Moravian Peacebuilders

If You Ever Want to Play Capture the Flag

PeaceSigns - Peace and Justice Support Network E-Zine.

Of course you would expect a Mennonite publication to carry an article like this.  But if the Moravian Church returns to its peace roots we may, someday, find a similar article in our publications.  If your church prominently displays a national flag and you find it distracting in worship, you might want to copy this article and put it in your "Capture the Flag" file for future reference.

I welcome your comments on the flag in worship.

Evangelical Political Analysis

Evangelical Political Analysis.

Nice to see a current blog posting site the Moravians as a model for choosing Jesus over nationalism.  A quote from the article:

First up, the Moravians.   These folks were committed to “a nonviolent ethic that hoped for the conversion of enemies rather than for their destruction.”   They were actively involved in sharing the good news with Native Americans, while speaking out against the violence of the colonists.   Often, their work was undone by the slaughtering of Native American tribes at the hands of the American militia.   All the while, loving the enemy was more important than defending nationality.   

Nonviolence Is The Right Choice—It Works | CommonDreams.org

Nonviolence Is The Right Choice—It Works | CommonDreams.org.

This article certainly reinforces the non-violent choices we make as Christians.  I think there are many gospel stories where Jesus teaches people creative non-violent approaches to counter oppression.  One of the best writers on the subject is Walter Wink.  He opened my eyes to the political power within Jesus' non-violent teachings.

Of course the ultimate spiritual example is Jesus' non-violent response to his trial and execution.  In that, we find Jesus absorbing the violence of the world and showing the power of love.  As his disciples, can we do less?

Hiroshima

This probably says it all!

Moravian 4th of July

Moravians were the first people to celebrate July 4th as a holiday to thank God for the freedom of our nation. On April 19, 1783 word reached Salem, N.C. that a peace treaty ending the Revolutionary War had been signed. The peace treaty had been signed on January 10, in Paris, France, but news could travel no faster than people could travel, and so it took three months to reach this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Revolutionary War had been particularly hard on the Moravians, for at that time Moravians were pacifists. This meant that Moravians would not bear arms for either side. Thus, Moravians were viewed with suspicion by both sides, and they often paid dearly for their convictions.

On June 18, 1783, the governor of the state of North Carolina declared July 4, 1783 as a day of solemn thanksgiving,. This gave the Moravians barely two weeks to prepare an observance fit for the occasion. Johann Friederick Peter, a Moravian musician and composer, selected, assembled and organized the music for a day-long celebration.

No other community in the young country is known to have observed July 4th as early as this. Like some others things that began in the Moravian church, such as candles on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunrise services, this celebrating of Independence Day has caught on with others,. Although, unlike that first celebration that was declared a day of solemn thanksgiving, our celebrations are marked by fireworks and picnics, fun and a day off for many workers.

(This little bit of history was printed on the back the 6/29/08 Lititz Moravian Independence Day Lovefeast Ode.)

I am thankful to God for the blessings given us: and one of the best of those blessings is being an American,,, being free as a nation. But I am also challenged to find my Moravian pacifist roots and to learn how to apply them today knowing I will be viewed with suspicion by both fellow Moravians and fellow Americans.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Christmas is upon us and this year any song that mentions Bethlehem has new meaning for me. Our son, Adam, is part of a mission team serving in Bethlehem, Palestine this year. As expected, our family has a strong interest in what is going on in that part of the world. As I learn more, I wonder how we, as Christians, have managed to shun Bethlehem's people for so long. Why did we stand by and let the situation get so out of hand?

Bethlehem, "how still we see thee lie". Or, rather, how little we know of thee. For example, how many American Christians have seen the wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem these days and inhibits freedom of movement for thousands of people? Our Christian brothers and sisters (now less than 2% of the population of Bethlehem) face hardships every day that we have helped create through our silence and our financial support of the occupation.

Adam is developing relationships with Palestinians and Israelis, Christians, Jews and Muslims. Through his efforts in peacebuilding I'm sure to grow in my understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Christmas this year will be bitter-sweet for our family. But, little town of Bethlehem, we will know thee better.

Celebrating Moravians on Independence Day

Today is Independence Day in the United States. John Adams may disagree since I understand he wanted July 2 to be remembered - the day the resolution was passed. But today is the day we celebrate the ideals of freedom and liberty.

