By Rachel Bergen From an early age, Lioni Tobing was curious about who exactly God is. She would wonder funny things about her Creator like, “Does God drink coffee or tea? Does God like cookies?” But never got the answers she needed, nor did she feel comfortable asking people in her church these types of…
Tag: Christianity
Promoting Dialogue and Diversity in Papua
By: Rachel Bergen Laela Tambawang was born into an interfaith family in West Papua, Indonesia, so it’s no surprise she eventually participated in ICF’s School of Peace. “I’m Muslim but my mom is Christian until she became Muslim,” Laela explains. “My grandma is Christian and helped me learn about my own religion. She taught me…
Thinking Critically for Peace in China
By Rachel Bergen As a student in China, Kathryn Chang took exams every year. She learned there are right and wrong answers, but no room for opinions or criticisms. As a result, Kathryn didn’t really challenge the status quo. Creative thinking wasn’t encouraged in her school or even in her wider community as she got…
“Call Me Manobo”
By Rachel Bergen Rene Bundozan’s identification paperwork shows he is a Filipino Christian. That’s because there is no option to declare himself by his Indigenous spirituality. The 25-year-old hails from North Cotabato in Mindanao and comes from the Ilianen Manobo Indigenous community in southern Philippines. At an early age Rene became a Christian and lost…
Creative Storytelling as a Tool for Transformation
For the first time at School of Peace, participants used puppets and dioramas to explain issues from their communities. In the third module, Hem Sopharak “Small” led a session on creative storytelling as a tool for transformation. The participants broke into groups and made their own puppets and dioramas to explain problems like colonization, trauma, reconciliation, and…
“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…
We are Brothers and Sisters
“Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.” Pope Francis said this after meeting Muslim leaders at the Koudoukou mosque in Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital of Bangui during a six-day peace pilgrimage last month in Africa. He added that “together, we must say no to hatred, to revenge and to violence, particularly that violence which…
Interfaith partnerships in Indonesia
By Sara Klassen, edited by Rachel Bergen Before she went to School of Peace, Suwarti Ningsih says she was almost a fundamentalist in her identity as a Christian. “If Muslims came to our house we had to be careful. My mom taught me like that. I could not directly accept what they would talk about….