Stretching Our Perspective and Resolve

Erica, Maureen & Wayne Morgan, and Karen Godwin

This past week at the Canadian Baptist Ministries

Peace & Reconciliation Training in Ruiru, Kenya

Peace is something that Canadians of my generation tend to take for granted. Growing up as a child in Prince Edward Island in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, I knew little of the conflicts that faced our world. War and violence were something that we learned about in history, and remembered every November. But this seemed a distant and black and white world of the past that did not touch our lives. As little boys, we"played war” on snow banks and in school yards, as we relived the stories of Star Wars or G.I. Joe, but we did not live in the shadow of war.

Children in Africa today have a much closer association with war and violence. Civil conflict, cross boarder attacks, terrorism, roving militias, and the exilic life of a refugee are common experiences throughout East and Central Africa. Over the past few days, it has been eye opening for us to listen to the experiences, fears and perspectives on the reality and causes of insecurity and conflict, from our African partner churches ((African Christian Church & Schools (ACC&S) and Africa Brotherhood Church (ABC)). At times it was evident that the fears our friends shared, can lead us to blame and with draw from conflict. It was encouraging to hear a desire for the Church to step up and take seriously the role of Peace builders. “Our Vision,” shared Rev. Gato, “is to see people reconciled and live in peace between them, and engaged in all different aspects of sustainable peace. We want to help make ACC&S and ABC a catalyst of peace within Kenyan society.” Please continue to pray for the work of CBM and our national church partners in Africa as we seek to live out the “peace of Christ”.

“Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.”

2 Corinthians 5:16-20

(The Message)