Reflection 

December 2012

Reel World String Band

Reel World String Band won the Lauren K. Weinberg Humanitarian Award given by the Kentucky Conference for Community and Justice. From left, Sharon Ruble, Bev Futrell, Sue Massek, Karen Jones and Elise Melrood.

Visit Reel World website and listen to their music

http://reelworldstringband.com/

Watch video of award interview and performance

October 2011  

Paw Prints on my Heart 

by Lucy Clare

Each feast of St. Francis of Assisi finds animal lovers gathering to ask God's blessing on our animals. We pray for their continued health and protection from harm; we rejoice in the lives of the animals we have saved, grieve for the ones we couldn't, and love them all.

But, in truth, an entirely different blessing is taking place, not just on Francis' feast, but daily.

The animals bless us. They refresh us with a wellspring of love, given freely, foolishly, faithfully and joyfully, in spite of loneliness, misunderstanding, selfishness and dark days.

Our animals ring us around with joy and forgiveness, fearlessly holding a clear space in our lives where the seeds of peace and love can catch the light and take root.

They offer us love with no expectation of recompense or advancement.

My dog, Gunny, is approaching the end of his time with me. He can see only light and dark, and now walks slowly from place to place. Even though he cannot see me, he senses I'm near and will turn towards me with an expression that is almost breath-taking! How he delights in my nearness, how he shines with affection and joy! I feel then I must offer up a fervent "Thank you, and amen", for God's hands are leaving paw prints on my heart.

Lucy Clare is a native Kentuckian and lives in Midway. She spent 35 years working in the Thoroughbred Industry before retiring on disability in 2010. Her chief passions are her animals, her friends and reading.

September 2011

Peace Good People!

by Eileen Golby, OSF

This peace is difficult to find in our world today with all the violence and negativity that surrounds us. I have grown to not want to turn on the television during the election season because of all the negative campaigning. 

Have the American people really become so calloused that they allow candidates to slander one another with falsehoods? It seems no one is taking a stand against it and it is corrupting our government. Politicians seek power no matter what the cost to another. What has happened to respect, honesty and stating what he or she can do for the country instead of standing on what someone else cannot do. It is no wonder that when they are elected and expected to work, together these politicians are not willing to come to any agreement, resulting in a stalemate because no one will back down from their political view. 

I can remember when politicians could disagree with one another but remain friends. They would discuss issues rather than slander someone. These same people were able to compromise so the needs of the American people would be taken care of in the best way. It seems that their desire for power has taken over so they have let the needs of the people take a back burner while they continue to fight only for what they want and not for what is best for the people, especially the poor and marginalized.

I would like to challenge the American people to take a stand against negative campaigning. Begin to bring truth, honesty, respect and loyalty back to our government. Let’s start by writing letters to all media sources, political party organizations and each candidate who chooses to run. We can make a difference. If we stand together they will listen to us if they want to be elected.

August 2011

This is My Song

by Katie Yunker  

There are times when the natural beauty around me so fills my heart that I feel a deep connection to it, and my heart sings.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,

and sunlight beams through clover leaf and pine.

This love of the land does not depend on comparison or distinctions, or need to say, "my home is better than others'."

But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,

And skies are ev'rywhere as blue as mine:

This patriotism (love for or devotion to one's country) recognizes others' love and celebrates not only particular virtues and bounties that countries may have in common, but a love of home — of connection to the particular place where we live or grew up — that all people share.
 

O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,

a song of peace for their land and for mine.

So how fitting it is that music written by a composer moved by the beauty and history of his far northern land inspired both the unofficial national hymn of Finland and what became a world-wide hymn for peace.  Jean Sibelius's "Finlandia" sustains in beauty the verses written by American Lloyd Stone, the lyrics to "This Is My Song," also known as "A Song of Peace."

Visit http://www.art101.com/peace/index.html for more information about the song and a link to an a cappella version of it interwoven with “My Country ‘tis of Thee”.  

