Peace Signs, September 2009

September 15, 2009                                                Number 67

In this month's issue:
Thriving takes time • Susan Mark Landis
A friend in his mid-20's made time to help us in the garden last week...
Otterville • Merrill R. Miller
Action alert: ACT for access • Susan Mark Landis
We provide suggestions for prayer, reflection and action on health care.
Action alert: Afghanistan
Congress, the Obama Administration and the military are considering significantly increasing U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan. But we believe that troops do not bring security or peace.
Act for Peace in Uganda • Mary Stata
For the past two decades the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group has threatened communities in northern Uganda and across central Africa by brutally targeting civilians and abducting thousands of children. Even though the LRA is small in numbers (less than 1.500 members), their ruthless attacks have wreaked havoc on the region and caused massive internal displacement of civilians.
When victims become healers • Max Ediger
For those of us living half-a-world away it may be easy to pick up a good book or turn on a television show and pretend that the war in Viet Nam never happened, but for the people of Viet Nam, the reminders of those tragic years of unnecessary violence are always in front of them, not just in their memories but in the lives of the many people suffering the effects of unexploded ordnance and herbicide poisons.
The International Day of Peace • Brother James Dowd
Since the early 1980's, the United Nations has proclaimed September 21st as the International Day of Peace, and throughout the world various vigils, commemorations, rallies, festivals and other ways to mark the day have been held on or about that date. And so, once again, we find ourselves preparing for another Day of Peace with hope and expectation. Or do we?
Trusting God • Tom Beutel
Within the context of shalom--peace which permeates all of life and which is centered in well-being and right relationships--it is common to focus on nonviolence. There seem to be two somewhat mutually exclusive strains within this focus on nonviolence: nonresistance and nonviolent resistance.
Prayer based on the hymn
This month's prayer was written by Joel Beachy.