Update of the Just Peace Process (Will Miller)

Part of my job at Christ Church United is to help us organize to meet our strategic goals.  To become known in the next five years as a "Courageous Church" is a mission goal that is high on our list.

We are organizing this effort around considering whether we will call ourselves a "Just Peace" church.  In brief, this is a process supported by the United Church of Christ, that will help us identify what our role is in furthering justice and peace in our world.  Why "Just Peace"?  Martin Luther King said, "No Justice, No Peace."  He did not mean that as a threat of violence, but as a recognition that without justice there can be no lasting peace.

So where is Christ Church United in this process?  

We have accomplished the first steps in our exploratory work.

• Step 1 – Create a space for the Just Peace Process - Done.
• Step 2 - Form a Just Peace Committee to steer the Just Peace process - Done

Our next steps include our grounding ourselves in the biblical process.  Peter and Ruth will lead us in this.  Then in the fall the Just Peace Committee will begin writing a Just Peace covenant that fits us well.  Finally the committee will present the covenant for consideration to the Church Coordinating Council and then the congregation.

It would be nice if we could just sit and wait for that process to resolve itself.  The world, however, does not wait for us to decide what we are going to do or be.  The world presents us with opportunities to step up or sit back.  We have stepped up to the Sanctuary Movement for refugees.  We have stepped up to helping financially with visa needs, support for a Cambodian missionary/church organizer and in support housing for the homeless in Lowell.  We are stepping up to address the opioid crisis, to work with Massachusetts Peace Action and in many other ways.

To let the world know about our efforts we now have a "Peace Justice" area on our public web site.

If you want to be a more active part of this work, contact Pastor Peter, anyone on the Just Peace Committee or use the contact for below to send a note to me.

If you would like to receive email updates specifically about Just Peace work at Christ Church United, let me know by emailing will@wewelcomeall.org.

It is good to work with a community of faith that takes their justice and peace ministry seriously.

Will Miller, Director of Operations and Community Engagement