Those who have a 'why' to live, can endure almost any 'how'. ~ Viktor Frankl
"Our gun is now prayer. It is a gun you can carry with confidence because it won't hurt anybody. We can take our gun with us even through the checkpoints, because our gun is spiritual."
--Angelina Atyam, SPI participant and founder of Concerned Parents Association, Lira, Uganda. Above, Angelina talks with a seminary professor after speaking on the "Power of the collective voice for peace" at a Frontiers in Peacebuilding Luncheon in 2008.
Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist/psychiatrist who survived Nazi Germany concentration camps, kept his hopes alive by retaining his faith that someday he would be reunited with his wife and family and would complete a book manuscript. At the end of the war, Frankl concluded that the meaning of life is found in every moment, even in suffering and death.
Each year at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI), we are inspired by people whose faith empowers them to courageous action, even in the midst of seemingly hopeless situations. The challenges of our world today require vision, courage, discipline, hope, humor, compassion, community, and a faith in something beyond ourselves.
SPI is a place to share your faith with others and to discover the power of communal deliberations on the urgent issues of our day – equitable development, protection of human rights, sustainable management of the environment, and global security.
SPI provides a safe and creative space for exploring the possibilities for personal and collective peace, as participants, faculty, staff, and invited guests discover common interests through classroom interaction, luncheon presentations, weekend seminars, special interest groups, and community celebrations.
2009 Information
The 14th annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute, a program of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, will be held from May 4 to June 12, 2009.
Three seven-day sessions and one five-day session, each with six intensive courses running concurrently, will be offered for academic credit or as professional training for practitioners at various experience and skill levels.
An interactive approach is used in the classroom to draw upon the rich experiences of participants as well as instructors.
Unique Learning Community
"SPI is a total immersion experience. I am so glad to be here. It is refreshing ...although it's kinda like taking a drink out of a fire hydrant. Wow!"
-John McNamara, SPI participant and pastor from Rochester, N.Y., USA
The SPI community is one of mutual respect and learning. In this unique experiment of education in community, the classroom is just one venue.
Informal sharing of personal stories and cultural experiences creates bonds of trust, a spirit of hope, a sense of belonging to something larger than oneself, and the courage to move forward.
New friendships and networks are forged as participants engage in a host of activities: relaxing together over community meals; participating in sporting events, recreational outings and dance parties; visiting with local families; and sharing spiritual journeys.
