365 Dr. King quote

100 Days of Nonviolence

Day 7

Opening Breath and Affirmation: 

Take a few deep breaths to clear your mind and center your thoughts. Say: I will be Nonviolent by giving someone a compliment about their character.

Quote of the Day: 

"Communication is the most important element of family life because it is basic to loving relationships. It is the energy that fuels the caring, giving, sharing, and affirming.  Without genuine sharing of ourselves, we cannot know one another’s needs and fears. Good communication is what makes all the rest of it work." –Dolores Curran

Today in Social Movement History: 

On January 21, 1525, Swiss Anabaptist Movement is born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. These radical reformers Christians to refuse military service and reject all forms of violence, even in self defense. Their movement gave rise to the Mennonite, Amish, and Brethren pacifist Christian traditions that exist today.

Stories for Tuesday & Thursday: 

How many Anabaptists died during the sixteenth century persecution in Europe? No one knows for sure. What is certain is that at least 1,500 were cruelly tortured and killed. For the most part these were peaceful citizens who did not believe in war and who became the forerunners of today's Mennonites and Amish. The main complaint of the authorities against them was that they did not believe infant baptism had any value. They chose to be re-baptized as willing adults.

Although no other charges were proven against them, they were sentenced to death. For the men death was usually by fire; for women it was by drowning. Many Anabaptists proved to be so bold in their final testimony for Christ that authorities began to clamp their tongues before leading them out to their execution so that they could not speak up and win more converts.

One of the Anabaptists who died in flames was Dirk Willem. His story is particularly touching, because he forfeited a real chance to escape when he turned back to help one of his pursuers.

Dirk was captured and imprisoned in his home town of Asperen in the Netherlands. Knowing that his fate would be death if he remained in prison, Dirk made a rope of strips of cloth and slid down it over the prison wall. A guard chased him.

Frost had covered a nearby pond with a thin layer of ice. Dirk risked a dash across it. Made thin by the small prison rations, he made it to safety, but the ice broke under his heavier pursuer. The guard cried for help! Dirk believed the Scripture that a man should help his enemies. He immediately turned back and pulled the floundering man from the frigid water.

In gratitude for his life, the man would have let Dirk escape, but a Burgomaster (chief magistrate) standing on the shore sternly ordered him to arrest Dirk and bring him back, reminding him of the oath he had sworn as an officer of the "peace".

Back to prison went Dirk. He was condemned to death for being re-baptized, allowing secret church services in his home and letting others be baptized there. He was killed by other Christians, burned to death. The wind blew the flame away from him so that his death was long and miserable. Time and again Dirk cried out to God. Finally one of the authorities could not bear to see him suffer any longer and ordered an underling to end his torment with a quick death.

Activity of the Day: 

Think about your name, where you come from, and the web of relationships that makes you who you are: your familiy, your ancestors, your culture, and the society you are in.  For nonviolent living and building the Beloved Community, it is important that we consider the relationships and social forces that are at play all around us.  We are connected to one another.

Respond: 

Reflect on this statement in written or drawn form: Relationship and connectedness to one another and the earth are at the heart of active nonviolence. What does this mean to you?
Activity and Respond adapted from Engage: Exploring Nonviolent Living (Session 1: The First Step, page 7) Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service.

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