“Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
When you have the title of oldest existing peace fellowship of any denomination in the United States, you best believe God has placed a hand on the justice work you are doing. Disciples Peace Fellowship has engaged with the work of peace and justice through equipping, connecting, and advocating. These key actions of DPF’s mission statement drive DPF to work alongside other justice centered organizations in the denomination.
With a parent organization like Fellowship of Reconciliation, DPF continues to hold itself to a high caliber of institutional values and morals in a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.
So, it just makes sense that DPF would batten down the hatches on the aforementioned values and enjoy “hanging out” with other denominational justice partners during the time of COVID-19. In this power move of intersectionality, DPF strives to provide a faithful response to the intertwined injustices happening right now. As Disciple Peace Fellowship Director, Rev. Brian Fredrick-Gray said, “We knew in theory but, COVID allows us to pin point the connectivity.”
This summer all three DPF interns are working alongside the Disciples News Service to write articles on DOC justice organizations and the work that they are doing. Interns are also working within some of these organizations like AllianceQ, Reconciliation Ministry, and Green Chalice. The interns are also partnering with virtual summer camps in many regions to speak to middle and high school students about social justice. The youth are the embodiment of the church today. When asked where he sees hope, Fredrick-Gray quickly pointed out the peace intern program and how “the passion and enthusiasm for justice and peace” has connected the interns to the community. There are “so many places peace interns are not welcome due to race and gender identification,” the director noted while subtly mentioning the militarism that comes when a world that is at war with itself especially over the racial injustice of today.
That is why Disciples Peace Fellowship is excited about this summer’s Intergenerational Peacemakers Conference. While the date is to be determined, interested parties (that’s you) can sign up for updates and attend at https://www.disciplespeace.org/passingthepeace. If you want to quench your thirst sooner, you can join the Facebook Live event on Thursday, July 16 at 1:00 pm EST.
Of course, now you want to know how you can get involved and support the work of Disciples Peace Fellowship. There are plenty of ways to engage with this ministry.
Financial support enabled by online giving at https://www.disciplespeace.org/give.
You can sign up to be a Peace Intern Pen Pal (and I love receiving letters) at https://www.disciplespeace.org/penpals. (Did you get this far in reading before realizing I am a Peace Intern?)
Description of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (our parent organization): https://forusa.org/who-we-are/history/
Check out DPF Resources for Camps: https://www.disciplespeace.org/campresources
Sign up for the Intergenerational Peacemakers Conference Later this Summer: https://www.disciplespeace.org/passingthepeace