This past Sunday our church celebrated this national event with an Independence Day Lovefeast. The back of the bulletin noted the fact that Moravians were the first people to celebrate July 4th as a holiday to thank God for the freedom of our nation. But, more importantly, it was also noted that during the Revolutionary War (why do we capitalize that?) Moravians were pacifists. They were viewed with suspicion by both sides and often paid dearly for their convictions.

I don't know that many in the pews last Sunday paid much attention to that small note on our history, but I did. And I am grateful that the fact of our peace roots can still make it into print.

I don't know much about our Moravian pacifists and what they might have done to prevent war or how they may have preached nonviolence or love of enemy as Jesus taught. Perhaps others will add to this discussion and enlighten me. I have discovered, though, that the war for independence from England may have been unnecessary and that the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence were destined to form a new nation without war.

Peacebuilders everywhere will find hope and encouragement in a little known history book entitled, The Missing Peace: The Search for Nonviolent Alternatives in United States History. The authors, James Juhnke and Carol Hunter, give us another view of history and show that time and time again nonviolent alternatives were available throughout the history of this nation.

Today we celebrate the ideals of freedom and liberty that God wants for all humanity. But we also read everyday of the legacy violent means to those ends have brought to the world. As Juhnke and Hunter point out, successful wars encourage people to resort to violence in the future. It is up to us as peacebuilders and disciples of the Prince of Peace to teach the third way and highlight the successes of nonviolent action.

Just one example from this book: Americans are remarkably well informed of the details of the Boston Tea Party of December 17,1773, while we are quite ignorant about the success of the people in Philadelphia who at the same time were nonviolently persuading the British captain to take the East India tea back to England.

What would America, and the world, be like today if nonviolence had prevailed? Early Moravians seemed to know and Moravians today are called by the same God to lead lives of nonviolence and love.

What is Truth? A Good Friday Reflection

Today, as is the tradition, Moravians gathered to listen to The Acts of Friday and sing hymns as found in our Passion Week Manual.  This year one phrase jumped out at me (from John 18):

37"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.       Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."     38"What is truth?" Pilate asked.

I wonder if we should be asking that question more today than ever; and more so as Christians than anyone else.  In this passage Jesus says he came into the world to testify to the truth. His life was that testimony and presented a picture of a loving and forgiving God. But do we focus on the life of Jesus as much as we should? 

Yesterday was Maundy Thursday.  The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin for 'command' (mandatum). It refers to the command given by Jesus at the Last Supper, that his disciples should love one another.  Maybe it is just me, but I am concerned about our communion tradition.  None of the four communion services in our current hymnal include Jesus' command to love one another.

In a wonderful little booklet by Reverend Emmanuel Charles McCarthy, entitled The Nonviolent Eucharist, you will find a proposal that could change the world - rewrite our service to better remind us of the non-violent, loving life of Jesus we are called to imitate as his disciples.  Download a copy, read the proposal, ask yourself what the world might be like today if Christians had celebrated communion differently for the past 1700 years.  Our small group will be discussing this in a few weeks.  I welcome your thoughts.

And here is another Easter thought.  On Sunday morning around 6:10AM we will proclaim in unison the Nicean Creed.  We will say "We believe in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified, died, and was buried".  But we are not reminded of the mandate, the truth we are called to proclaim.  We are called "Easter People".  I hope that means we are also "Jesus People".

Palm Sunday 2007 - The Journey Begins

This morning, at the Lititz Moravian Church, we read from the book of Luke, Chapter 19: 41-42. Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem: If you, even you, had recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. It seems the crowd wanted Jesus to be a military savior and end the Roman occupation. But Jesus was to be much more than that. His message of non-violence and love of enemy would challenge generations to come; and prove to be a force more powerful for those willing to follow him. Jesus came to show us what God is really like.

This, then, is perhaps a fitting day and fitting text to begin this open discussion among Christians who belong to a denomination which some would say fits the category of "historic peace church" - the Moravian Church.

This weblog is dedicated to that Moravian remnant, and is begun in the hope of enticing other Moravians (and non-Moravians) to see Jesus as the true Prince of Peace and, as his disciples, to discover ways in we can be true peace builders.

If you would like to serve as an author on this weblog please contact me - rick@teamapproach.com. If you choose to merely read our postings and add your comments as we go along, please do so frequently. If you choose to be silent as you review our commentary, we seek your prayers that God will lead us.

A number of years ago, after leaving 20 years of military service, I rediscovered Jesus. I then asked what seemed to me to be an obvious question, "Why isn't every church a peace church?". We may not be able to influence every church with this humble weblog but we might be able to influence a Moravian church somewhere. After all, peace is in our history and part of our heritage.