“Peace isn’t found in theory—peace is made in motion. We make the path by walking it.” These words, shared by pastor Aaron Holbrough at the MCC Ontario Peace Conference, echoed through the gathering of nearly 300 people who met on Saturday, November 1, 2025, to explore what it means to practice peace in everyday life. This year’s theme, “everyday peacebuilding,” invited attendees to consider how peace is practiced not only on global stages or at historic turning points, but also in ordinary moments: in the stories we tell, the conversations we have, the way we show up for one another.
Listening With Intention to Change
Keynote speaker Mulanda Jimmy Juma, MCC’s Global Peacebuilding Coordinator, offered a powerful reminder that peace begins with the stories we are willing to hear—and the willingness to be changed by them.
“One of the principles,” Mulanda shared, “is listening with intention to change. There should be people, leaders—even government leaders—who are ready to listen and change, not simply to listen.”
He reminded the audience that reconciliation is not a moment but a journey. Since starting his speaking tour in Canada and the US a month previously, he learned about colonialism in Canada. He heard about how truth-telling had begun through the Truth and Reconciliation process, but “There must be a point where [listening leads to] some of the changes taking place, where some of those needs are actually addressed.”
For Mulanda, peacebuilding always begins with personal transformation. “You can only share what you have,” he said. “Otherwise, you will end up doing something damaging instead of building. Believe that peace is possible, and then help others understand that peace is possible.”
“The Way to Peace Is Peace”
Mulanda also challenged a common assumption he has encountered around the world: the idea that violence can solve violence.
“I have come across people who believe the solution to violence is using violence. They say, ‘You can only quench fire by fire.’ But I say, the way to peace is peace. Our means must be equal to the end.”
He illustrated this with a remarkable story from Punya Kiri, Eastern Congo, where he facilitated a mediation and reconciliation process in early 2024. For months, killings had devastated the community. Mulanda arrived to meet with nearly 200 people, including leaders from five armed groups.
He invited each group to tell the truth about why the violence had continued. Traditional leaders, youth, army officials, police, and militia leaders spoke in turn. Illegal checkpoints, extortion, and secret detentions surfaced as shared realities.
Crucially, Mulanda insisted that even those seen as “opponents” be given space to speak. “They also have stories,” he said. “They are human beings.”
Through truth-telling, forgiveness, restitution, and the chance to be heard, the group eventually signed a peace agreement that not only ended ongoing killings but also averted an anticipated massacre.
This, Mulanda emphasized, is the power of inclusive peacebuilding—a peace shaped by listening, dignity, and courage.
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“There’s no perfect time to stop and help someone out. You just have to decide that it’s worth it.”
Peace in Our Churches, Peace in Our Communities
While Mulanda spoke from global contexts, conference participants also heard from local peacebuilders who are practicing “everyday peace” in Ontario.
Pastor Aaron Holbrough shared how his congregation has worked to remove barriers to compassion. “When you believe that part of the reason we exist as a church is to make earth as it is in heaven,” he said, “there should be no bureaucracy.” This is easier said than done for church budgets, which can be inflexible and steeped in a scarcity mindset.
His church streamlined its approach to offering mutual aid, recognizing that peace is responsive, not passive. One such area is mental health. Seven years ago, the church joined the Shalem Mental Health Network so that every congregant—and eventually, neighbours, coworkers, and friends—could access free professional Christian counselling.
“We’ve invested thousands of dollars in marriages, in people grieving, in people struggling with anxiety or loss,” Aaron said. “It has been transformative to watch.”
This ministry of quiet accompaniment, he noted, is an expression of true peacemaking—work that is often unseen but deeply healing. And sometimes, even counselling cannot mend relationships. Yet the church remains committed not to “peacekeeping,” but peacemaking, holding space for people in painful transitions.
“Peace isn’t always a tidy solution,” he reflected. “Peace is a direction. It’s a north star. It’s the light we keep steering towards.”
Courage in the Everyday Moments
Peacebuilding also occurs in the most ordinary, everyday interruptions—moments when we are caught off guard by conflict.
During an afternoon session, Jane Schultz Janzen shared a story of how the Training Active Bystanders training had helped her intervene in a heated conflict at a consignment shop. When Jane walked into the store, a young woman was publicly berating a volunteer. “Why did you give my clothes away??” “We called you twice to pick them up!” Each person was doubling down on their statements, and the situation was only escalating. After asking permission to help mediate the conversation, Jane discovered that the clothes the young woman was demanding back had belonged to her mother, who had recently passed away.
“I call them icebergs,” Jane said. “We need to take the time to uncover what’s below the surface. Ask yourself, What is their real need? Not just the one they are verbalizing.”
Jane took the time to help the young woman feel heard and to calm down. She found out that the young woman attended church and suggested on a whim that perhaps this young woman could call her pastor. Much to her surprise, the young woman agreed to do that then and there in the parking lot.
By this point, Jane was very late for an appointment. “There’s no perfect time to stop and help someone out – it’s never in my schedule,” Jane reflected. “You just have to decide that it’s worth it.”
A Call to Advent Peace
As we move into the Advent season—a time of waiting for the coming of Jesus, the Prince of Peace—the lessons of the Peace Conference resonate even more strongly. Advent reminds us that God’s peace arrives not in grand gestures, but in small, unexpected places.
In a world marked by division and despair, peace can feel distant. But this Advent, we remember:
Peace is made in motion.
Peace begins in listening.
Peace grows through courage, compassion, and community.
Peace is possible—every day, in every place we choose it.
May we commit ourselves to the slow, hopeful, transformative work of building peace in our homes, churches, and communities—one brave, everyday step at a time.