Christians have a duty to work to promote peace, six women behind Adventist Women for Peace (AWP) say. The women, Victoria Bresee, Gillian Geraty, Ginger Hanks-Harwood, Lourdes Morales-Gudmundsson, Iris Landa, and Marta Teel, all members of the Seventh-day Adventist church, point to the church's history of nonviolence and the Bible as their mandate.
"Violence has become the accepted way of taking care of conflict not only between nations but between people," says Morales-Gudmundsson, in a recent Adventist News Network interview. "[There's] violence in our streets, in our schools and [violence at home]."
Morales-Gudmundsson, chair of the modern languages department at La Sierra University, an Adventist institution, believes the Seventh-day Adventist Church should be the loudest voice against war.
Morales-Gudmundsson is not the only Adventist that feels that way. The group, whose members are based in California, United States drew their inspiration from the Adventist Peace Fellowship, a group of church members based on the East coast.
The Adventist Peace Fellowship (APF)was started in Takoma Park, Maryland by a group that includes Douglas Morgan. Morgan, one of the directors of APF, is a professor of history and political studies at Columbia Union College, an Adventist institution. The group primarily provides links with resources about peacemaking ideas and information about what other Adventists are doing through their Web site and newsletter.
APF thinks of itself as being a forum or resource for "encouraging Adventists to think about the significance of our heritage and beliefs for peace giving," says Morgan.
By choosing to do a Web log or "blog" which is an interactive Web journal that encourages discussion, the AWP, wanted just that, talk to others.
Victoria Bresee, one of AWP's members said she found it essential to have open, honest dialogue from both sides of the issue.
So they settled on starting a blog on March 4, a Friday. By Saturday, the next day, they already had more than 200 posts, say Morales-Gudmundsson. "We were shocked by the response."
"We thought it was just a draft, but right away we got hundreds of contributions," Bresee adds.
This response was a bit unexpected for a group which had beginnings in casual conversations over lunch. It was at these lunches where "we soon discovered many of us had a real passion for topics of peace," says Morales-Gudmundsson.
The Biblical centerpiece of the group's blog for peace is Jesus' sermon on the mount in Matthew 5. The group says this passage of scripture reverses all the Old Testament's justifications for going to war. In this chapter Jesus calls for everyone to love their enemies, to turn the other cheek and promises blessings to those who are peacemakers.
"Christ has called us to be peacemakers," says Morales-Gudmundsson. "I believe it's a cause [we] must take up."
Both sides of Bresee's family for generations had been Adventists. "I've always heard that we were pacifists," she says, adding that she feels that the church has changed in that regard.
The church's history is indeed rooted in peace. Morgan points out that the Adventist Church was a big supporter of the disarmament council that followed World War I. Adventist church leaders at the time sent a letter to then-United States President Warren G. Harding encouraging disarmament efforts.
The church also recommends that those of its members who are in the armed forces serve in non-combatant positions. The story of Desmond Doss, recently made into an award-winning documentary, clarifies that stance. Doss served in the army during World War II and refused to carry a weapon. Even without carrying a weapon, Doss saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers, which earned him the highest honor that the United States can bestow on a soldier, a Congressional Medal of Honor, a first for a conscientious objector.
The church has also issued various statements calling for peace. The most recent being in 2002 when it condemned terrorism and made plans to implement a peace-making campaign in more than 6,000 Adventist schools. The statement explains that lasting peace involves four Biblically-based "pillars of peace": dialogue, justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
The church's encouragment of a peace-making curricula in Adventist schools is seen as an important step in the peace process.
Peace education is essential to ending war, Morales-Gudmundsson says. She is working on a peace curriculum to be used by universities and government agencies. "It should be taught on every level of the education system as a serious and central topic of study and practice."
"If we do not put time and money into that, we are just going to end up killing each other and feeling that that's alright," Morales-Gudmundsson warns.
Bresee who has a background in Christian contemplation and spiritual reflection and a masters degree in theology believes strongly in prayer and discussion instead of weapons.
"I've never thought of [my]self as an activist ... I don't go on marches or anything like that," Bresee says, "But trying to help others see things that may make a difference some may call that activism."
On the blog, there has been an ongoing discussion about what would be considered a "just war." However, Morales-Gudmundsson remains consistent, she says, "the only just war is one against self, selfishness and our fears."
The members of AWP also like to point out Costa Rica as a shining example of how dialogue not weapons can achieve long-lasting peace. The Central American country has not had an army since 1948. Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias Sánchez won a Nobel Peace Prize, for working to bring about peace between five Central American countries in 1987.
"We shouldn't shy away from peacemaking," Bresee says. "We need to approach this ... with as much authority as we do the Sabbath."
The group is now organizing a two-day peace conference for this Autumn and a larger conference next year.
