Gene Stoltzfus; 1940-2010

FORT FRANCES, ONTARIO: Gene Stoltzfus 1940-2010 – PRESENTE!

Wednesday, 10 March, Christian Peacemaker Team’s founding director Gene Stoltzfus died of a heart attack in Fort Frances, Ontario while bicycling near his home on the first spring-like day of the year. He is survived by his wife Dorothy Friesen and many peacemakers who stand on the broad shoulders of his 70 years of creative action.

Gene was at the heart of those who planted and nurtured the vision for teams of peacemakers partnering with local communities in conflict zones to build justice and lasting peace which has grown into CPT.  Gene played a key roles in CPT's founding gathering of Christian activists, theologians and other Church leaders at Techny Towers outside Chicago, IL in 1986.

Two years later Gene became the first staff person of the newly formed organization and continued as CPT's director for the next 16 years.  In the early years, Gene and CPT’s Steering Committee experimented with various approaches to activate faith-grounded peacemaking.  Through the early 90s, Gene gave leadership to solidifying the vision and practice of sustained teamwork in situations of lethal conflict.  During the late 90s and early 2000s, he guided CPT through its growth and maturation as an organization supporting nonviolent action around the world.

After Gene retired from CPT in 2004 he continued his Christian peacemaking through nonviolent action, speaking and organizing in the USA, Canada and around the world.  He also spent considerable time in Fort Frances with Dorothy, where he wrote regular blog entries, worked for right relations with First Nations communities, and took up creative artisan endeavors making furniture and jewelry with wood, twigs and other objects from the woods near his home.

You can read a longer biography of Gene here.  

The closing paragraph of Gene’s final post on his blog is an expression of his conviction and hope:

“Every one of us is impacted by a dominant culture which insists that military or police force will make things right.  Every day, that culture tells us that dirty tricks, usually done in secret, are required for our survival.  After all, it’s argued, someone has to do this dirty work.  It’s called a noble work and the Blackwater mercenaries are required for the work.  It will take an expanding world-wide but grassroots culture reaching beyond national borders to fashion a body of Christian peacemakers to be an effective power to block the guns and be part of transforming each impending tragedy of war.  Little by little there will be change.”