By Rachel Bergen Superheroes can fly, they have super strength, they can shoot webs from their hands, and they fight bad guys. These characters are out of this world. Hollywood superhero movies can raise a lot of money at the box office, but these characters aren’t real. In real life heroes are somewhat less awe-inspiring, and…
Month: January 2016

SOP students take part in Battambang field trip
SOP 2015 students left the classroom this weekend and learned in the field. The group travelled to Battambang province in Cambodia to learn from religious groups and non-governmental organizations in the region. On Friday the students broke up into two groups. One visited the NGO Buddhism for Education of Cambodia (BEC). A group of monks who…

Threads of Hope in Pattani
By Sara Klassen, photo by Joseph Mosor Foreward by Max Ediger In 1902 the the Kingdom of Siam, known today as the Kingdom of Thailand, annexed the Kingdom of Pattani. Pattani was, at that time, a semi-autonomous region of Malaysia. From that time to the present there have been conflicts based on political and cultural alienation….

A Year of Mercy
By Rachel Bergen Students of the 2015 School of Peace are embarking on the third and final module of their peace studies this month. On Thursday morning, Max Ediger opened the module with an interfaith prayer and reflection. Sister Denise from the Metta Karuna Reflection Centre informed him of Pope Francis’ call to use the…

“I voted for peace”
By Max Ediger In a recent blog post, I shared about Pope Francis’ visit to the Central African Republic (CAR) where violence between Muslims and Christians has seen many communities destroyed and people killed. The Pope’s visit was meant to begin a process of rebuilding trust an harmony between the conflicting groups. Just a few…

SOP Students back in Siem Reap for Third Module
By Max Ediger On January 6, SOP 2015 participants will again arrive in Siem Reap, Cambodia to complete the final module of SOP. Participants began working on their fieldwork experiences and reports in September and will bring them to the third module for evaluation and further study. Small and I are looking forward to hearing…