Katie Yunker is a member of the Holy Spirit Parish community and a lawyer in Lexington . She loves to sing, and learned of this song because it often closes the Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Peace that has been held in downtown Lexington every Thursday since November 2001.

July 2011

Our Interdependence

by Betsy Neale

This month, as we celebrate Independence Day, I am reflecting on our interdependence – both with other people and with all the earth’s creation. Recently I have been challenged to open myself to people whose actions and attitudes have been painful to me. I am still seeking new light and understanding on these relationships. How do we understand and act on the principle that we are interdependent -- even with people whose actions or beliefs we see as harmful?

Surely, this is also the dilemma facing our polarized nation. We cannot resolve the problems of our country, world and environment until we open our hearts more fully to each other and recognize our interdependence and common humanity. This may require opening ourselves to people whose politics, values, attitudes or behaviors we dislike. It may require letting go of strongly held beliefs if they get in the way of compassion. Attempting to live in better balance with the natural world may require additional sacrifices.

I know that as I seek new light on how to live in greater harmony with my world, there will be pain and growth. For me, prayer, meditation and contemplation are invaluable aids on the path of this growth, as are the love and compassion of friends who share my spiritual journey.

Betsy Neale is a Quaker and a sexuality educator of parents. She is grateful to the staff of the Kidney Transplant Program at the University of Kentucky Medical Center for their skillful and compassionate care. She received a kidney transplant there in December, 2010 .

June 2011

Transformation, not Annihilation

By Jan Cebula, OSF

On April 30-May 2, 2011 Jan Cebula, OSF attended the Midwest Catholic Worker Faith and Resistance Retreat in Kansas City, MO, the site of a new plant under construction to manufacture the non-nuclear components of nuclear bombs, which compose 85% of the parts. For a video of the action in Kansas City , see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-s329ZW97k&feature=related

The U.S. government also plans to construct additions to the nuclear plants at Los Alamos, NM and Oak Ridge, TN. For more information, see www.nukewatch.org.   Below is Jan’s reflection.

The cement trucks keep rolling by as we stand outside the fence praying.

The president declares our goal of a world free of nuclear weapons while construction of new plants to build nuclear bombs is underway.

The cement trucks keep rolling by. Does anyone notice?

The effects of those first bombs should have made all of humanity turn away in disgust forever.

The cement trucks keep rolling by.

“Wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq , the longest ever, have become little more than background noise in so many of our lives.

The cement trucks keep rolling by.

Unmanned drones and assassins become prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner all in one.

The cement trucks keep rolling by.

What are we building? Concrete walls arise, poured upon a foundation of fear and a belief that our lives are more valuable than others’.

The cement trucks keep rolling by.

One hundred fifty of us gather outside the construction fence during the Midwest Catholic Worker Faith and Resistance Retreat to wake ourselves up and to call attention to the cement trucks that keep rolling by. Fifty two are arrested. We pray for “Transformation, not Annihilation”…. of ourselves… and our world.

Jan Cebula, OSF is a Sister of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa . She has been involved in promoting peace and active nonviolence for over 40 years. Prior to being elected president of the Sisters of St. Francis in 2004, she was a legal aid attorney and associated with Holy Family Catholic Worker house in Kansas City , MO for 23 years.

 

April 2011

Nonviolence Mainstreamed?

By Terrence Rynne

Can the ordinary person in our culture embrace the power of nonviolence—when there is such a strong belief in violence as the way to solve conflict? I was encouraged recently by what one of my students at Marquette University reported when she returned to our Peace and Justice class after the Christmas break.

She said, “My father and I don’t talk much anymore—especially about religion. But I was telling him about what we were studying in class about successful examples of nonviolent campaigns. He asked the typical first question when someone is hearing about the power of nonviolence for the first time:

‘Yes, but what would you do if your mother was being attacked?’

“I told him about the assumptions involved in that question and the various options someone actually has in addition to a response of violence—from humor to surprise to offering money to interposing oneself between the person under threat--- just as we had discussed in class.  So he asked the next question:

‘Yes, but what about Hitler?’

