What does it mean to follow Jesus’ way of peace today? What challenges and blessings will we find when we walk the second mile?

What is Second Mile?

Second Mile is as an educational tool for congregations who want to proclaim Christ’s peace in a broken world. The project is sponsored by the Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Church Canada, and Mennonite Central Committee’s U.S. and Canadian offices.

Jesus invited his followers to pursue peace.

He called on them —
• if struck on one cheek, to offer the other cheek as well
• if sued for an outer coat, to give the inner garment as well
• if commanded to carry a soldier’s goods one mile, to go a second mile as well.

Jesus urged people to love their enemies and to return evil with good.

How it began

The idea for Second Mile originated in the early 1990s with a chat between Lois Barrett, former executive secretary of the General Conference Mennonite Church’s Commission on Home Ministries; Marilyn Miller, then CHM director for outreach ministries, and Linda Gehman Peachey, who was co-director for peace and justice ministries for MCC U.S. at the time.

They discussed the need to develop resources for peace training similar to the LIFE (Living In Faithful Evangelism) process involving many Mennonite congregations. As LIFE focused on engaging congregations in evangelism, so the church needed to train its members to be active peacemakers.

"We felt there was a need for a more intentional training process for peacemakers," Gehman Peachey said.

Eventually, a steering committee was formed with representatives from On Earth Peace (Church of the Brethren), CHM, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, MCC U.S. and MCC Canada, the Mennonite Church office for peace and justice, Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries, and the African-American Mennonite Association.

This group proposed a structure for the materials and a vision statement, plus the Second Mile name, which refers to Jesus’ invitation to his followers if asked to carry a soldier’s goods one mile – to go the second mile, as well. A Second Mile logo was designed by Merrill Miller.

Beyond Sunday school and pot roast

"We wanted this to be more than just a Sunday school curriculum where people agree that this is what they believe and then go home and eat pot roast," said Doug Krehbiel, the former CHM director of peace and justice who initially led the steering committee. "The great thing about Second Mile is that it’s not a curriculum, it’s a change process. It’s a journey, not a destination."

"It’s not that all the material is brand new," said Titus Peachey, currently coordinating the Second Mile steering committee and director of peace education for MCC U.S. "But it’s put together in a way that leads groups to study, act, and reflect on what they are learning. The materials encourage us to follow Christ’s way of peace with our feet, not only with our heads."

The curriculum structure

The resources are divided into four "pathways," which are groupings of twenty pamphlets mapping out a different peace journey. Each lesson is designed to engage participants in study, action, reflection, and worship in a particular area of peace and justice. All of the pathways include an introductory pamphlet, as well as one or two pamphlets on conflict transformation and spirituality of peace.

"This format is quite different from the traditional design of adult studies," said Carol Penner, Second Mile project editor. "The pamphlets make the lessons more accessible and interesting. They also allow congregations the flexibility to pick and choose which topics to discuss from each pathway."

"There’s a holistic nature to the material," said Kim Stuckey, program coordinator for peacemaker formation with On Earth Peace. "It’s not just something to be used in a class, but it can be used for congregational study and worship. And there are tools for action so that you can DO peacemaking and not just talk about it."

Topics addressed include church and family relationships, restorative justice, creation care, responses to racism and sexism, lives of service, and peacemaking.

"The hardest part was narrowing down all the important peace and justice issues into the four pathways," said Krehbiel, who now directs Mennonite Mission Network’s community relations team with his wife, Jude. The duo also serves as the agency’s mission minstrels.

An international project

Second Mile resources were written by a variety of Canadian and American women and men representing different denominational traditions, racial and ethnic backgrounds, cultures and geographical contexts.

"It’s been an intentional, collaborative effort involving different people providing different input," Stuckey said.

About 20 Church of the Brethren and Mennonite congregations have sampled the materials.

"Pathway A: The Land that I Will Show You", "Pathway B: Heading for the Promised Land",  "Pathway C: The Road to Emmaus" and "Pathway D: Walking Through the Valley" are available from Faith & Life Resources, a division of Mennonite Publishing House by calling 1-800-245-7894, or visit www.mph.org. Free Leader's Guidebooks for Pathway A,  Pathway B , Pathway C and Pathway D are available for download. Printed copies may also be ordered from Faith & Life Resources. Call 1-800-245-7894. Cost is $6.99 ($8.79, Canada) per copy plus shipping.

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