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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
November 2002 |
War & Peace
Every day there is talk of war.
The terrifying possibility of our country launching a war against Saddam and the people of Iraq infuses our national and personal consciousness. We know we cannot make war against a dictator without necessarily making war on his people.
The people of the world, not just we Americans, are living in a limbo of uncertainty and dis-ease. Terrorists, serial snipers, suicide bombings … . What's going to happen to our world? What's going to happen to us?
In this edition of the Hoosier UM News, you'll find a number of articles and also commentary addressing the issue of what may well be "the Next Big War."
God must be much aggrieved. Have we creatures, made in God's image, learned nothing over centuries of civilization?
Shortly after our first grandchild was born last month my husband and I received a card that said, "A new baby born is a sign that God wants life to go on."
Indeed, in spite of all our fears and dread, we know with a mysterious certainty, that God wants human life to go on. In our much-beloved hymn, "Let There be Peace on Earth," the second line reads, "… and let it begin with me." But how do we "the powerless" begin making peace happen?
We do it by going on, by praying ceaselessly and by holding tight to hope and trusting in the triumph of goodness. We do it in our own particular ways, from small acts of kindness to great movements like the Initiative on Children & Poverty. We do it whenever, wherever we are in ministry for Christ.
Indiana United Methodists have demonstrated a collective commitment to peace and goodness, especially within our church and the spaces that house it. Mary Lou Howey's article, "Protecting our children … " examines what our local churches are doing to protect the children and youth within our various ministries.
It is good; but, as we have seen, it is never enough.
