Peace church addresses systemic police brutality with free abolition curriculum

ELKHART, Ind., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mennonite Church USA (MC USA), the largest Mennonite denomination and a historic peace church, has developed "Defund the Police?", a free online abolition curriculum that challenges participants to think creatively about personal and community safety in a biblical context. The curriculum is available on the denomination's website, no registration required.

The nine-week, self-guided course was developed to provide a Bible-based response to the continued brutalization of Black, brown and Indigenous people by police, according to Glen Guyton, MC USA's first African American executive director.

"As our police forces adopt the tools and tactics of our military, we as peacemakers need to think deeply about the intersection of our faith and our view of community policing," he said.

The authors of the curriculum – a diverse team of Anabaptist Mennonite writers and abolition experts – will provide an overview of the course during an online panel discussion on April 29 at 7 p.m. EDT. Register for the Zoom webinar here or view on Facebook Live.

The curriculum utilizes audio and video storytelling, hands-on activities and discussion prompts to explore topics, such as:

• Individual and community safety
• The purpose and history of policing
• Transformative justice
• The integration of policing in daily life
• Ideas for moving from education to connection and action

"Police abolition is a process that requires communities to create alternatives to policing," said Guyton, noting that this aspect of "defunding the police" is often misunderstood.

"Defund the Police?" is one of several peacemaking initiatives:

• "Undoing Racism," an online anti-racism resource portal
• The Justice Fund, a mutual fund that supports MC USA conferences and congregations actively working to combat poverty, dismantle racism, seek immigration justice or address police brutality/reimage policing.
• Learn, Pray, Join: Cost of War, an awareness campaign about the economics of war and the impact of militarism on our communities
• A collaboration with RAWTools, Inc., an organization that transforms donated guns into garden tools
• Also, The Peace and Justice Support Network (an initiative of Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of MC USA) provides tools and encouragement that congregations need to embrace their calling to seek peace.

Mennonite Church USA is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with 530 congregations and 62,000 members. mennoniteUSA.org

Editorial Contact: Wil LaVeist, chief communications officer, [email protected], 574-523-3077

SOURCE Mennonite Church USA

Related Links

http://www.mennoniteusa.org

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