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Minister and President’s Message
The goal of a just and lasting peace is worthy of pursuit
November, 2001
By Nancy S. Taylor
In various articles in this edition of the United Church News, editor Tiffany Vail reports on how some of our churches and pastors are addressing a cluster of complex feelings and attitudes in the wake of the September 11th attacks, the war in Afghanistan, and the fear of bioterrorism.
These stories are merely suggestive of a broad array of responses, programs, discussions, and educational experiences that are being offered in our 432 United Church of Christ congregations in Massachusetts.
As I move among you – visiting with our churches, talking to clergy and laity, and attending meetings – I hear urgent questions being asked. What does it mean to be a Christian in this time of war? What does it mean to follow the Prince of Peace, when our nation is bombing another country? How can our faith in God inform our response, our attitudes, our behavior, and our hope? As our nation goes to war, how can we live out our commitment to being a Just Peace Conference (voted by the delegates at the 1987 Annual Meeting)?
The General Synod defined “just peace” as “the interrelation of friendship, justice, and common security from violence”. The events of September 11th remind us that we are far from having achieved this. We are not even close.
Our churches are responding differently to the events of September 11th. There is disagreement about both the merits and the possibilities of this war. Our churches sing different hymns and pray different prayers. We hear and preach different sermons, and choose different ways to express our love for this country. Yet, surely, we can agree on this: that the goal of achieving a just and lasting peace – with our enemies, as well as among the peoples of the earth – is a goal worthy of Christian pursuit. It is worthy of our daily prayers. It is worthy of our best theological thinking. It is worthy of public policy advocacy. It is worthy of our time, our talents, and our means. It is worthy of our Christian discipleship.
There are a variety of resources available to assist us in this pursuit. They can be found at www.macucc.org, and at www.ucc.org, and through our Resource Center.
Let us seize the opportunity to turn this terrible moment into something for good, something for God. Let us warm the heart of our Savior, by devoting ourselves to the hard work of friendship, justice, and common security from violence. Let us do so, not alone for our own sake and security. Let us do so, for the sake and security of all the peoples of this small, beautiful, fragile planet on which God has placed us.