“In response, I told some of the stories of successful nonviolent resistance to the Nazis—the story of the Danish resistance to the Nazis, the story of the church members in Chambon , France who saved thousands of Jews and the Rosenstrasse campaign in which non-Jewish spouses in the heart of Berlin successfully forced Nazi leadership to release their Jewish spouses. We had a long, serious discussion.

“After our discussion, my father went out and bought some books on nonviolence.”

Our culture will never accept the power of nonviolence as a viable substitute for war and violence if they never hear the great stories of successful nonviolence. It is up to us to tell those stories to our friends and neighbors.

Dr. Terrence Rynne is the founder of the Marquette University Center for Peacemaking and a teacher of Peace Studies at Marquette . He is author of “Gandhi & Jesus: The Saving Power of Nonviolence” and will be speaking at Lexington Theological Seminary on April 26, 2011 .

March 2011

Winning Language

By Sarah Martz, osf

I work for a children’s tutoring and mentoring program in Chicago ’s inner-city. Many of the children that I work with are native Spanish speakers and still learning the English language. I find myself regularly correcting the kids’ English. But there is a particular phrase that they use that I don’t correct … anymore.

The children love to play games and are highly competitive. When the children win a game and bask in the glory of their achievement, they invariably shout “I win you!” Initially, I did correct this statement. I would encourage them to say “I beat you” instead.

Once, I received a confused look from one of the children. He came from a physically abusive background and his only connotation with the word “beat” was a very negative one. This experience made me reflect more on the words that we use and what they really mean. It made me examine more closely the violence that is built into our everyday language without us even realizing it.

Without their knowledge, the children’s choice of celebratory words has made me more mindful of the impact of what we say.  

A Sister of St. Francis of Clinton , Iowa , Sarah Martz lives at the Franciscan Dwelling Place in Chicago , IL .

February 2011

Signs of Inner Peace

Author unknown

An increasing ability to enjoy each moment.
A tendency to act spontaneously rather than react to fear.
A decreasing interest in judging others.
A decreasing interest in judging oneself.
An increasing preference to allow things to happen rather than make things happen.
A lessening inclination to interpret the actions of others.
A decreasing involvement in conflict.
An increasing ability to give and receive love.
Less motivation to worry.
Frequent, overwhelming periods of gratitude.
Feelings of contentment and oneness with humanity and nature.
Frequent attacks of smiling.
Feelings of effervescent joy.

 “Signs of Inner Peace” is a poster that hangs in my office. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. ~Pat Griffin, Community Liaison, Franciscan Peace Center

January 2011

Walk the Earth

By Rebecca Glasscock

Martin Luther King, Jr. once noted that "We’ve learned to fly the air as birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas as fish, yet we haven’t learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters."

Thirty years ago, a beautiful baby who we named Adrienne Claire was born. She was so smart, and had the most precious little giggle. Her big brother adored her, and she him. She died when she was still a little girl, and the sorrow in our home was overwhelming. After her death, a friend told me that as long as you speak one’s name, that person is not really dead. I still speak her name, usually to myself, but when I do I can see her pretty eyes and feel her baby blonde hair brushing across my face.

Does the same idea apply to the concepts that we hold dear? I think so. I think that we need to speak about peace, speak about social justice, and speak about Martin Luther King, Jr. (who was born in January) and Mahatma Gandhi (who died in January). We need to not let anyone tell us that world peace is a dead idea, or that social justice is a pipe dream. Let us say the words and walk the talk. We can learn to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters, and in fact, we must.

A native of north Alabama , Rebecca Glasscock has lived in Lexington since 1994. She teaches geography, peace studie, and environmental studies.

December 2010

Thankful for Blessing and Curse

By John Kim

With a mentally ill sister and a physically ailing mother, life can seem very complicated. I would often lament “God, why have you burdened me with such a curse?!” But with God’s guidance and passage of time, I’ve come to recognize that a curse can instead be a blessing. Through their difficult experiences, I am both humbled and strengthened.

