Peace with Justice is a faithful expression of shalom in the Bible. It calls the church to "strengthen its capacity to advocate publicly in communities and nations" throughout the world. The Peace with Justice program aims to make shalom visible and active in people's lives and communities by setting people free from bondage. We will celebrate peace with justice when all people have access to adequate jobs, housing, education, food, health care, income support and clean water. We will further celebrate when structures and systems that reflect economic exploitation, war, political oppression and cultural domination no longer exist.
The Old Testament speaks of God's sovereignty in terms of covenant, more particularly the "covenant of peace" with Israel, which binds that people of God's shalom (Isaiah 54:10; Ezekiel 37:20). In the covenant of shalom, there is no contradiction between justice and peace or between peace and security or between love and justice (Jeremiah 29:7). In Isaiah's prophecy, when "the spirit is poured upon us from on high," we will know that these laws of God are one and indivisible: "Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places" (Isaiah 32:16-18, NRSV).
The MARC office houses the Peace with Justice Library (formerly located at GR Trinity UMC), a collection of 63 books and videos. For a complete listing of these resources, contact Betsy Weems in MARC at marc@wmcumc.org.
For additional information on Peace with Justice Ministries, visit the web page on the West Michigan Conference website at www.westmichiganconference.org, or contact Ellen Brubaker, West Michigan Conference Peace with Justice Coordinator.

Introducing a new and exciting way to teach and reinforce the important knowledge that will help to ensure your child's safety! In this unique video, No Easy Targets, Glenn Olson, founder of Safety NET Kids, teaches children the importance of knowing when its OK to say no, about unwarranted touches, what to do when they are approached or grabbed by a stranger, and how to react in other potentially dangerous situations.

Streams of Living Water is a video-based curriculum built on Richard J. Foster's acclaimed book Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith, and is designed to help Christians accept the invitation to live a balanced and well-rounded apprenticeship with Jesus. With these materials, you and your group will have the resources to experience significant growth in your Christian walk, as well as develop a deeper appreciation for Jesus as the source of each great tradition of Christian spirituality, which include:

Contemplative- the Prayer-Filled Life
Holiness- the Virtuous Life
Charismatic- the Spirit-Empowered life
Social Justice- the Compassionate Life
Evangelical- the Word-Centered Life
Incarnational- the Sacramental Life

Find hope in the stories of grass-roots peacemakers in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Former adversaries in Kenya plant trees of peace. A Nigerian Muslim woman's brother was killed by Christians; she is now a leading peacemaker in her community. In northern Uganda, civil war ravages communities, yet local people are working for peace. Learn what sustains these peacemakers and how they are making a difference. A bonus feature titled The Path Is Made by Walking is 20-minute presentation that tells the stories of peacemakers in El Salvador. Study guides for both resources are included on the DVD and inside the DVD case.

Storyteller Noa Baum, an Israeli who began a heartfelt dialogue with a Palestinian woman while living in the United States, weaves together their memories and their mothers' stories. She creates a moving testimony illuminating the complex and contradictory history and emotions that surround Jerusalem for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

This DVD is a profound look at the human face of the migrant. It explores who these people are, why they leave their homes and what they face in their journey. Drawing on the insights of photographers, theologians, church and congressional leaders, activists, musicians and the immigrants themselves, this film explores the places of conflict, pain and hope along the US-Mexico border. It is a reflection on the human struggle for a more dignified life and the search to find God in the midst of it all.

This DVD was shown at the plenary session of 2007 school of Christian Mission. It contains images and sounds from the Occupied Palestinian Territories produced for Action by Churches Together (ACT) by Paul Jeffrey.
Riah Abu El-Assal, The Anglican bishop in Jerusalem discusses the Israeli-built wall and report that "the best secure borders are reconciled neighbors.
Abigail Ozanne, United Methodist from St. Paul, MN, serving with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron, West Bank, tells us about the social, political and economical conditions in this area.
For more images, sounds & articles, go to ACT's website at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/actphotos/opt3/

In the spring of 2003, three young Americans traveled to Africa in search of such a story. What they found was a tragedy that disgusted and inpired them - a story where children are the weapons and the victims. This film exposes the effects of a 20-year-long war on the children of North Uganda.
An entire generation has never known peace. Tens of thousands of civilians have been mutilated or killed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Northern Uganda for 20 years. Since 1986, the leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony, has abducted and brainwashed more than 20,000 boys and girls to fight as child soldiers in his militia, with roughly 12,000 abductions occurring since 2002. As a result, 250,000 children in all of Northern Uganda currently receive no education; 737 schools (60% of the total) are non-functioning because of the war, leaving the schools that are functioning grossly overcrowded, with 300 students for every one teacher.

Author: the Knowers Ark Educational Foundation
This full-color educational wall poster is a two-sided map, which highlights historical, political, economic, and human concerns in the Middle East, with a concentration on Israel and Palestine. This poster includes maps, charts, flags, and 25 country profiles. (1 poster; The Knower's Educational Foundation, c2004)

A 600-kilometer wall of concrete and barbed wire—Israel’s official answer to Palestinian attacks. Visiting the West Bank town of Abu Dis, located on the route of the barrier, this program explains how Israel’s solution is a Palestinian problem. Abu Dis business owners, leaders, and everyday citizens communicate a painful reality: the finished wall will bar thousands from their lands and livelihoods, and from nearby Jerusalem. The program balances its perspective by interviewing fearful Israelis as well, and provides a historical outline of modern Israel’s origins, the intifadas, and the Oslo accords.