Books on the work of CPT, written by CPTers and our supporters.

• As Resident Aliens: Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, 1995–2005, by CPTer Kathleen Kern
• In Harm's Way: a History of Christian Peacemaker Teams, by CPTer Kathleen Kern
• 118 Days: Christian Peacemaker Teams held hostage in Iraq, essays written by CPTers and CPT supporters, edited by Tricia Gates Brown
• Getting in the Way: Stories from Christian Peacemaker Teams, essays written by CPTers, edited by Tricia Gates Brown
• To Baghdad and Beyond: How I got born again in Babylon, by CPT delegation member Jonathan Wislon-Hartgrove
• West Bank Diary: Middle East Violence as Reported by a Former American Hostage, by CPTer Jerry Levin
• Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace, by CPTer Peggy Gish
• Getting in the Way: Studies in the Book of Acts, by CPTer Kathy Kern
• Whatever Kindles: a Play About CPT, by CPTer Tricia Gates Brown (PDF file)

Suggested Donation

Make donation checks payable to: Christian Peacemaker Teams
Write to CPT:
In the United States: PO Box 6508 Chicago IL 60680
In Canada: 25 Cecil St, Unit 307 Toronto ON M5T 1N1
or email sophiac [at] cpt [dot] org with the name of the book and your mailing address

In Harm's Way: a History of Christian Peacemaker Teams

by CPTer Kathleen Kern; Cascade, 2008

Paperback, 620 pages; Suggested Donation: $40

In 1984 Evangelicals for Social Action founder Ron Sider posed the questions, "What would happen if we in the Christian church developed a new nonviolent peacekeeping force ready to move into violent conflicts and stand peacefully between warring parties? . . . Everyone assumes that for the sake of peace it is moral and just for soldiers to get killed by the hundreds of thousands, even millions. Do we not have as much courage and faith as soldiers?"

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has been trying to answer those questions since 1986. CPT has responded to invitations from grassroots organizers on five continents who are using nonviolent strategies to confront systemic oppression. This book provides a glimpse into the mistakes and successes, the triumphs and tragedies, that teams have shared in with local co-workers in various nations. It also continues to pose the question, What would happen if CPT's efforts were multiplied by millions of Christians with a radical commitment to Jesus's nonviolent gospel?

118 Days: Christian Peacemaker Teams held hostage in Iraq

edited by CPTer Tricia Gates Brown; Christian Peacemaker Teams, 2008
Paperback, 227 pages; suggested donation: $15

On November 26, 2005, Christian Peacemaker Teams members Tom Fox and Jim Loney along with delegation members Norman Kember and Harmeet Sooden were kidnapped in Iraq. Tom Fox was killed on March 9, 2006. Jim, Norman and Harmeet were freed two weeks later on March 23 after 118 days of captivity. The kidnapping of these four peacemakers was like a rock thrown into a pond. This collection describes the ripples on the water, the impact and results of that rock, in stories characterized by hope, courage, friendship, and forgiveness. 118 Days bears witness to vital peacemaking being done around the world in these times.

As Resident Aliens: Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, 1995–2005

by CPTer Kathleen Kern; Cascade, 2009
Paperback, 372 pages; suggested donation: $35

"As the crucifixes drenched with Jewish blood drop from our hands, we stand impotent and wordless before this tragedy of Israel and Palestine … In the name of the crucified Messiah, we must struggle against the conditions which make history a trail of crucifixions. Only then, in solidarity with Jews and Palestinians, can we dream of Messianic times, of a shalom without victims." With these words, theologian Rosemary Radford Reuther laid out the pitfalls for Christians entering the arena of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Nevertheless, in 1995, a small cohort of pacifist Christians decided to paddle against the currents of history, against the crusades, pogroms, and colonial enterprises of their co-religionists, toward that goal of "a shalom without victims." Setting up a project in the West Bank city of Hebron, over the next ten years Christian Peacemaker Teams forged relationships with Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals who were resisting the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. As "resident aliens" (See Exodus 23:9) they have sojourned in the Holy Land to support Palestinians and Israelis who reject violence as a means of solving the conflict, who think that one nation has no right to subjugate and exploit another, and who believe all the residents of the region are entitled to the same, exactly the same, human rights. This book charts the growth of CPT in Palestine, how it adapted to changing political conditions, spread to locations outside of Hebron, and developed networks with activists throughout Palestine and Israel.