My mother had suffered through poverty and loss as a child during the Korean War and later became a widow when my father passed away from poor health. With no formal education or language skills, she worked tirelessly cleaning offices and homes in order to provide for us. Despite this hardship, she is incredibly giving and compassionate—especially toward children, animals and the poor. As a young girl during the war, she shared what little food she had with stray, starving dogs. I know my love for animals comes from her. In many ways, her life has been a gift to so many.

Writer Patrick Conroy (The Prince of Tides) once said `to be born into an unhappy family is the greatest gift that a writer could have.' Those words struck a personal chord; it meant that adversity is a muse for inspiration and a blessing in disguise, leading one to compassion and purpose. In this regard I feel that I have been so generously blessed.

John Kim is currently the manager for the Violence Prevention Initiative for Saint Joseph Health System and a doctoral student in gerontology at UK . A native of South Korea , he has lived in Michigan and California but calls Kentucky home.

November 2010

“…..and Let It Begin With Us”

by Lesley Iwinski

It was e. e. cummings who said, “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” That bookmark, along with an assortment of tea bag tags, chocolate wrappers, Chinese fortunes, and other paper snippets line the frame of my kitchen window. Collected over 12 years, they have provided the cement of affirmations along my journey from family physician to parent educator and coach.

In the great busyness of life as we have chosen it, there is a call to silence and stillness. How many years have we spent making choices that keep us busy rather than allowing our souls to breathe? When we are able to slow down long enough to deeply experience our own emptiness, then peace has an opportunity to come. Sometimes we are able to choose that slowing down, by grace. Sometimes, it is forced upon us through illness or depression—also by grace.  There is a gift in every circumstance and we have full choice in how we respond.  We don’t always have the ability to choose what happens, but we always have the ability to decide our response. Which response will lead us closer to peace?

If we cannot be true to ourselves, then our message of peace is meaningless regardless of where we try to sow those seeds. However, when we discover the well of grace and peace within us, we are able to bring that to the world.  Summoning the courage to truly become who we are can transform us into vessels of peace and compassion.

Lesley Iwinski is a retired family physician and mother of three children, ages 14, 18 and 20. Seeking peace and positive relationships within her own family led her to become a certified parenting instructor in 2005 and help establish Growing Peaceful Families [growingpeacefulfamilies.com]. Lesley finds joy and fulfillment in sharing the journey with other parents, grandparents, and teachers who also want to improve and strengthen their families and classrooms.

October 2010

A Reflection on the Feast of St. Francis

by Margaret Nutting Ralph  

October 4^th is the Feast of St. Francis.  I am one of innumerable people who have been deeply affected by the life and spirituality of St. Francis.  However, I have done a better job of appreciating Francis’ awe of the human person than I have done of modeling his love of every tiny creature.

This fact became very clear to me about forty years ago.  I taught my husband’s and my four children about St. Francis’ awe of God’s creation (Psalm 8 is purported to be Francis’ favorite psalm).  Then, on a summer vacation when I was killing mosquitoes, I heard one son say to another, “There’s nothing too Franciscan about her tonight!”

The author of Psalm 8 is in awe of all of creation, but especially in awe of human beings: “When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,/ the moon and stars that you set in place-/ What are human that you are mindful of them/ mere mortals that you care for them (Ps 8:4-5)?

Who are we?  Who is each human being?  According to the very first story in the Bible, we are, each one of us, male and female, creations made in God’s own image (Gen 1:27 ).  That part of Francis’ spirituality has gotten through to me.  I’m still working on the mosquitoes.  

Margaret Nutting Ralph is the Director of the MAPS program, an online degree program for Roman Catholics at Lexington Theological Seminary.

