BRETHREN ARE INVITED TO COUNTER-RECRUITMENT CONFERENCE

A Counter-Recruitment Conference sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) US will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 3-5. On Earth Peace is planning a delegation from the Church of the Brethren, led by staff member Matt Guynn, coordinator of Peace Witness.

"This is an open invitation event which a group of Mennonites who are mostly people of color have had the major hand in planning," reported Guynn. “The conference is going to be a special opportunity to worship, share, learn, and plan together as we prepare to respond actively to the impact of military recruitment on communities,” he added.

The conference will bring together youth and adults from communities heavily targeted by military recruitment. It was inspired by the Anabaptist consultation that took place at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill., in March 2005, which focused on the potential for military conscription.

"Given the strong military recruitment efforts in communities burdened by poverty and racism, a people-of-color caucus at the (March 2005) consultation issued a strong call for a conference focusing on military recruitment," said the announcement of the event from MCC US.

Organizers hope to equip congregations to help youth find meaningful nonmilitary opportunities for education, job training, employment, and leadership development; network and share resources and strategies for outreach in schools and other public settings; and ground the work of counter recruitment in commitment to Christ's way of peace and reconciliation through worship and biblical study.

The event is planned for youth and young adults, youth sponsors, Sunday school teachers, pastors and youth pastors, district and conference youth ministers, peace committee members, school teachers, and guidance counselors.

Register for the conference and get more information at www.mcc.org/us/co/counter/conference. To express interest in attending as part of the Brethren delegation, contact Guynn at mattguynn@earthlink.net or 765-962-6234. For more about On Earth Peace's work in this area, please go to http://www.brethren.org/oepa/CounterRecruitment.html.