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THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, July 22, 2010
METHODIST CHURCH, WEIRS-1889
by Rev. Victoria Wood Parrish Contributing Writer
“And they will hammer
their swords into plow- shares and their spears into pruning hooks. Na- tion will not lift up sword against nation and nei- ther shall they learn war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 3:4
I was at the annual meeting of all the United Methodist Churches in
COMMUNITY CHURCH MEDITATIONS SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES
New England recently. In one of the worship ser- vices, little steel bells were handed out and people were asked to ring them at a certain time in the prayer for peace. The bells had been made from piec- es of exploded and unex- ploded land mines, bullet casings and other war implements. They had been made in
a war zone in Cambodia to be used as bells on the animals the farmers were raising. They are also
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distributed to Christians through Church World Service. These were the swords and spears of the modern age, beaten into implements of life and prayer, especially prayers for peace. Our world is filled with people who are killing in the name of their reli- gion. Likewise, history is filled with warfare in the name of religion. Some- times it is a political fight that uses the name of religion, such as Protes- tants against Catholics in Ireland. Sometimes it is an ideological fight, such as the Crusades, but still tinged with the desire for personal power. Some- times there is no connec- tion between faith and action at all, as with The Lord’s Liberation Army is Uganda and Congo, but the words of faith are misused to gain support of those who aren’t paying attention. But is it really in the
name of God? Or is it for personal reasons? The “convert or die” atti-
tude of history, not based in the teachings of our
leaders, has become a standard for many people today. We have said, “God
wants us to have this continent,” therefore we can wipe out the people who lived here before us. In Ireland, conflict arose because the Protestant Scots were moved out of Scotland against their will and resettled in Catholic Ireland, dispossessing the inhabitants – but it was a political move of the English king against the Scots, not a truly religious war. The Crusades, alleg- edly to rescue Jerusalem from Muslims, was really a political expansionist move. And today, in the Middle East, the jihad of Islam is being used as a basis for terrorism, and innocent people are being killed. I don’t believe that all warfare will stop, no mat- ter how hard people of faith work for peace. How- ever, we should be hon- est about why we fight. I know that we misquote our religious leaders to give ourselves permission to fight “in their name.” When Jesus said that his words would be a sword that divided families, he didn’t mean they should kill each other, but that some would chose to fol-
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Sundays at 8 AM and 10 AM Sunday School for All Ages at 10 AM
“Dear children! With joy, I call you all to live my messages with joy; only in this way, little children, will you be able to be closer to my Son. I desire to lead you all only to Him, and in Him you will find true peace and the joy of your heart. I bless you all and love you with immeasurable love. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
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low and others would not – and that would divide families. I am not a Mus- lim, but from what I have read, it wasn’t Mohammed who said “kill anyone who doesn’t believe in what I say”. Instead he included the religious leaders of other faiths as prophets. Recently I heard a Mus-
lim cleric over the radio who said that anyone who killed in the name of their faith has no real faith. Years ago, I saw a poster that said “All wars would cease if Christians would stop killing each other.” I believe that there is a
world-wide battle between good and evil, but we need to be careful not to use our religious conviction to give ourselves permis- sion to do what we know is wrong. And we need to think about what we are doing. Seventy- f ive people
killed by terrorists as they watched the World Cup games. That wasn’t a religious act – it was an evil act. I believe all good comes
from God. As religious people, let’s work together for good.
Rev. Victoria Wood Par-
rish is the pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Gilford, NH, located on Route 11-A. It is a congregation of open hearts, open minds, and open doors. We invite you to worship with us on Sun- days at 8:30 and 10:30 AM. Children’s activities and nursery are available during the 10:30 morning worship. We also invite you to the United Method- ist Church in the Weirs, 35 Tower St., which worships at 9:30 AM. There are also many other local congrega- tions who would welcome you to worship.
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