Commentary; Posted: 3/21/07
FL church will have discussions on peace
By Gwen Hansen
Thank you for the excellent editorial, “What will it take to get war debate?” (Cliff Buchan's Final Draft, published on March 8, 2007)
Some adults at Faith Lutheran in Forest Lake have spent the last month discussing peace, a just war, terrorism and gaining insight into Islam and Judaism.
It surprised many of us that the number of Jews in the world is 15 million — 5 million in Israel, 5 million in New York City and 5 million in the rest of the world — no wonder so many individuals living in small Midwest communities have little awareness of the beliefs and practices of Jews.
The diversity of the 1.5 billion Muslims and the 2 billion Christians in the world is great.
These differences cause difficulty for the Shiites and the Sunnis; the differences among Christians are also great and sometimes violent.
In the editorial a paragraph begins with “In a perfect world. . .” We do not have a perfect world, but respecting other’s point of view and sharing ideas, visions, and dreams, we too may learn and grow and perhaps contribute to awareness and problem solving.
Arrangements have been made for two sessions in April to discuss many of the ideas that were mentioned in the editorial — many of the facts that concern us as citizens. The discussion will take place in the educational wing of Faith Lutheran from 10:15-11:15 a.m., April 15 and 22.
We will “. . .put down our remotes. . .” and hopefully discern positive actions that may be communicated to our “Congressional leaders.”
The sessions on peace at Faith were the result of a request to each of the 6000 plus congregations that comprise the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Thank you again for an excellent editorial.
Peace
The writer lives in Forest Lake
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