, The Times Picayune

Kill ‘Em and Leave, by James McBride

On this week's episode, we dive a little deeper into Israel's decision to designate six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations. What does this means for the humanitarian space in Israel/Palestine? And we discuss a new report on surveillance tools that Israel uses to track Palestinians in the West Bank and the discovery of Pegasus spyware on the phones of human rights activists.

You can check out the resources mentioned in this episode here:

• Occupied Thoughts episode on the NGO designation with Foundation for Middle East President Lara Friedman and Israeli lawyer and human rights activist Michael Sfard
• Orly Noy's article on surveillance in +972

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The Israeli government recently designated six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations, and the global community is still trying to catch up. Why did they make this designation, what kind of impact will it have on their work and the NGO sector in Israel/Palestine, and what does it say about the political nature of language? 

We discuss this, and a recent decision by the French government to return 29 stolen artifacts to Benin. What does it mean to reckon with history, especially histories of theft, and work to repair the harm done in the past—even when we weren’t personally responsible for it? 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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Watch One Day After Peace

This week we discuss recent polling that shows changes in the evangelical landscape in the U.S., including what a post-evangelical movement could mean. We look at Deir Yassin, the Palestinian experience of ongoing Nakba, and the importance of acknowledging and learning about the past. And we talk about Captain Kirk’s trip to space and whether it has anything to do with peacemaking. 

We finish by asking you to take action! So much of peacemaking is about expanding our perspective. This can feel like a wishy-washy step, but it’s a critical one. If we see the world differently, we see ourselves differently. And the way we see ourselves and understand our identity is a main driver of our behavior. 

What steps can you take this week to expand perspectives? Share with us on social media! Some ideas from our team:

1. Watch Just Vision’s film My Neighborhood or share it with someone who hasn’t seen it yet (https://justvision.org/myneighbourhood)
2. If you’re a member of a church or religious institution, ask your pastor or faith leader how they’re doing and how you can support them
3. Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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A community of Palestinians in the West Bank was the target of a coordinated attack by Israeli settlers last week in what was described as “one of the biggest attacks in broad daylight by settlers on a Palestinian community.” We hear first-hand stories from special guest Marina Klimchuk, who spent the first few days after the attack with residents of Mufagara, and we discuss: was the attack a sensational anomaly, or part of a larger strategy?

We also discuss the seemingly-outlandish, but increasingly-engaged possibility that our divisions may lead to political violence, even civil war. How do we as peacemakers consider this possibility, and what can we do today to wage peace and prevent violence?

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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David French, A Whiff of Civil War in the Air: https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/a-whiff-of-civil-war-in-the-air

After an unprecedented display of resistance, Congress officially approved an additional $1 billion in support of Israel’s Iron Dome—an amount in addition to the $3.8 billion the US sends to Israel every year. Why was the funding so controversial, yet still pass with a vote of 420-9? And does this kind of funding actually promote a future of flourishing for Israelis and Palestinians alike? 

We also discuss a  Washington Post article about the historic and growing divides within the US. Can a sense of common purpose and opportunities for collaboration be revived in our increasingly polarized society? And how can we as peacemakers usher them in?

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

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If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos!

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Read the Washington Post article we discuss: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-pearl-harbor-and-911-americans-came-together-have-we-lost-that-capacity/2021/09/26/1246b22e-1492-11ec-9589-31ac3173c2e5_story.html

Images from the U.S. border, where thousands of mostly Haitian migrants have attempted to apply for asylum near Del Rio, Texas, captured the nation’s attention last week. What’s happening, what’s the bigger story, and what can we do about it? 

We discuss these questions with special guest, Sami DiPasquale, Executive Director of Abara, an organization focused on inspiring connections and responding to needs at the US-Mexico border. 

Read and share the Principles and Practices of Peacemaking

Subscribe to the Telos Newsletter for more news analysis and peacemaking resources

Follow Telos on Instagram @thetelosgroup

If you’re enjoying the podcast, become a monthly donor to Telos!

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Learn more about and support Abara: https://www.abarafrontiers.org/

Other resources:

-National Immigration Forum: https://immigrationforum.org/

-Faith in Action: https://faithinaction.org/