Synopsis
Swiss activist Pierre Ceresole (1879-1945) was the founder of the international work camp movement and a Friend imprisoned for defying his own government to bring a message of truth and peace to Germans and Italians in the world wars, yet his contributions are not widely recognized in North America. Known as “one of the great consciences” of the Swiss, Ceresole protested the churches’ silence during wartime, met with Mussolini to discuss peaceful collaboration and conceived of the healing and practical work of Service Civil International as a moral alternative to war. Author Keith Maddock goes beyond Ceresole’s actions paint a portrait of the spiritual growth of a passionate, poetic, solitary seeker of Truth who urges us “to set aside our theories and our fears, to take up the tools that are needed to create a more humane, just and peaceful world.”
About the Author(s)
Keith R. Maddock was born in Gait, Ontario, in 1947. He has lived in Toronto for most of his adult life. He obtained degrees in religious education and theology from Emmanuel College in the Toronto School of Theology. Keith’s studies and experience as a congregational youth worker eventually led him to embrace what he found to be the more personal, inspired and socially engaged faith of the Religious Society of Friends. In 1999, Pendle Hill published his pamphlet, Beyond the Bars: a Quaker Primer for Prison Visitors (PHP #342), reflecting his continuing ministry with prisoners in a city jail.
Pendle Hill Pamphlet #379