Getting in the Way: Stories From Christian Peacemaker Teams

edited by CPTer Tricia Gates Brown; Herald Press, 2005

Paperback, 300 pages; suggested donation: $15

Christian Peacemaker Teams stop soldiers from firing on unarmed protesters in the West Bank, "occupy" a military base in Chiapas, Mexico, and oppose brutality against native fishers in Esgenoopetitj (New Brunswick, Canada). These are three of the stories recounted in this collection of first-person narratives written by members of CPT. The fear, joy and challenge faced by these committed Christians is reported vividly from trouble spots like Haiti, Iraq and Colombia, where the CPT work to reduce violence and conflict. Whether relating an account of incarceration in an Israeli prison, the death of a CPT member in Iraq, or coming face-to-face with angry loggers in the forests of Canada, the narratives in Getting in the Way are intimate, moving and deeply humanizing.

Getting in the Way Study Guide [PDF], by Tricia Gates Brown.

To Baghdad and Beyond: How I got born again in Babylon

by CPT delegation member Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove; Cascade Books, 2005

Paperback, 113 pages; suggested donation: $15

'To Baghdad and Beyond' is the story of a young evangelical couple who followed the conviction of their faith into a war zone on a CPT delegation and discovered an alternative to the violence of empires and the complicity of quietism in the "third way" of Jesus's beloved community. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove writes of his journey from a rural Southern Baptist church to Iraq in a time of war to a Christian community of hospitality in an urban neighborhood. Excited by ways that Christian hope is taking concrete form, Wilson-Hartgrove describes a new monastic movement that is witnessing to a world at war that another way is possible.

West Bank Diary: Middle East Violence as Reported by a Former American Hostage

by former CPTer Jerry Levin; Hope Publishing, 2005

Paperback, 248 pages; suggested donation: $15

When he was CNN's Beirut Bureau Chief, Jerry Levin was kidnapped and held hostage by the Hezbollah for almost a year. Yet when he was released, instead of being vindictive against his captors, Jerry decided to devote his life to giving voice to peoples silenced by foreign policies that often victimize the innocent.

Rather than return to his role as an observer and reporter, he became a dedicated advocate for nonviolence and a CPT worker in Hebron, West Bank. In this book Jerry describes his firsthand observations and personal experiences. Determined to demonstrate the power of nonviolence, he sets out to be an example as he escorts Palestinian children to school or farmers to their fields, being a peacemaker in a world filled with hate and violence. He shows how merely "getting in the way" of the Israeli occupation becomes a visible act of social consequence that gives recognition, courage and hope to those seeking to defend and protect Palestinian human rights.

Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace

by CPTer Peggy Gish; Herald Press, 2004
Paperback,296 pages; suggested donation: $15

Peggy Gish went to Iraq as an attempt to prevent war. But on March 20, 2003, the bombs began falling on Baghdad. In her book, Peggy recounts the moving experiences of CPT's work in Iraq, before, during and after the 2003 war and occupation. Told as her personal account, Peggy makes real the story of prisoner abuse, the character of the Iraqi people, and a passionate vision for peace.

From the fall of 2002 to the spring of 2004, she chronicles her Iraq experience. Here are stories of sleeping in a tent during bomb attacks, villages surrounded in razor wire, being deported out of Iraq, fighting for justice for Iraqi prisoners, being robbed, creating relationships with Iraqi citizens, and through it all -- seeking the way of Christ's peace.

Getting in the Way: Studies in the Book of Acts

by CPTer Kathleen Kern; a CPT-printed 33-page booklet

This unit of four lessons from the Book of Acts is designed for groups who wish to study the work of CPT within the context of the biblical witness. Each lesson is tied to a passage from Acts with study focusing on the first century church and the history of CPT. Great for Sunday School discussion!

Bound booklets available from CPT for US$5.00 per copy, or download PDF files below:
Lesson Introduction
Lesson One: In the Beginning
Lesson Two: Subverting Privilege
Lesson Three: Speaking Truth to Power
Lesson Four: the Logistics of Growth

Whatever Kindles: A Play About Christian Peacemaker Teams

by CPTer Tricia Gates Brown

Click here for the PDF version, 56 pages.

 

 

 

 

 

As Resident Aliens

Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, 1995–2005
By Kathleen Kern