Truce

On impulse, I recently checked on a blog site I had not visited for a while. The site, entitled Flannel Christian, is published by a friend (his name is Christian) who only posts occasionally. When he does put something up, however, it is often thought provoking and worth reading.

The current post is about a peace event Christian is organizing to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Christmas Eve Truce of 1914. On that remarkable World War I night, German and British soldiers in the trenches of Belgium ceased hostilities in honor of Christmas. First the German soldiers decorated the trees with candles and began singing Caroles, most notably and appropriately Stille Nacht (Silent Night). The British troops responded by singing caroles in English, and soon they were greeting each other in no-man's land, then exchanging little gifts of jam, chocolate, or whiskey. Before long, the young soldiers were actually playing football (soccer) together! It is a wonderful story.

Almost as wonderful is the plan to remember and celebrate that night 95 years later in Seattle Washington with a peace event. Someone is thinking! It is a great idea. I wish them every success and blessing. What is more, since “Effective Peacemaking Ministries” is one of our goals in Canada East Mission of Community of Christ, perhaps it is an idea someone should here should take note of. Maybe this is an event we should emulate on the 100th anniversary. Any interested volunteers or congregations out there?

You can read Christian’s blog at http://flannel-christian.blogspot.com/.

For more information on the Truce itself, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce or try googling “Christmas Eve Truce 1914”.

Stories and songs about this amazing night can also be found on YouTube.

Stille Nacht, Heil’ge Nacht!