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On becoming a COHow does one learn about peace and resistance to war? Inoral accounts of Canadian World War II conscientious objectorssome of the men illustrate how they came to their peaceposition. One gets a sense that the CO stance arose out of atheology of non-resistance which was not always clearlyarticulated, but often simply assumed.Harold Schmidt experienced the church as a sustaining forcein his hard growing-up years on the farm and felt that thevalues were strongly emphasized. His alternative serviceexperience included having to answer letters of protest frompeople who were upset at the COs; this opposition helpedhim to crystallize some of his own beliefs. Peter Neufeldrecalls a specific sermon that shaped his thinking, using theexample of Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego. Others felt ithadn’t been necessary for them to think through their ownconvictions because the church had negotiated collectively forCO status. Becoming a CO was simply accepted as the thingto do; they had chosen alternative service because of theconviction of others.Clayton Burkholder felt a strong family influence towardsnon-violence, but recognizes there was also a lot of pressurefrom the church. Once the option of conscientious objectionhad been negotiated for the Mennonite “boys,” to choose anyother option was to say no to church membership. As OldOrder Amish, David Jantzi says he would have been excommunicatedif he hadn’t taken the CO option.Many of these stories have been captured on tape and arepreserved at the Mennonite Archives of Ontario. For moreinformation, contact Sam Steiner steiner@uwaterloo.ca.Getting on the right trainI grew up in the Mennonite church, but I don’t rememberhearing much about being a pacifist, or having a peace position.It was only when I went to college that I learned moreabout historic peace churches and conscientious objection.Will we remember?The epicentre of the earthquake that causedthe 2004 tsunami was 40 miles from the islandof Simeule, Indonesia. This was the first coastlineto feel the affects of the massive 33-footwaves that smacked ashore. Reporters founddevastation just like in other places, but therewas something different. The island lost only 7of it 75,000 inhabitants. Why so few? Whenthe islanders were interviewed and asked aboutthis they told the reporters that in 1907 therehad been another earthquake. The groundshook and the water moved out but came backwith a vengeance and killed many people. Thisexperience was told and retold from one generationto another. For almost 100 years thepeople kept this story alive, telling the nextgeneration that when the earth shakes and thewater moves out they should head to higherground. On December 26, 2004 the people ofSimeule moved to higher ground. When theearth shook and the water moved out, theyknew what to do—because they remembered.So my question today is: when the earthshakes and the water moves out for you, whatstories do you hold on to? What about foryour children or grandchildren? What storiesand wisdom will be remembered? The story ofCanada’s conscientious objectors is one thatcan provide examples and can encourage us tofind ways of staying true to our beliefs.—Conrad Stoesz,Mennonite Heritage Centre, WinnipegI came home from college one summer wondering about the picture in our family album ofmy father in a Canadian military uniform. My uncle told me the story of how my dad hadinitially decided to be a conscientious objector by doing alternative service in a lumbercamp. On his way to the camp, the train he was on stopped at a little town. A traincoming back from the north also happened to stop there. He heard stories from the menon the other train about how hard life was in the lumber camps. He jumped off one train,got on the other and promptly enlisted in the army.I have my own children now. I try to teach them what I believe: carrying the peace of Jesuscannot be combined with carrying a weapon. I wish our churches spoke more openlyabout the history of our struggle with violence. I want my children, when the time comes,to be absolutely clear about which train they will take. —Carol Penner, Vineland, Ont.Stories and reflections8