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"What a blessing that Redekop,
founding father of Pax, has written this anniversary
history! He was present at the creation, a primary mover
who has not lost his enthusiasm for the endeavor. Thanks
to Cal's energy and scholarship, the Pax memory will
endure." During the quarter century spanning the
Korean and Vietnam wars, more than 1,100 Pax volunteers
left the U.S. for service assignments in Europe, the
Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America. Many of
these Pax workers were young Mennonites seeking
alternatives to military service, whose two years abroad
in church-sponsored development and peace work
transformed them. In The Pax Story, Calvin Redekop
gives an insider’s perspective and raises intriguing
questions about this Mennonite program of global
dimensions." "Applying the skills of a veteran
social scientist, Calvin W. Redekop here provides
objective analysis and concise description of a
world-wide movement for which he was a co-originator and
early executive—the Pax program. Inspired by
international work camps and the activities of Mennonite
volunteers in Western Europe after World War II, the Pax
program gave opportunities for nearly 1200 conscientious
objectors to labor sacrificially for peace. Projects
ranged from early erection of homes for refugees in
Germany to major road construction in South America, from
rural rehabilitation in Northern Africa to community
building in Southeast Asia. While not a full-fledged
history of this far-flung program, The Pax Story
is a cogently organized and absorbingly written account
of a notable achievement of altruism on a religious
basis. Reflection on this remarkable story should
encourage comparable efforts in the twenty-first century. "A half century ago a new group of
energetic young Mennonites plunged into rubble of wartorn
Europe, determined to offer simple acts of compassionate
service "in the name of Christ." The
organization quickly took on the characteristics of a
movement that, within a decade, had spread to the corners
of the globe. Part historical analysis and part memoir,
in The Pax Story Cal Redekop looks back with a fond but
also critical eye on the relief organization that he once
led. The result is an concise account by a seasoned
scholar that is both critical and engaging." "A recent book on the Mennonite
contribution to international peacebuilding suggests that
it is the quiet, gentle, respectful and noncompetitive
manner of being with others . . . that allows people to
discover a constructive and courageous way forward.
Surely the participants of the PAX program helped to
shape that understanding of service." The Pax Story orders:
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