MWC invites congregations to observe Peace Sunday
Mennonite World Conference news story
Mennonite World Conference member churches are invited to observe Peace Sunday Sept. 18, or a date that best suits their schedule. Peace Sunday is observed on the Sunday nearest to Sept. 21, the International Day of Peace established by the United Nations in 1981.
The MWC Peace Commission staff prepares suggestions each year for Scripture readings, sermon notes, stories, song suggestions, prayer concerns and ideas of activities to help churches observe this day.
This year the worship resources use Matthew 5:43-48 as the text and focus on the Philippines. View the resources here: http://mwc-cmm.org/article/peace-sunday?language=en
“This year’s Peace Sunday resources focus on the challenge of overcoming hatred and loving our enemies,” writes Peace Commission chair Joji Pantoja of the Philippines, a country that lives with ongoing violence. “This, it seems, may be an initial step toward embodying peace in our world.”
In addition to Pantoja, members of the Peace Commission that contributed to the resources are Andrew Suderman, secretary, Canada/South Africa; NamShik Chon, Korea; Robert J. Suderman, Canada; Garcia Domingos, Angola; Antonio González Fernández, Spain; Kenneth Hoke, USA; and Jenny Neme, Colombia.
Mennonites, along with the Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Church of the Brethren, are the historic Peace Churches.
“In a world ravaged by violence, it is not easy to be a Peace Church—a church dedicated to the ways of Christ’s peace,” writes the MWC Peace Commission in their online invitation to participate in Peace Sunday. “These ways require much intentionality, persistence and even sacrifice. It is not always certain that Christ’s ways of peace will be effective. And yet (in James 3:18) the author of James reminds us that how we plant our seeds matters. If we indeed want the fruit of righteousness (which is closely related to the principle of justice), we must plant in peace.”
Churches are invited to report back to the Peace Commission on their activities for this day.
Photo: Thinkstock.com
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