Practicing Peace

I don’t need to tell you that we live in a world where peace is hard to come by.  Far from us, in places like Syria and Afghanistan, war and oppression are a daily way of life.  Closer to home, events in Aurora and Oakland remind us that peaceful places can all too quickly be overcome with insane acts of violence.  Even closer to home, relationships are breaking down, anxiety and sleeplessness are overwhelming, and inner peace seems always out of reach.  Not to mention, there are debates over politics, theology, ethics, and so on that make it difficult for any of us to escape the divide engaging in such debates can create within our communities.  We are divided from one another, and sometimes even divided within ourselves.  I don’t need to tell you that peace is hard to come by.

The Letter to the Ephesians, found in our New Testament scriptures spoke reconciliation into a culture that also knew the struggle to discover genuine and lasting peace.  Circulating among Gentile Christians, this writing reminded hearers of their new identity and encouraged them to participate in God’s mission of reconciliation.  Throughout the month of August, our faith community will listen, discuss and consider the possibility of peace in our lives and in God’s world.  What would it mean for us to live, receive and extend Peace in the Neighborhood?  How can we as neighbors, citizens, friends and enemies express our differences, yet be reconciled to God and to one another?  I believe this is God’s dream for us, and I look forward to how we will be shaped by time spent engaging our hearts, minds and spirits in the practice of peace.

hoping you will be a part...

Susan