What does your faith say about the importance of pursuing peace in the world?

We have ability to be peacemakers

The Rev. Steve Colladay, interim pastor of Unity Church of Lawrence, 900 Madeline Lane:

The inspiring words, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me,” has for more than 30 years been a weekly congregational anthem and stand for peace in Unity churches around the world.

“Let there be peace on earth” is the easy part. It is the “Let peace begin with me” proclamation that is the real challenge — actually accepting personal responsibility to be a peacemaker in thought, word and deed.

I recall the time I volunteered to support returning Vietnam combat vets and will never forget their burning question that we continue to wrestle with today: Where was God in all this?

While there is no simple answer here, a basic truth is that God didn’t go anywhere — we did, humanity collectively, including Americans and Vietnamese. With free will, we made a choice of war instead of peace, then as now. Not enough of us allowed the light of God’s love to show us the way to forgiveness and harmony. For too many, the anthem became, and continues to be, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with them.”

But why? Aren’t we all children of God? It’s often been a challenge in believing in the innate divinity of humankind, the “original blessing.” We either don’t believe, or we forget, that our potential for peace as human beings is in our spiritual DNA. It’s hard wired within everyone, since every person is a child of God, and thus a spiritual being.

Jesus, the Buddha, and other master teachers taught that God’s wisdom and help did not come to them, but through them. The same is true for every person on the planet. Because we are spiritual beings, God’s peace and love do not come to us, but are already hard wired within us and by their very nature seek expression through us.

A messenger of peace continually reminds himself or herself, “I am a child of God and I act like one.” In any situation, at any time in our lives, we have the innate ability to be peacemakers. As empowered spiritual beings, believing that our past is not our potential, we shall continue to proclaim, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

Send e-mail to the Rev. Steve Colladay at revsteve@unityoflawrence.org.

Pursuing peace vital to Mennonite faith

The Rev. Vicki Penner, pastor of Peace Mennonite Church, 1204 Oread Drive, and co-chair of the Lawrence Ministerial Alliance:

Pursuing peace in the world is central to the Mennonite faith. We believe that God calls us to model our lives after Jesus. Jesus consistently reached out to those on the margins. He healed the sick. He fed the hungry. His mission was one of peace and justice. Because of Jesus’ life and ministry, we have an example of what living a holy life looks like. Pursuing peace is central to such a life.

During the Reformation, Mennonites realized the significance of practicing nonviolence. Early Mennonites believed that willing adults, not infants, should be baptized. Because they modeled their lives after Jesus, they knew they could not defend themselves with the sword. Nonresistance and pacifism became central tenants in their belief system, and many were martyred.

Today, our peacemaking is more active than passive. Now Mennonites seek out situations of conflict and actively engage with them, so that peace can be achieved. In 1984, a Mennonite named Ron Sider proposed the development of the Christian Peacemaker Corps and challenged the denomination, saying, “Unless we are ready to die developing new nonviolent attempts to reduce international conflict, we should confess that we never really meant the cross was an alternative to the sword … Making peace is as costly as waging war.”

Today, more than 150 people, sponsored by three denominations, are actively intervening in conflicts around the world. These peacemakers are active in Iraq, Colombia and the Middle East.

Send e-mail to the Rev. Vicki Penner’s e-mail address is peacemennonite@msn.com.