Seasons of Peace: Presentation Outline

Friends, if you were unable to participate in Sunday's presentation on the PCUSA Season of Peace, here is my outline for the session.  You can click on the links below and navigate around to many of the topics we discussed:

Seasons of Peacemaking

September 22, 2013

1.  What is the Season of Peace?

2nd Sunday in September through World Communion Sunday

Includes options for a 9/11 Remembrance and International Day of Peace

2.  Peacemaking brought Pastor Le Anne to the PCUSA

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Fellowship of Reconciliation

Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions

UN Program; Peacemaking Program

3.  Resources:

Special offerings video on Peacemaking Offering (1 minute)

Compassion, Peace, and Justice Program video (1 minute)

Peace Fair, Bible Study, and Peacemaking Devotions

Travel Opportunities and Meeting International Peacemakers

http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/peacemaking/

http://www.pcusa.org/seasonofpeace

http://www.pcusa.org/blogs/swords-plowshares/

http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/peacemaking/international-peacemaking/

http://www.missioncrossroads.org/  

(Peacemaking, Disaster Relief, and Mission work closely and often overlap in our PCUSA ministries)

The Peace Pipe

More information at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calumet_(pipe)

We were privileged to have an authentic peace pipe with us in worship on Sunday, which was given to the great-grandfather of one of our members by the Ho-Chunk Nation here in Wisconsin many years ago.  

A ‘peace pipe’ was used by a variety of Native American tribes, for primarily ceremonial purposes.  They were most often not owned by one person, but by the community.  However, they might be given as gifts, and tradition hold that if you were carrying a peace pipe, you may be granted safe passage even as a stranger.

A peace pipe might be used to seal a treaty or contract; often smoked together at the end of a war.  Another purpose was to pray--the smoke was believed to carry the prayers up to the Great Spirit, or God.

Making peace with people, especially with folks who have hurt or upset us deeply, is a lot of hard work.  When we need to make peace with each other, it takes lots of prayer, it often takes help from our community around us, particularly our elders who might be wiser and have greater perspective, and we will certainly need help from God.  We should never be afraid to ask for help when we are in conflict and wish to make peace.