Although this issue of Signs of the Times may not reach you until after the holidays, the CPT-Colombia team’s Christmas “wish list” is relevant all year round.
Give the gift of solidarity by supporting CPT and local peacemaking initiatives. Here are five quick things you can do:
- Educate yourself about Colombia. Did you know that up to 5.2 million Colombians have been forced out of their homes creating the worst Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) crisis in the world? Or that in October the USA passed a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, despite the fact that Colombia has the worst human rights record in the Western Hemisphere? Or that 41 candidates were assassinated in October’s elections? Stay informed about what’s going on in the country that the USA calls “the greatest foreign policy success story.” Watch the team’s new video (https://vimeo.com/32471479) and stay tuned for a link to a new resource blog the team will launch soon.
- Friend us on Facebook (https://on.fb.me/n456MA).
- Follow us on Twitter (CPT Colombia @cptco) and join our JustCoz campaign (https://justcoz.org/cptco).
- Donate! During this season of peace, please consider giving a Christmas gift in support of the work of local peacemakers in Colombia.
- Pray for Colombia. Millions of Colombians pray every day for peace in their country. Join in, and invite your worship communities to do so as well. Here is the Advent prayer for peace we are praying every day:
As we anticipate the coming
of the Prince of Peace,
help us to move
from the center to the margins,
from despair to hope,
from weakness to courage,
from hatred to shalom.
Prepare us, O Emmanuel,
to be voices in the wilderness
for peace and understanding.
