Recent News From Our United States Missions Thoughts for the New Year: “We are stuck between the past and the future. The past is no longer in our hands. Neither is the future since it doesn’t exist yet. The only time we have control over is the present. “It is now, it exists. It’s not heavy to bear, and it’s livable by all, on one condition: that we let the past go, and not be impatient for the future. The present moment passes quickly; before you know it, it’s in the past while another present takes its place, as light and narrow and fleeting as the preceding one.” ~~ [Michael Quoist in “With Open Heart”] The question then becomes ..... WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH OUR PRESENTS? Read More – Top Ten Most Peaceful Countries, The Global Peace Index, What can I, as a child of God, “do” or “be” in 2010 to strengthen the Christian message of “peace on earth” – within myself? And MORE. Smiles came from many people as they received a coat or two for their family or themselves. The Thrift Store showroom is finished with the exception of carpet. Our on-line bookstore area is also in the process of renovation. Read more in our Nov. Newsletter. ....... a few words about HUMAN TRAFFICKING!
I'm sharing this subject with you today to raise our awareness and also to sensitize our concerns. It's difficult to comprehend the turmoil and non-peacefulness those caught in such situations must endure. "For unto us a ministry is given. Unto to us a building is BORN!" Dr. Brenda Colijn, Associate Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Theology at Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary, preached a “peace sermon” at her home church – Smoky Row Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio – on December 7, 2008.
We thank Brenda for graciously agreeing to share her message with others, through the Brethren Peace Initiative channel, coming to you in 6 Installments (over several weeks). By giving proper credit, you are free to quote Brenda’s thoughts as you write or speak out as Jesus’ peace-workers in today’s world. Dr. Brenda Colijn, Associate Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Theology at Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary, preached a “peace sermon” at her home church – Smoky Row Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio – on December 7,2008. We thank Brenda for graciously agreeing to share her message with others, through the Brethren Peace Initiative channel, coming to you in 6 Installments (over several weeks). By giving proper credit, you are free to quote Brenda’s thoughts as you write or speak out as Jesus’ peace-workers in today’s world.
Today is INSTALLMENT 5. Dr. Brenda Colijn, Associate Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Theology at Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary, preached a “peace sermon” at her home church – Smoky Row Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio – on December 7, 2008. Today is INSTALLMENT 4. Dr. Brenda Colijn, Associate Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Theology at Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary, preached a “peace sermon” at her home church – Smoky Row Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio – on December 7, 2008. Today is INSTALLMENT 3. Dr. Brenda Colijn, Associate Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Theology at Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary, preached a “peace sermon” at her home church – Smoky Row Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio – on December 7, 2008. Today is INSTALLMENT 2. Dr. Brenda Colijn, Associate Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Theology at Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary, preached a “peace sermon” at her home church – Smoky Row Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio – on December 7, 2008. We thank Brenda for graciously agreeing to share her message with others, through this Brethren Peace Initiative channel, coming to you in 6 Installments (over the next few months) – beginning today. By giving proper credit, you are free to quote Brenda’s thoughts as you write or speak out as Jesus’ peace-workers in today’s world. Want to know more about the Brethren Peace Leadership Team?
Wish to donate to the Brethren Peace Fund? I’m attempting to interest others (like you) to become more interested in approaching all of life with a more peace-centered faith, philosophy of life, code of conduct, sense of mission, etc., etc., etc. I say these things because I believe nonviolent peacemaking has been one of the most neglected Biblical and Brethren truths in our recent history – as a church (most all churches) and as a country for a long, long time. Christmas is really an intrusion. It interrupts our ordinary way of looking at life. God turned things upside down by instituting Christmas, sent a vulnerable baby to do the job of a conquering army. No one was expecting that. "Eliminating violence, one family at a time, starting with our own."
First, I was just going to share this resource with the 90-plus peace folks on our Peace Email List, but I realized that all ministers (as well as laity) might benefit from the ideas ... It began awhile back as “an ad hoc group of individuals who wanted to challenge the willing-ness of American society to resort to violence.” They posed the question, “What else can we do?” Echoes from General Conference:
I was privileged to present Brethren Peace Initiative, at General Conference in Richmond, during a National Association of Brethren Church Elders meeting and also with some brief remarks in one Conference Business Session. I began by saying that although Brethren Peace Initiative is a new title for a new group working in the Brethren Church, we’re really not “the new kid on the block.” In 1981, the United Nations declared an International Day of Peace, encouraging the entire world to observe a “day of peace and nonviolence.” In 2001, the U.N. established September 21st as the annual date for that observance worldwide. Then, in 2004, the General Secretaries of the United Nations and the World Council of Churches proposed that this become an annual International Day of PRAYER for Peace. Peace Poles are memorials, silent prayers, and international symbols for peace,” said Karen Zacharias, a Schwarzenau resident and a member of the Schwarzenau Planning Committee, when she spoke at the ceremony. “They remind us that peace is possible and can only grow within us, and that we should live our everyday lives in the spirit of the words, May Peace Prevail On Earth.” This video with music by James Pinto celebrates our 40 years in India. | |
