Ciela Acosta, a third-year EMU peacebuilding and development major from Salem, Oregon, is the recipient of a 2025 Bring the Peace award from Mennonite Church USA (MC USA).
She is recognized as this year’s Young Peacemaker, an honor given to “a young adult or teenager who has already demonstrated a clear devotion to peace and justice work,” according to an Aug. 28 news release from MC USA announcing the award recipients.
Acosta is involved in Mennonite Action, EMU Peace Fellowship, and the EMU Chamber Singers. She credits her participation in a nonviolent civil disobedience action on Capitol Hill with Mennonite Action as a pivotal moment in her vocational call.
Joe Roos, a founder of Sojourners magazine who served as its publisher, was honored by MC USA as this year’s Legacy Peacemaker.
MC USA’s Bring the Peace awards are designed to draw attention to the peace and justice work that people within the denomination are doing and to encourage and inspire more people across the country to engage in similar endeavors, according to the release.
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