Reasonable

Goal 5: Effective Peace Ministries

Is it reasonable to think that our little church with our 50 +/- small congregations and members scattered here and there across Eastern Canada can make a difference in the lives of people and communities? Is Effective Peace Ministries really a reasonable goal for us?

A few years ago when “the troubles” in Northern Ireland were at their peak, and bombings or shootings were in the news every single day, I could not see how that conflict would ever end. The hatred and mistrust was so strong that I could not see any end in sight. I often wondered, how will the country ever get past this? To believe peace was possible did not seem reasonable. And yet, the day came when a ceasefire was arranged and actually held! The country may still not yet have a totally reliable peace, but they are much closer than they were. The children can now go to school in peace, and there is hope.

The same could be said of numerous conflicts, either physical or ideological, around the world. Believing in peace between warring factions was not reasonable, but peace was possible. In my lifetime, many conflicts have ended, the Berlin wall has fallen, the Iron Curtain has come down, and numerous other victories for peace have occurred. In each case, to make this happen, someone had to believe in it and work towards that end.

In Canada East Mission, we have many people who believe in peace and work toward it on a variety of fronts. There are many examples, but here are a very few. I have watched our YPC (Young Peacemakers Club) leaders as they taught peace and conflict resolution to class after class of primary school children. Congregations give scholarships and peace awards to High School students to reward and encourage their peacemaking efforts. I have shared with a High Priest as he talked to a Jewish Business man, seeking to convince him that, "Not all Arabs are terrorists". I have heard the stories of everyday miracles that occur in the presence of our courageous volunteers for Encounter World Religions as they teach inter-religious peace to students and adults day after day. And I have seen lives transformed and redeemed from addiction and pain to hope and new life through the ministrations of members and ministers who care.

We are blessed to have such people. They believe peace is possible, even when the visible evidence does not appear to support that faith. These are people who have been touched by the generous grace of God, and who seek to share it with others. They go beyond what is reasonable, trusting that the impossible will probably just take a little longer. Thank God for peacemakers who, knowing their own blessedness, pray for and bless others with the touch of God’s generous grace!

Is our 5th goal reasonable? The answer is in the lives of our people. Their actions say that, reasonable or not, this is the work we are called to; the tasks we must do. As CEM Mission President, I believe it is nothing short of a privilege to support them.

Posted by Carman Thompson