Notice During the Covid-19 Outbreak
In solidarity, we at the Interfaith Peace Project stand together in these times of heart break and upset. Some of you may have lost friends or family members. Some of you may have lost your job and your income; some may be working overtime to help with the crisis. Some of you may be home and alone and some may be trying to figure out a new way to live. Please let us know how we can help. If you would like a phone appointment with any of us, give us a call.You may call or email Tom at:
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November 21, 2020
A PEACEFUL THANKSGIVING
Continuing to Celebrate The International Day of Peace
Continuing to Celebrate The International Day of Peace
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There is a powerful passage in the Book of Ecclesiastes:
There is a season for everything under heaven
A time to speak and a time to be quiet.
A time to speak and a time to be quiet.
Perhaps the time has come to be quiet, to look beyond the current impasse in our Nation. It is time to stop arguing and, instead, dedicate ourselves to a new beginning based on hope, creativity, and dedication.
The current intransigence of the Trump Administration to actively and respectfully participate in a smooth transition to the New Administration is life-threatening to many, frustrating to most, and dangerous for all.
For over four years, many have attempted to dialogue with and understand the people caught up in this unfortunate phenomenon. Many books have explored everything from the ignoring of the white working class to the arrogance of the so-called liberal elite searching to make sense of our cultural and political divide. Attempts at repentance, apology, compromise, or surrender have resulted in nothing but self-righteousness, bitterness, and anxiety. America remains seriously divided and deeply wounded. But there is more to the story.
Many conservatives, liberals, progressives and visionaries have joined together for the sake of the Nation and the World. Several perspectives come to mind:
- Compromise is not a dirty word but an art ensuring the voices of the entire society will be heard.
- The “common good” is not a socialistic term or a communist idea. We are called to live responsibly with a sense of care for one another.
- Selfishness is not a virtue. The government and its resources are not the plaything of those charged with power. Leadership demands virtue and integrity.
- Governmental and political leaders are called to be servants of the Nation and that empowers them to govern with fairness, equity, and compassion.
- Liberty and justice are meant for all people, everywhere and all the time. As America faces its past sins, it begins anew to become the Nation it was meant to be with liberty and justice for all.
We need to stop arguing with those who are hurting because the past is fading and a new World is emerging. The last Presidential election contains the seeds of hope and the reasons to be grateful. Young people, minority voters, first time voters, and courageous citizens from everywhere voted in record numbers. They are the voices of the future giving us new hope in the present moment. We must hear them, dialogue with them, meet them, and be changed by them. They have something to say. We have something to hear.
It is a time to listen to those who speak of what was once only a dream.
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