Just Peace Sunday 2024
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The Thirtieth General Synod called on the congregations of the United Church of Christ to mark the Sunday preceding September 21 (which the United Nation recognizes as the “International Day of Prayer for Peace”) as Just Peace Sunday.
In 2024, Just Peace Sunday is Sept. 15
“Things That Make for Peace”
“As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that makes for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of you visitation from God.” – Luke 19:41-49
As we see in the news and around us, violence and conflict are all too common in our communities and around the globe. Just as Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem, it is right that we mourn in the face of the suffering and pain around us. It is right that we lament— even weep – not only as a response to the violence around us but also our own failure to recognize that another way is possible, a more just and peaceful world that lies just beyond our reach.
As Christians, we are called to follow God’s movement and Jesus’ ministry to the margins – to be in proximity and prayer with communities and places in pain. We must not remain at an emotional arm’s length, but rather, like Jesus, at times draw “near” to the anguish if we are to be in true solidarity with others. Let us consider several places today that demand our attention.
The Council on Foreign Relations has a “Global Conflict Tracker” that maps out major points of conflict at any given moment. Currently there are nearly thirty places of major conflict and war around the world, including the prolonged 2 ½ year war between Ukraine and Russia that has killed over 30,000 civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides. Likewise, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has killed over 40,000 Palestinians and led to a massive humanitarian crisis, which the United Church of Christ has recently labeled as genocide. Prisoners and hostages remain imprisoned, and recent provocations risk escalating the war into a wider conflict with Iran and Lebanon.
In Africa, the ongoing civil war in Sudan has killed over 15,000 people, and an astonishing 8.2 million are displaced. In Latin America, gang violence in Mexico and other countries fuels migration just as Colombia’s peace process remains tenuous. Across Asia, a civil war is worsening in Myanmar and tensions are increasing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
In the United States, gun violence, domestic violence, hate crimes, and systemic attacks on vulnerable communities are so prevalent they often do not make the news. Our nation is bracing for possible election violence as our children are raised amidst a culture of violence.
As we draw close to the realities of our world, and near to the pain, it is right that we weep.
However, as Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and felt the pain of empire and communal violence, Jesus also pointed to another way. He called us to recognize the “things that make for peace.” Too often, we fail to see these “things”, the practices and techniques that do make peace, just as we fail to celebrate the peacemakers doing that work (despite Jesus calling them “blessed” in his Sermon on the Mount). When is the last time we honored individuals working in fields of peacebuilding, diplomacy, or conflict resolution at a local sporting event, or even in our churches? Despite the vision of Isaiah 2:4, we continue to bend our global resources not into plowshares, but just more swords as military spending rises to historic levels.
While those “things that make for peace” may seem hidden given the state of the world, they are there if we look closely. For years the United Church of Christ has lifted up Just Peace principles, 10 Just Peacemaking Practices, and a commitment to nonviolence to bring about our vision of a Just World for All. Additionally, we engage directly and collaborate with partners to support greater diplomacy, development, and direct peacebuilding efforts.
On this Just Peace Sunday, let us draw near to the cities, the people, the places of pain and suffering in the world. Let us weep together, but also keep watch for ways in which God is at work drawing us toward peace. Let us recognize, learn about, and celebrate the “things that make for peace” as well as the peacemakers in our world. Let us recommit to the “way” of peace that Jesus lived and promises to give us (“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”) not as the world gives but through the way of forgiveness, the way of nonviolence, the way of peace, the way of love. Finally, let us be reminded of our UCC Statement of Faith and together take “courage” in the struggle for justice and peace.
-Rev. Michael Neuroth, Director of the Washington D.C. Office
JOIN US IN Observing Just Peace Sunday:
Liturgical Resources
- Just Peace Sunday 2024 Litany (compiled by Rev. Dr. Sheila Harvey, Rev. Amber Henry Neuroth, Rev. Denise Andersen, and Rev. Alice Harper Jones)
- Sermon Spark “Things That Make for Peace”, by Rev. Dr. Sheila Harvey
- A Just Peace Litany Rooted in God’s Love, by Rev. Dr. Sheila Harvey
- “Things that Make for Peace” sermon by Rev. Bob Moore delivered at First Baptist Church of Church of Princeton
- The full service can be viewed here. The sermon begins at the 50 minute mark.
