Alum Kyle Cristafalo

Want to hear about the real experiences of PACS alum? What exactly does one do with a PACS major or minor? After contacting some alum we want to make this information and encouragement open to you. Today’s profile comes from Kyle Cristafalo. Kyle graduated from Messiah in May of 2009 and had a major in Peace and Conflict Studies. That’s before it was an official major, so Kyle is one of those people we can thank for paving the road for the PACS major. Right after graduating, Kyle spent 10 months with Mennonite Central Committee in Israel-Palestine. He worked at a non-profit and volunteered with organizations that brought Israelis and Palestinians together to help transform the conflict. After returning back to the US Kyle participated in a domestic year of service with Lutheran Volunteer Corps. He focused on anti-hunger and poverty issues as well as immigration. Kyle says that his PACS major was really helpful in teaching  him the importance of working locally in the US as well as abroad. Currently Kyle is finishing his second year of graduate school at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, GA where he is earning his Master of Divinity degree. He is continuing his studies from Messiah by concentrating in Justice, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Transformation. Kyle still uses the material he learned at Messiah and has found it completely relevant to all he has done. We wish Kyle good luck with finishing graduate school and we thank him for truly engaging in the world around him!

Alum Alison Climenhaga Fitchett

Want to hear about the real experiences of PACS alum? What exactly does one do with a PACS major or minor? After contacting some alum we want to make this information and encouragement open to you. Today’s profile is on Alison Climenhaga Fitchett a graduate from May of 2009, who had a minor in PACS. Since graduating she has been busy pursuing graduate studies. In 2011 she graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Master of Theological Studies degree in systematic theology. She then spent a year working at Kern Road Mennonite Church in Indiana. Last fall Alison returned to Notre Dame for graduate studies. She is enrolled in a theology Ph.D. program called the World Religions and World Church program. Her primary interests are inculturation, inter-religious dialogue, and Christian-Muslim relations Africa. Alison says that her minor in PACS has shaped how she thinks about her faith and provided a foundation for organizing her theological priorities. We certainly congratulate Alison for her success and wish her the best as she earns her Ph.D!

Kelly Curran’s Senior Presentation!

On May 8th at 7:00pm in Boyer 131 Senior Peace and Conflict Studies major, Kelly Curran will be giving a presentation on her senior project. Her presentation is entitled “Poetic Advocacy for Gender and Sexual Equality.” Kelly will be examining how poetry is effectively used to raise awareness of gender and sexual inequality. She will be reflecting on the works of Staceyann Chin, Suheir Hammad, and Andrea Gibson, particularly their use of exposure, intimacy, liberation, and community. Kelly will also be connecting these themes to how they advocate for peaceful conflict resolution. Please come out to hear about this interesting topic and to support Kelly!

Once again here are the times and places:

When: Wednesday, May 8th at 7:00pm

Where: Boyer 131

And there will be refreshments afterwards!

Peace Dinner

This semester Peace Fellowship has wanted to try something new. We have decided to have Peace Dinners where we could get together and just share a meal. The way we saw it was that food brings people together, it’s a common ground. Some of the Peace Fellowship leaders prepared a meal at the SoJo House and we came together to eat and fellowship. It was great to talk about peace with others and about ideas for Peace Fellowship. Be on the lookout for future event likes this.

Reflecting on Leymah Gbowee’s Visit to Messiah

Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee visited Messiah College March 18th. She was the perfect fit as a final speaker in a series on Courage and Conviction at Messiah. PACS students were especially excited for this opportunity. She inspired students, faculty, and the community that evening. As Leymah shared her experiences the audience took in what she had to say with listening ears, reflecting on what courage and conviction means in their own lives.

I was personally inspired by Leymah also. She is a woman who sees something wrong and takes immediate action. She opened with a story that touched me. As a person who led the women’s movement in Liberia, you would expect grand stories from this experience, but it was a much more simple story that affected me the most. Leymah witnessed a teenage boy verbally abusing a middle school age girl. She confronted the boy and discussed the inappropriate behavior, which I am sure left a mark on him, but Leymah did not stop there. She also talked to the girls and told them the importance of sisterhood, something very dear to Leymah. In Leymah’s eyes something was not right, there was conviction towards the wrong she was seeing. Leymah also demonstrated the courage to act upon the wrong she saw. Maybe it seems like such a small example, but it means so much to me. How different would our actions look if we went forth with courage in our convictions? How different would our world be if we did this even in our day-to-day interactions? It has been over a month since Leymah’s visit, but I encourage us to reflect back upon her message that evening and allow it not be just a nice thought, but let it flow through our actions.

Conflict Free Campus Initiative at Messiah

Peace Fellowship is working to help Messiah College become a conflict free campus. Now what does that mean? Well if you know anything about the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, you know that the minerals in our electronic devices (our phones, computers, cameras, ect.) many times are connected with the conflict. Armed groups earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year trading these minerals. These armed groups then fight for control over mines, murdering and raping civilians. This conflict is known as the deadliest one since World War II and conflict minerals are helping to fuel it.

This is where the Conflict Free Campus Initiative (CFCI) comes in. This is a student led movement to encourage universities to buy from the companies that trace more of their minerals and to put pressure on all companies to clean up their supply chain. Universities are one of the largest consumers of electronics. When the electronic industry was asked what it would take to change, their answer was a strong student movement. So we as students have the power to make a change. Getting Messiah on board with this initiative will help and spread this cause.

Peace Fellowship is setting up tables to help educate the student body and to gain support. We also have a sheet for students who support this initiative to sign. Please be on the lookout and stop by if you can. We would love to talk to you about it and send you off with a cup of coffee as you reflect on what we as a student body can do to stop the war in the Congo.

Here are some times and places of where we will be set-up:

• April 17th Union 5:00-8:00
• April 23rd Boyer Alcove 9:15-12:30
• April 25th Eisenhower Commons 9:15-12:30

Also here’s a link to learn more! http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/conflict-free-campus-initiative

Internship Opportunity!

Here is a great internship opportunity Peace and Conflict Studies students! It is paid internship at the Mennonite Central Committee in Akron, PA over the summer. The work deals with mental health reform and the Civilian Public Service and includes historical research and web site work. Resumes are being accepted till May 3rd, so you still have time to learn more about it and they apply! Here is a link to the job description for more information:

http://serve.mcc.org/positions/researchweb-intern