 

September 2010

Giving peace a chance  

By Kerby Neill

Peace seems such an elusive goal.  We struggle so much to find peace in our hearts, families, and circle of friends that we wonder how we can ever expect it to extend to communities, institutions, peoples, and nations.  If the virus of violence seems too pervasive we can take comfort in the example of our body’s response to disease.  We “fight” disease by using good sense—changing our daily priorities, resting, restoring ourselves. We help our natural little anti-bodies work in concert to overcome what ails us. 

How do we strengthen our peacemakers, our community immunity to violence?   We often must change our priorities, pray, and lead less frantic lives in order to restore ourselves and our communities.  Giving peace a chance starts with us and our immediate relationships.  It creates the conditions in which we can find the time, support, and commitment to work in concert with other peacemakers.  The dramatic life changes of St. Francis from warrior to peacemaker may seem extreme, but we all resonate to the spirit of his prayer to become an “instrument of peace.”  How do we make the wishes in that prayer possible in our lives?  It is a calling of all the great religions.  “Peace be to you!” was the first greeting the resurrected Christ gave his disciples.  

Kerby Neill is a husband, father, grandfather, and retired clinical psychologist who now works as a peace educator.

August 2010

Thanksgiving in a Time of Rancor

by Mary Ann Ghosal

We are approaching the fall midterm elections and I am saddened by the tone of much that passes for political debate.  The order of the day seems to be charge and counter charge, one gottcha after another.  How can we sort through all that is being said . . . to focus on what is real and needed right now?  How can we read the signs of our times? 

I suggest we begin by thanking God for this problem – the problem of figuring out how to respond to the current political process, how to find our role in it.  We might ask God what within the problem moves us to gratitude.  For what shall we give thanks?  Maybe we are reminded that being able to vote and participate openly in political discussions is a privilege, a gift, that some don’t have.  Maybe another reason comes to mind.  No matter the reason, this gratitude can change our outlook, it can allow us to be more relaxed in examining the issues.  It can invite us to see other participants, regardless of point of view, as God’s beloved children just as we are.  It can allow us to respond to them, as well, as God’s children.  This could be revolutionary; it could change the whole process!

~Mary Ann Ghosal is a Peacenik, reader, math tutor, pianist, lover of all things green

July 2010

On the occasion of our Fifth Anniversary

by Patricia Griffin

This month the Franciscan Peace Center commemorates its fifth anniversary; ‘tis a time to reflect, give thanks, celebrate and look ahead.

The journey started in October 2004. The people gathered at table for soup, salad and conversation, then moved into prayer and song. We pondered on Francis of Assisi’s call and vision to rebuild the church. What might be our call? 

The answers took on many faces through the process of developing a mission statement and identifying whom we would serve. After several months of midwifery, the peace center was born on July 11, 2005 . Soon after, the surprises started rolling in.

They began with a glance at the calendar. October would mark our kick-off event since the feast of Saint Francis falls on October 4. But a second glance revealed much more.

In the year 2005 of the Western calendar, a rare confluence of sacred moments in many different faith traditions came to pass: Ramadan, Rosh Hashanah, Navaraatra Dashara, Christian Worldwide Communion Day, and the birthday of Mohandas Gandhi.

At just the moment of history when religious conflicts had reemerged bearing lethal dangers for each other and our planet, God had given our spiritual and religious traditions a gift of time.

The Tent of Abraham, Hagar and Sarah¹ named this miraculous period of time “God’s October Surprise: A Call to Share Sacred Seasons”.

And that was our first surprise. The writing was on the wall. Our kick-off event would be a multi-faith Walk for World Peace and Solidarity.

It was the beginning of a pattern that has led us throughout these first years. The pattern is one of waiting, listening, and watching things come together. People surface with a special interest and we respond; other groups invite us to co-sponsor their events and we accept; documentaries come our way that we share with the community.

We remain in a state of waiting and listening for new births. The way ahead is the beginning.

~Patricia Griffin serves as Community Liaison for the Franciscan Peace Center .