- “What is the Bread of Life?” sermon by Rev. Adam Ericksen
- “A Just Peace Begins in the Heart” sermon by Rev. Denise Andersen
- The Peacemakers Litany by Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon
- Presbyterian Church (USA) Bible Study on the “Things that Make for Peace”
Music
New Century Hymnal
- i. Peace I Leave with You, My friends #249
- ii. This Is My Song #591
- iii. O God of Love, O God of Peace #571
- iv. Take My Life God, Let It Be #448
- v. Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ #347
Sing Prayer and Praise Hymnal
- i. Come, My People #12
- ii. Come to the Waters #3
- iii. Santa Espiritu #1
- iv. There’s a Spirit of Love in this Place
- iv. Like a Healing Stream, #73
- vi. Peace #193
- vii. Deep Peace #201
Art for Just Peace Sunday
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Articles for Reflection
- “The Things that Make for Peace” by Rev. Shari Prestemon, 2023.
- “Positive Peace”, by Rev. Shari Prestemon, 2024.
- The Things That Make For Peace: Moving the World to Reconciliation and Unity, World Council of Churches.
- Alternatives to War, Friends Committee on National Legislation, June 2024.
Youth and Young Adult Activities
Prayers for Reflection
Peace “not merely the word, but a real and concrete peace” to our abandoned and excluded brothers and sisters, to those who suffer hunger and to all the victims of violence. Peace to exiles, migrants and refugees, to all those who in our day are subject to human trafficking. Peace to the peoples who suffer because of the economic ambitions of the few, because of the sheer greed and the idolatry of money, which leads to slavery. Peace to those affected by social and economic unrest, and to those who endure the consequences of earthquakes or other natural catastrophes.
Peace on earth to men and women of goodwill, who work quietly and patiently each day, in their families and in society, to build a more humane and just world, sustained by the conviction that only with peace is there the possibility of a more prosperous future for all.
Pope Francis’ Christmas address, 2016
Together in the heart
Pray not for Arab or Jew, for Palestinian or Israeli,
but pray rather for yourselves, that you may not divide them in your prayers
but keep them both together in in your hearts.
I will be truthful.
I will suffer no injustice.
I will be free from fear.
I will not use force.
I will be of good will to all.
Mahatma Gandhi
Lead me from death to life
from falsehood to truth.
Lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill my heart, my world, my universe.
Amen.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
St. Francis
I am Peace, surrounded by Peace, secure in Peace.
Peace protects me
Peace supports me
Peace is in me
Peace is mine – All is well.
Peace to all beings
Peace among all beings
I am steeped in Peace
Absorbed in Peace
In the streets, at our work, having peaceful thoughts,
Peaceful words, peaceful acts.
Buddhist Meditation
O God,
you love justice and you establish peace on earth.
We bring before you the disunity of today’s world:
the absurd violence, and the many wars,
which are breaking the courage of the peoples of the world;
militarism and the armaments race, which are
threatening life on the planet;
human greed and injustice,
which breed hatred and strife.
Send your Spirit and renew the face of the earth;
teach us to be compassionate toward the whole human family; strengthen the will of all those who fight for justice and for peace;
lead all nations into the path of peace,
and give us that peace which the world cannot give.
Amen.
This prayer from Zaire is found in the Prayers for the World section of the Book of Common Worship: Daily Prayer edition
May we as a nation be guided by the divine to rediscover the sacred flame of our national heritage, which so many have given their lives to safeguard;
Let the wounds of separation and division be healed by opening our hearts to listen to the truth on all sides, allowing us to find a higher truth that includes us all;
May we learn to honor and enjoy our diversity and differences as a people, even as we more deeply touch our fundamental unity;
May we as a people, undergo a transformation that will draw forth individuals to lead our nation who embody courage compassion, and a higher vision.
May our leaders inspire us, and we so inspire each other, that a new spirit of forgiveness, caring and honesty be born in our world;
May we as a united people, move with clear, directed purpose to make our place within the community of nations to help build a better future for all humankind;
May we as a nation rededicate ourselves to truly living as one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all;
And may God’s will be done for the United States, as we, the people, align with that will.
Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson
For the expanding grandeur of Creation,
worlds known and unknown,
galaxies beyond galaxies,
filling us with awe and challenging our imaginations:
We give thanks this day.
