It has been the best investment we ever made.

Generous donors who started with nothing do exist: James and Marian Yoder Payne of Richmond, Virginia, originally of Big Valley, Pennsylvania.

In the early 1990s, the Paynes contributed to a named scholarship fund at our seminary. EMU development officer Sam Weaver ’66 contacted the couple to thank them. Learning that they had a particular interest in peace, Weaver told them there were folks at EMU dreaming of a study center for peacebuilders.

The Paynes met with John Paul Lederach and Ron Kraybill, two of the handful of people seeking ways to start such a center, and quickly decided that this was a vision they wished to embrace.

They offered to stand behind the first-year operating budget – putting $30,000 of their personal funds on the line – to launch what would become the Conflict Transformation Program. It was an offer the EMU Board of Trustees couldn’t refuse. This program has grown into the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP), encompassing 3,000 alumni and trainees working in more than 80 countries.

Click here to read more about James and Marian Payne and their support...