Restoring Hope; Waging Peace (ritual, Earth, tradition, America, churches)

[Green Gaia]

http://www.uua.org/president/061213_holiday.html

A Holiday message from the Reverend William G. Sinkford
President, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

"Peace is not simply the absence of war. It is not a passive state of being. We must wage peace, as vigilantly as we wage war."
—The 14th Dalai Lama

December 2006

Dear Friends,

This is the season of light and, in many faiths, the time when people celebrate the return of hope to the world. Christians celebrate the birth of a holy child who became known as the Prince of Peace. It is the turning of the year, a time when, long ago and still today, the Celts and earth-centered communities around the world light fires and hang their homes with greens to honor the long-lasting winter night. It's the time of miracles, when the Maccabees battled the Syrians and, at the war's end, found that their wrecked temple held enough oil to light lamps for seven nights. And, as we move closer to the end of the calendar year, this is the time when we take stock of our world and wonder what the next year will bring. A time of turning, a time of realigning our lives with our values, a time of longing for our hearts' desires.

At this time I find my own heart full of memories from the past year. Last summer, I was in Kyoto, Japan, for the Eighth World Assembly of Religions for Peace, participating in conversations focused on building bridges between religious traditions and sects. I sat with leaders from Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, and Jewish communities for honest exchange, deep sharing, and respectful dialogue. Together, we crafted statements of belief and understanding, and trust and hope grew among us. Yet the religious leaders from the Holy Land, representing the three great Abrahamic traditions, were not able to agree on even a common preamble, let alone a joint statement. That failure haunts me.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, civil war rages on, growing worse by the day. More and more people now acknowledge the futility of this war and the fact that “winning" (whatever that would look like) is not possible. Growing numbers of voices, mine among them, call for an exit from Iraq while praying that the entire region does not fall into greater chaos. Amidst the partisan debates, may we hold in our hearts all of those whose lives have been shattered by the violence of war.

I traveled to Japan again last month to celebrate the one hundredth birthday of Nikkyo Niwano, the founder of the Rissho Kosei-kai. There I was invited to reflect about self-assessment as a way of moving toward peace. How, I wondered, can we move toward change and reconciliation if we have not first looked within ourselves?

Lao-Tzu reminds us that peace in the world must begin with peace in our hearts. His insight holds a key for us all. By looking inward we may see clearly the complex truths of our lives and our histories. We may then commit ourselves to the spiritual practice of waging peace—in our hearts, at home, in our congregations and communities, and in our world. It is within our most intimate relationships that we first must lay the seeds of peace, seeds that may eventually grow into respectful dialogue at the diplomatic table.

The American Quaker social worker and author Mary Parker Follett, tells us:

We have thought of peace as passive and war as the active way of living. The opposite is true. War is not the most strenuous life. It is a kind of rest cure compared to the task of reconciling our differences. From war to peace is not from the strenuous to the easy existence. It is from the futile to the effective, from the stagnant to the active, from the destructive to the creative way of life.

Waging peace calls us to stand with all the commitment to life that our faith inspires in us. To live out Sophia Fahs' bold affirmation that each night a child is born is holy. To become willing to face and name our deepest truths, and still to open ourselves to others whose truths are different. To prepare room in our hearts and lives for a new way of being. In a culture that urges us to seek safety in ever bigger cars, houses, and opinions, we must find the courage to acknowledge our vulnerability, to admit how much we need one another's love and care if we are to forge a collective future.

When I think of what this season can offer I remember that the word Hannukah means "rededication." Let us rededicate ourselves to waging peace. Not only by resisting aggression and advocating against war, but by looking inward to find the hope that is at the root of this season. Let us answer the religious call to join hands with people of all faiths and move forward together, with hope burning bright in our hearts.

My wife Maria joins me in extending to you and yours our best wishes for a blessed—and peaceful—holiday season.

In faith,
Rev. William G. Sinkford

Resource on Peacemaking: I commend to you the UUA's new resource designed to support our study/action issue on Peacemaking. If peace is to exist in our world, it must begin in our homes, in our congregations, in our communities. Engaging in study of this issue is one step we all can take.

[Scuba Pete]

Originally Posted by Maize[B

][/b]Resource on Peacemaking: I commend to you the UUA's new resource designed to support our study/action issue on Peacemaking. If peace is to exist in our world, it must begin in our homes, in our congregations, in our communities. Engaging in study of this issue is one step we all can take.

This is so heartening to see at least ONE church in America actively wage Peace. Frubals on all my UU friends' heads!

[FatMan]

Peace is overrated. It kills prosperity - especially in the sectors of military contractors.

Just think of the loss of jobs when successful peace is at hand

[Bishka]

Waging peace, I've never heard it that way. To activley wage peace, means to activatley promote peace and love in your homes, schools, churches and workplaces.

Thanks for sharing that Amy!

[Terrywoodenpic]

Unfortunately it is all too easy to store up hate, vengence, vengence, fear of strangers and foreigners and those who follow other religions.;
Make lists in our hearts of all those that have wronged us, are different to us, who have argued with us; spoken against our fellows, teams, or interests, or countrymen.
We are experts at bearing grudges and wanting to get our own back, we may not fight wars ourselves but we egg on others and promote bad feelings and even vote the war ticket.

But when it come down to it, What do we do to counter all of this?
Very little.
A few words of sorrow at the state of things; a mild protest if it is not too much trouble.
a few pence in a collection box. May be a slap on the back with the words keep up the good work, with following thought "that I am glad I am not involved".

Fighting for peace starts with Fighting your self....