Last month the Friends of Illinois Yearly Meeting gathered at our historic meeting house outside of McNabb, IL to hold the Annual Session. During this time together, business was conducted and resources shared, including a document from the World Council of Churches called, “An Ecumenical Call to Just Peace.”
ILYM Peace Resources Committee has been asked to further distribute this document widely for consideration. Authored in February 2011, the Preamble includes the decree:
Aware that the promise of peace is a core value of all religions, [this Call] reaches out to all who seek peace according to their own religious traditions and commitments. [sic] The call is … commended for study, reflection, collaboration and common action.
We share it with you here, recommending it for study by individual Friends and monthly Meetings. If led, also share your reflections here by Leaving a Reply. Specifically, the Yearly Meeting has asked PRC to present a workshop on this subject at Annual Session next summer leading us to ask: what discussions would you like to see us facilitate as part of that experience?
DOWNLOAD HERE: An Ecumenical Call to Just Peace
As an indication of the leadership for peace that is embodied in the World Council of Churches, I call attention to a statement by their General Secretary Rev Olav Fykse Tveit, a pastor from Norway.
Regarding the terrible fanatical action on Friday (7-22-11) which killed around 90 people, mostly teenagers, in the name of opposing Islam and “multiculturalism” — Rev Tveit went beyond an expression of grief and shock. He used the occasion to proclaim that such murderous actions — even if undertaken by a self-styled Christian — in no way represents Christian faith and values. Such a connection is “Blasphemous.”
The whole event, and the profound misuderstandings between religious and cultural groups, shows the need for the kind of ecumenical work and reconciliation which the World Council embodies.
Read the whole statement here:
http://tinyurl.com/3r6ux2l
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I will also take this occasion to thank our Friend Tom Paxson, recent Presiding Clerk of Illinois Yearly Meeting, for having represented Quakers for years in the peacemaking work of the World Council of Churches.
You can read his article on The Peace Testimony of Friends in the readings resources provided by Peace Resources Committee, online here:
http://ilym.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=104
[If this link becomes outdated, just check the Peace Resources Committee pages on the http://www.ilym.org website.]