For more information about Adventist groups working for peace see the Adventist Peace Fellowship's Web site at: www.adventistpeace.org or Adventist Women for Peace's web page at: http://adventistwomen4peace.weblogger.com
Silver Spring, Maryland United States,
Taashi Rowe/ANN
"Violence has become the accepted way of taking care of conflict not only between nations but between people," says Morales-Gudmundsson, in a recent Adventist News Network interview. "[There's] violence in our streets, in our schools and [violence at home]."
Morales-Gudmundsson, chair of the modern languages department at La Sierra University, an Adventist institution, believes the Seventh-day Adventist Church should be the loudest voice against war.
Morales-Gudmundsson is not the only Adventist that feels that way. The group, whose members are based in California, United States drew their inspiration from the Adventist Peace Fellowship, a group of church members based on the East coast.
The Adventist Peace Fellowship (APF)was started in Takoma Park, Maryland by a group that includes Douglas Morgan. Morgan, one of the directors of APF, is a professor of history and political studies at Columbia Union College, an Adventist institution. The group primarily provides links with resources about peacemaking ideas and information about what other Adventists are doing through their Web site and newsletter.
APF thinks of itself as being a forum or resource for "encouraging Adventists to think about the significance of our heritage and beliefs for peace giving," says Morgan.
By choosing to do a Web log or "blog" which is an interactive Web journal that encourages discussion, the AWP, wanted just that, talk to others.
Victoria Bresee, one of AWP's members said she found it essential to have open, honest dialogue from both sides of the issue.
So they settled on starting a blog on March 4, a Friday. By Saturday, the next day, they already had more than 200 posts, say Morales-Gudmundsson. "We were shocked by the response."
"We thought it was just a draft, but right away we got hundreds of contributions," Bresee adds.
This response was a bit unexpected for a group which had beginnings in casual conversations over lunch. It was at these lunches where "we soon discovered many of us had a real passion for topics of peace," says Morales-Gudmundsson.
The Biblical centerpiece of the group's blog for peace is Jesus' sermon on the mount in Matthew 5. The group says this passage of scripture reverses all the Old Testament's justifications for going to war. In this chapter Jesus calls for everyone to love their enemies, to turn the other cheek and promises blessings to those who are peacemakers.
"Christ has called us to be peacemakers," says Morales-Gudmundsson. "I believe it's a cause [we] must take up."
Both sides of Bresee's family for generations had been Adventists. "I've always heard that we were pacifists," she says, adding that she feels that the church has changed in that regard.
The church's history is indeed rooted in peace. Morgan points out that the Adventist Church was a big supporter of the disarmament council that followed World War I. Adventist church leaders at the time sent a letter to then-United States President Warren G. Harding encouraging disarmament efforts.
The church also recommends that those of its members who are in the armed forces serve in non-combatant positions. The story of Desmond Doss, recently made into an award-winning documentary, clarifies that stance. Doss served in the army during World War II and refused to carry a weapon. Even without carrying a weapon, Doss saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers, which earned him the highest honor that the United States can bestow on a soldier, a Congressional Medal of Honor, a first for a conscientious objector.
The church has also issued various statements calling for peace. The most recent being in 2002 when it condemned terrorism and made plans to implement a peace-making campaign in more than 6,000 Adventist schools. The statement explains that lasting peace involves four Biblically-based "pillars of peace": dialogue, justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
The church's encouragment of a peace-making curricula in Adventist schools is seen as an important step in the peace process.
Peace education is essential to ending war, Morales-Gudmundsson says. She is working on a peace curriculum to be used by universities and government agencies. "It should be taught on every level of the education system as a serious and central topic of study and practice."
"If we do not put time and money into that, we are just going to end up killing each other and feeling that that's alright," Morales-Gudmundsson warns.
Bresee who has a background in Christian contemplation and spiritual reflection and a masters degree in theology believes strongly in prayer and discussion instead of weapons.
"I've never thought of [my]self as an activist ... I don't go on marches or anything like that," Bresee says, "But trying to help others see things that may make a difference some may call that activism."
On the blog, there has been an ongoing discussion about what would be considered a "just war." However, Morales-Gudmundsson remains consistent, she says, "the only just war is one against self, selfishness and our fears."
The members of AWP also like to point out Costa Rica as a shining example of how dialogue not weapons can achieve long-lasting peace. The Central American country has not had an army since 1948. Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias Sánchez won a Nobel Peace Prize, for working to bring about peace between five Central American countries in 1987.
"We shouldn't shy away from peacemaking," Bresee says. "We need to approach this ... with as much authority as we do the Sabbath."
The group is now organizing a two-day peace conference for this Autumn and a larger conference next year.
For more information about Adventist groups working for peace see the Adventist Peace Fellowship's Web site at: www.adventistpeace.org or Adventist Women for Peace's web page at: http://adventistwomen4peace.weblogger.com
Silver Spring, Maryland United States,
Taashi Rowe/ANN
