Imagining a Violence-Free World

In these video clips we are reminded of the price of war. These memorials represent a nation that has been tried and tested by the forces of violence, and it has cost us dearly. Today our nation fights two ongoing wars and so now more than ever we must feel the faithful obligation to resist, to turn the other cheek, to call on our leaders to end the violence. The United Methodist Church has already begun its effort with the “Call to Hope and Action” in the Council of Bishops’ document God’s Renewed Creation. One of the three interconnect threats is the proliferation of weapons and violence. As the Bishops state, “…we cannot remain silent while God’s people and God’s planet suffer.” As global military spending tops 1.2 trillion dollars in 2007, with the U.S. spending 45% of that amount, and as over 639 million small arms and light weapons circulate the world, it is obvious that violence pervades and persists throughout God’s creation. However, the Bishops’ call to hope and action has provided us with the motivation and resources to get involved right now! God’s Renewed Creation is available online at www.hopeandaction.org, and includes six study sessions that look at the biblical foundation of caring for God’s creation, United Methodist Social Principle background, the state of our world, the pledges the Bishops are making, as well as how to pray and act in a way which begins to alleviate the threats of poverty, climate change, and weapons violence. The Micah Corps had the opportunity to do a study session at Aldersgate this last Sunday and in doing so, learned a lot from a great discussion with other United Methodists. Our hope is that churches all across Nebraska will begin to use the resources within God’s Renewed Creation to start their own study group, or find ways in which to use this document within their existing networks. Furthermore, September 30-October 2 there is a gathering at Camp Comeca and we are hoping United Methodists all across Nebraska will attend! The event, called “Come to the Hill,” will focus on God’s Renewed Creation, and this will be a great time to get in touch with other United Methodists who wish to address the concerns of poverty, the environment, and peace. Jim Wrinkler, General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, will be talking as well. If you are interested in attending, or would like more information, go to www.umcneb.org, Ministries in Action, and scroll to the Risk-Taking Mission and Justice Ministries Team. In closing I want to remember those memorials, the many names etched in black at the Vietnam Memorial, that remind us of the costs of violence. Everyday conflict takes its toll, so we must not stand by and wait, but instead begin to act out our faith! Challenge the powers that be for peace, break the barriers of injustice, and push forward to a day when the “wolf and the lamb shall feed together,” a day in which our swords are finally turned into plowshares. Thanks and God bless!