¹ http://www.theshalomcenter.org/node/1139

June 2010

 Father’s Day Reflection

by Steven J. Mangine

A man throws seed on his land.  Night and day, while he sleeps, while he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing.  How, he does not know.                                                  --Mark 4: 26 – 29

We parents often talk about our children as if they were a woodworking project or an empty vessel that we are supposed to fill.  Since we belong to a culture that cherishes technological control, it is not surprising that we generalize the same approach to parenting.   But if raising a child means building a life from the ground up, then we fathers are in serious trouble--particularly those of us who can hardly build a birdhouse.

We might borrow this simplest of Jesus’ parables for an alternative image of parenting.  The child arrives as her own kind of seed, and we are given no choice in the matter.  Then the seed unfolds out of its own inner necessity, according to its own nature. 

If a growing child is unfolding from a unique seed, then our job is not engineering, but gardening.  This means fostering the conditions that allow the child to grow into the full expression of his own nature.  A little weeding here, a little watering there--creating a safe space to grow in, as kindly and skillfully as possible. 

This makes fathering, mothering, an active surrender, a trusting participation in an unfolding mystery, a whole-hearted partnering with life by life’s rules.   

~Steven J. Mangine practices psychology in Lexington , Kentucky

May, 2010

Mother’s Day Proclamation

Julia Ward Howe - 1870

NOTE:  Mother's Day was originally started after the Civil War, as a protest to the carnage of that war, by women who had lost their sons. Here is the original Mother's Day Proclamation from 1870.

Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!
 
"We will not have questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.

It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), author of the " Battle Hymn of the Republic", was committed to abolishing war and proposed an annual Mother's Day for Peace.

http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/famous-moms/julia-ward-howe.php  

April, 2010
^†Earth’s Easter Story
By ‡Margie Stelzer

 I live on a ridge top in a Christian intentional community in rural Kentucky. Together we have bought land, shared prayer and built resource conserving houses. I moved here to answer a call to become a steward of our eight acres, to live responsibly and lovingly among it. What I have learned is that I am not a mere observer, a custodian in a watch house. As I peel away layers of modern conveniences, I have found that I am a part of a holy, circular cycle. 

In an attempt to live closer to the land, we have built homes that require us to spend time watching the world around us. My living room windows overlook our vegetable garden, a small orchard and a wooded hillside. In the summer the garden is a jungle of vines and bushes jeweled with ruby tomatoes, golden peppers and ivory eggplants. The woods provide a background of green and are thick with life. Yellow finches, Indigo Buntings and Downy Woodpeckers populate the treetops; chipmunk, rabbit and ground hog the forest floor; pill bugs, beetles and a broad host of micro-organisms the soil below. By winter time the land has been transformed. The vegetables have all died, the orchard and woods are bare branches of grays and browns and only animals with the colors of earth or wet bark remain. All are preparing, waiting for the warmth of Spring to bring forth new life.

^†Read Full Article

Original article published in first issue of CONSPIRE!, a quarterly publication from a diverse network of communities and groups.

^‡Margie Stelzer lives with her two children, husband, and three other families at Curtis Pike Community in Richmond , Kentucky .

March, 2010

Yielding to Gratitude
By Gail M. Koehler

As I write, Lexington’s 2010 One World Film festival has just begun—a series of screenings that invite viewers into the lives of peoples geographically removed from Central Kentucky.  The first film of this year’s series was "Departures," a Japanese movie about a struggling cellist.  When his orchestra job dissolves, he returns to his boyhood home left to him by his departed mother. There he stumbles into a job preparing bodies for “coffining,” involving a ceremonial washing and preparation of corpses in the presence of their families.  I’ve since read that the film is loosely based on the book Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician by Shinmon Aoki.  

What struck me, as a mother with a teen and a wannabe teen in our house, was the deft manner that the director Yojiro Takita captured the struggles and knotted conflicts that can so consume families when locked in rage or disappointment with one another.  The film then illuminates what a gift the preparatory ceremony is to those fractious souls when an adept, tendering presence allows them to yield to their gratitude for the person they knew and finally release the beginnings of their grief.

