Preparing for the Prince of Peace
It’s now Advent, a short season of preparation for the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace. Living as close as we do to a large military installation, we can either be very conscious of the military presence in our midst, try to ignore it or become so used to it that it blends into the landscape and ceases to be noticeable. Many in our parish family have served directly in the military, or a loved one has or is. It’s a mixed blessing to be so dependent upon the economic stability Wright-Patterson AFB brings to the Miami Valley. If peace on earth and goodwill toward all truly reigned, we wouldn’t need such an installation.
Military service and the reality of war present real challenges of conscience for those who follow the Prince of Peace. It’s the work of living our Christian faith in a violent world. We make all sorts of decisions weighing the options and we don’t always agree with each other. Support the people who serve is a familiar faith response. Whatever you think of the war or the decisions around it, support the people who serve. At Christ, Dayton, we do that in our prayers and in the care packages sent to troops overseas. And, we respond further. Installation art on the church wall made of the names of those who’ve died keeps the cost of violence along side us. Parishioners are involved as peace activists. But, we can do more. We can make changes that will reduce the violence.
Let’s expand supporting the people who serve to simply…support the people. Jim Wallis, a well-respected writer and advocate for social justice, wrote: “We should know by now, and most of those on the ground in places like Afghanistan do, that what re-builds a broken nation; inspires confidence, trust, and hope among its people; and most effectively undermines terrorism is an old and proven idea — massive humanitarian assistance and sustainable economic development. And it costs less — far less — than continued war.” We can, each of us, support the people in war-torn and at-risk countries and develop stability and sustainability.
For your holiday giving, consider redirecting a gift from a retailer to one of the many charitable organizations supporting the people of the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Africa. Our own Episcopal Relief & Development www.er-d.org works in all of these areas as does Heifer International www.heifer.org. For a more personal approach, consider Kiva www.kiva.com, not a charity in the same way, but an organization that focuses on administering micro-loans and building economic stability around the world. There are many others; find one that speaks to you. Certainly, let’s continue to support our veterans and those serving in this time of war, but let’s also strive to build a world where peace is possible. I can think of no better way to prepare for the coming of the Prince of Peace. –Rev. Mary Slenski
To read the entire blog: http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/29/afghanistan-a-whole-new-approach/
PS: I wrote this a year ago for a different congregation and sadly, it’s still just as relevant today as it was then. -M
Christ Church Blog 
While it is noteworthy to use the organizations listed above to help the people in the Middle east, to seriously consider Jim Wallis’ suggestion is a guarantee failure. Let’s start with his idea of massive humanitarian aid to help change things in Afghanistan (I’m paraphrasing). Where is his example where this has worked? Where will the money come from? How will we make sure the aid goes to the poor and not to the Taliban warlords? Speaking of Taliban, has Mr Wallis followed the news stories of what these people are doing? Killing women for going to school, beheading Christians, and using civilians as shields.
Reduce the violence by using NGO’s in a foreign land. How is Haiti working out with that idea? There were 10,000 NGO’s before the earthquake earlier this year. In the past month cholera has spread and no clean up has occurred. Should we send them more aid? Oh wait, we can’t because the one port is controlled by the ruling class who only move things out when paid huge bribes. So what then? Do we use our military t take over the port to get the supplies out? Is that our military’s job? And if we send aid workers to Afghanistan in such a large scale as Mr Wallis suggests, what happens when they are kidnapped by the Taliban, raped and beheaded on television? Will Mr Wallis be the one to stand up on television and say to the American people how the sacrifice was worthwhile for the “poor” in the foreign land?
Bottom line is this: Support our troops (i.e. peacemakers) and their families. Have a clear goal for the militray, accomplish that goal and get out. Anything other than that is a progressive’s blindness to reality.