PITTSBURGH – Two longtime “radicals for peace" were honored for their work, which has shaped generations of Christians, especially in Latin America.
In recognition of their lives of service, John and Bonnie Driver (East Goshen Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind.) were awarded the Peace and Justice Support Network’s peace pitcher award Thursday, July 7, during the Mennonite Church USA convention in Pittsburgh.
The Peace and Justice Support Network, a partnership of Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church USA, seeks to support and strengthen a Christ-centered peace witness in Mennonite Church USA.
An educator, scholar, former pastor and mission worker, John Driver began his ministry in 1945 at the age of 21 in Puerto Rico, where he was deeply moved by serving among people living in extreme poverty.
Bonnie Driver served in community and leadership development, church planting and pastoral care. The couple had three children.
The Drivers worked in several countries, including Uruguay, Argentina, Spain and Guatemala, and John was often a visiting professor in other countries as well. He wrote extensively about the redemptive value of suffering, including its ability to lead to forgiveness and reconciliation among the oppressed and their oppressors.
John is well known for authoring several influential articles and books, such as Understanding the Atonement for the Mission of the Church, and Images of the Church in Mission. About his life’s work and understanding of the gospel, John wrote that he owed as much to his Hispanic brothers and sisters as to his own Swiss-German spiritual ancestors.
“Throughout the years of my pilgrimage in mission in the Hispanic world, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has become, quite literally, good news for the poor,” John wrote. “It is a Gospel of Peace and Justice (Righteousness) in their full-orbed biblical senses. It is a Gospel of Grace communicated most authentically by a reconciled and reconciling Community of Grace. It is a Gospel of Salvation with power to save even the enemy through the redeeming dynamic of vicarious, innocent suffering freely assumed on behalf of the oppressor. These things I have witnessed in my pilgrimage in mission.”
The Mennonite Church USA Peace and Justice Support Network presents the pitcher award every two years to honorees that have devoted their lives to peace and justice, both inside Mennonite Church USA and on its behalf to the world. The ceramic pitcher, which was on display in Pittsburgh, represents a “life poured out for Jesus, our nonviolent Lord.”
The award was announced by Saulo Padilla, a member of the leadership team the Peace and Justice Support Network, and also the director of the Immigration Education Office of Mennonite Central Committee. He was also a student of John’s at Goshen (Ind.) College.
The Drivers, who live in Goshen, were unable to attend the ceremony, but Padilla, who lives near them, said he would hand-deliver the pitcher award.
“With all that he has done, John has always connected Bonnie as his partner, which is why we honor them both,” Padilla said. “His commitment to peace and non-violence, has been a guiding light for many of us. John’s writings in Spanish have helped us find ties between the social issues of present day Latin America and 16th century Anabaptists. His book Contra Corriente (Against the Current) has been an invitation and a challenge to see the biblical images of church as radical communities.”
Linda Shelly, director for Mennonite Mission Network’s Latin America programs noted that: “John Driver is undoubtedly better known in the Mennonite churches of Latin American than North America. The 13 books he wrote in Spanish are used widely and have significantly impacted the theology of Mennonite churches in Latin America, while also drawing others to Anabaptist biblical understandings. It’s great to see the church in North America also honor John at this time.”
“John and Bonnie are remarkable people and have spent decades in teaching, ministry and witness,” said André Gingerich Stoner, director of Holistic Witness and Interchurch Relations for Mennonite Church USA. “Their years of ministry through the Mennonite Mission Network has profoundly shaped the life of the church especially in Latin America, but also here in the U.S. And yet they are incredibly low key and humble.”
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.