The depiction of dignity and compassion I’d seen flickering on the screen provided me a gift as I exited the theater into the chill February evening: a reinvigorated desire to be open to small daily moments of reconciliation; to a yielding to gratitude that can provide a quiet—if only I will heed it—soundtrack to daily life.

Gail Koehler has found her spiritual community with Quakers since 1998.  Among a variety of writing projects, she is also the editor of Peaceways, the Newsletter of the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice.

February, 2010

Forgiveness – a radical direction of the heart            
By Sister Robbie Pentecost

            Recently I glanced at my calendar noticing that February is Forgiveness month, It seems that in so many arenas, forgiveness is at the heart of the solution. 

I recently read about Maya Wind, a young Israeli woman, who along with other Israeli and Palestinian youth is calling for a new direction.  For Wind, “the way to peace in the Middle East , and anywhere else, is not to fight fire with fire but to fight it with water –the water of negotiation, compromise, non-cooperation with abusive power, questioning militarism, and knowing that the other side might have fair-minded grievances.”  Forgiveness recognizes our part in the conflict and frees the chains of anger, despair and resentment. 

Wind, like Martin Luther King in a speech on April 4, 1967 , challenges us to engage forgiveness and reflect Gospel love.  “Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence- when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves.  For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers (sisters) who are called the opposition.” 

Francis engaged the Sultan, who many saw as the enemy, and was changed.  Just think what could be possible in our world, our nation, our church if we could engage with one another in an attitude of forgiveness – not labeling those who disagree with us as evil, but rather working together toward building up the kingdom of God .  Hmmm?

Sister Robbie Pentecost, OSF, has been a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg ,  IN for 25 years.  Her current ministry is with the Christian Partner program of the Christian Appalachian Project. 

January, 2010

New Beginnings
by Sister Allegrezza

It’s that time of year again, a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. Close on the heels of that hopeful thought often comes the memory of failed attempts, frustration and even guilt. I think, perhaps, we make our New Year’s resolutions the way we live our lives: by biting off more than we can chew. By attempting what we “should” not what we “could”. As a general rule we are goal-oriented not process-oriented. Yet it is the small steps, the little things in any process that support lasting change.

The goal of losing ten pounds sounds great but the process of eating more veggies or exercising for thirty minutes may not sound as good. The goal of peace sounds great, too, but forgiving a past wrong isn’t as appealing, is it? Laying down our right to be right may not be an easy thing but often it is the process that leads to peace in our lives. Peace in our lives could be the small step toward peace in our world. Will you dare to look for the small steps, the things we “could” do to offer peace to others in our daily lives this year?  

 

December, 2009

Just Listen
By Beth Dotson Brown

 Sometimes I feel pressured to do something grand, something phenomenal with my life and my talent. Then I am reminded that the most beautiful gifts we can give the world are often the simplest, including a listening ear.

I recently met a woman whose unhealthy teeth, obesity and minimum-wage job told me she likely had little education and few financial resources. She noticed I was carrying a bag from a writers’ conference, asked if I was a writer then expressed her interest in the craft. We chatted about writing and I invited her to join our local arts organization.

A few months later, we talked again. I invited her to an event where I would be selling books and other artists would be selling their work. She came, and in the midst of the crowd that continually milled past us, told me about the trauma of her childhood abuse, her past drug problem, her decision to forego college even after being accepted, the struggles of single motherhood. Her burdens were enough to pound her so low that she would never be able to get up.

But she looked at me and said, “You’ve inspired me. I’m going to start working toward what I really want in my life.”

Her words stunned me. I had done little more than listen to her. But she had taught me a lesson—that maybe giving our time is the most spectacular gift we can give to one another, especially in midst of the busy-ness of our world. Try it. Just listen.