For this fragile planet earth,
its times and tides, its sunsets and seasons:
We give thanks this day.
For the joy of human life,
its wonders and surprises, its hopes and achievements:
We give thanks this day.
For our human community,
our common past and future hope,
our oneness transcending all separation,
our capacity to work for peace and justice in the midst of hostility and oppression:
We give thanks this day.
For high hopes and noble causes, for faith without fanaticism,
for understanding of views not shared:
We give thanks this day.
For all who have labored and suffered for a fairer world,
who have lived so that others might live in dignity and freedom:
We give thanks this day.
For human liberty and sacred rites;
for opportunities to change and grow, to affirm and choose:
We give thanks this day.
We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes, not by our words but by our deeds.
We give thanks this day.
O. Eugene Pickett
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
Chinese Philospher Lao-tse, 6th century BCE
People’s Prayers for Peace
The UCC has issued an open invitation for people to offer a prayer to end violence in any manifestation, and to bring about peace. Share your prayers using the People’s Prayers for Peace form
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A Just Peace Canopy, Rev. David Long Higgins (December 2023)
God of shalom,
Cover Your creation
With a canopy of just peace
Drawing everything
Ever deeper
Into Your shade of Love.
Uproot in me
Every presumption I carry
That keeps me from hearing
The anguish of another’s story,
Often drowned out
By my overfull narrative
Too frequently rehearsed
In protection of ideas
Needing Your Holy revision.
By Your love,
Cultivate in me a courage
To foster the necessary space
To be patiently present to others.
At the same time, grant me
Strength for courageous impatience
With anything diminishing
Or denying the full humanity
Of any of Your beloved children.
Yes, reshape my soul
And multiply my energy
For whatever is necessary
To foster space
For a just peace
Honoring Your abundance
Perpetually poured out
For everyone, everywhere.
Let this begin
With those nearest to me
In conversations so ordinary
Their peacemaking potential
Is often easily overlooked
In fruitless search of ego’s
Insistent preoccupations
Form in me instead
A vulnerable availability
To these most urgent
And necessary small steps
Bending me toward
Your Bethlehem promise
Where Your Word dares
To birth impossible peace
Swaddled with justice
Using ordinary people
All made possible by You.
Yes, Love, form me
For this Holy work
Of just peacemaking
Bearing your deepest desire
Of flourishing fullness and joy
Into a world weary
With wars large and small
Resisting your vision
At every turn.
By this, cover Your creation
With a canopy of just peace
Drawing everything
Ever deeper
Into Your shade of Love
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Blessed are the Peacemakers! Read about, support, and pray for these UCC partners and peacemakers:
- Community Peacemaker Teams
- WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel
- Justapaz
- Korea Peace Appeal
- International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
- The Church of Christ in the Congo (Ecumenical effort that works with displaced peoples (IDPs), peacemaking efforts)
General Resources
Download the Just Peace Handbook
In 2015, the 30th General Synod held in Cleveland, OH marked the UCC’s 30th anniversary as a Just Peace Church and called for a renewal of the UCC’s Just Peace witness. This booklet is intended to accompany this resolution and be a resource for all levels and areas of the church for further work and witness, especially to local congregations declaring or recommitting themselves as “Just Peace Churches.” This resource includes a summary of the historical and theological uniqueness of the Just Peace vision; the biblical and theological grounding for Just Peace values; and recommended steps for how to become a Just Peace Church. (Download.)
Find additional resources here.
What is Just Peace?
Just Peace is not a destination, but a path requiring awareness and constant vigilance to resolve existing and developing conflict in ourselves, our families, our communities, our institutions, and our world. This path requires non-violence when possible and even when impossible to engage in love and restraint. Just Peace envisions a renewed, vibrant, diverse, and sustainable world free of violence.
Just Peace is grounded in God’s activity in creation; God’s covenant patience and provision in the wilderness; in the reconciling activity of Jesus Christ; in the presence of the Holy Spirit; and in the community of reconciliation. Shalom is the vision that pulls all creation toward a time when weapons are made into ploughs and all creatures lie down together without fear; where all have their own vine, fig tree, and dwell secure from want. As Christians, we offer this conviction to the world: Peace is possible!