November, 2009

freeing the fire of compassion
by Patricia Griffin

In its earliest development, the Franciscan Peace Center chose as its tagline “freeing the fire of compassion”. Compassion was part and parcel to Francis’ life of peacemaking and caring for all creation, even in a time of rejection by his own brothers. In his humility he would refer to such rejection as “True Joy”.

Aside from its religious overtones, mercy means compassion or kindness in our treatment of others; especially those who have offended us or who we think deserve punishment.

Compassion burns deep inside each of us.

Compassion arises after a natural disaster—an “Act of God” as defined by insurance companies. The fire of compassion drives many people out of their comfort zones to tend to those whose lives have been disrupted by a catastrophe.

Compassion is passionately painful when we look at strife, injustice and violence of all kinds in our world. It can consume us or move us to take affirmative action.

The time has come to resurrect the Golden Rule and give compassion center stage. Post it in the halls of justice! Preach it from the pulpit! Most of all, parade it around our children.

Let’s bring back passion for compassion!

October, 2009

Have you ever been to Srebrenica?
by Bob Silvanik

In July 1995, a Serbian army near this Bosnian village massacred over 10,000 Muslim men and boys in a 24-hour period. Ten years later, I visited Srebrenica and began to ask myself a very serious and hard question: How did this happen?

It was then I began to realize the true power of institutions in our world … and I soon came to understand that if we hide our souls from the institutions that we live, work, and pray in, then we can become willing to think things, to say things and to do things to “the other,” on behalf of these institutions that we would never do as the spiritual persons we were created to be.

And so, as we all quest for personal and worldly peace, we must first come to terms with the reality that the peace we seek is far too precious to be left to the institutions of our world: government, politics, military, economics and religion. True and lasting peace will emerge only when communities of spiritual leaders step forward and challenge the dominant powers through a call to action. Of this truth, history is our witness and teacher.  

 

August, 2009

Reflection On Dorothy Day
by Mary Alice Pratt

A generation after her death in 1980 at the age of 83, what is Dorothy Day’s significance to us in the early 21^st century?   

            A journalist, she spoke out about the social conditions of her day, of which we find resonance in our own time.  Early in life she became aware of injustices to workers and strongly advocated for their rights. Much of her time and effort was spent in caring for the poor.  She lived among the poorest, fed the hungry, housed the homeless, cared for the immigrants and, above all, treated them with love as her brothers and sisters. During both World Wars she voiced her opposition to war as evil, even as the Church was either silent or supportive, and she bore its criticism.  Above all, she was concerned about the dignity of the human person.

            Dorothy’s life was a permanent “revolution of the heart,” nourished by Scripture, prayer, the Eucharist and the communal “family” in which she lived.  Her life challenges us to examine the social conditions of our day: poverty, immigration policies, health care needs, and injustices toward workers. It challenges us to examine the culture of individualism and materialism in which those needs prevail. And it challenges us to examine what shapes our values and to search for guidance in Scripture and our relationship with God for our individual and community lives. 

July, 2009  

 

Monthly Reflection Guidelines  

Our goal is to provide thoughtful reflections that encourage readers to more fully embrace the values written in Franciscan Peace Center ’s Mission Statement: i.e., dignity, compassion, reconciliation, equality, simplicity, kinship with all creation, and a nonviolent way of life that will bring about a peaceful global community.

 

Suggested guidelines for submitted reflections:

1)      Interfaith/universal – like viewing a world without borders

2)      Reflective of the season or month for which you are writing

3)      Passionately inclusive, beginning with our universal concerns for other living things, leaving out nothing or no one

4)      Firmly rooted in peace and justice for all

5)      Containing no more than 200 words (the shorter the better)

6)      Submitted by the third week of the month prior to publication

 

“The act of praying or meditating is so universal that one wonders

 if the need to reach out beyond ourselves in thought and word

 is simply part f the human condition.”

~L. Annie Foerster in Praying Out Loud: Interfaith Prayers for Public Occasions

(Skinner House Books, Boston , ©2003)

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