We also noted that the "Hunger for Justice" campaign led by
Christian Aid is being marked on the third weekend in October this year. UK Unitarians sponsor Christian Aid as our strategic
partner for delivery of aid towards justice.
Peace and justice were seen as being inextricable, peace not
even being possible unless first there is justice. We had a reading from the old Chinese
tradition of Taoism, suggesting that personal and disciplined acts of peace
within each life are necessary for peace to become a reality for nations. We had a reading from the Jesus tradition where
Jesus said that before you can have peace you must have justice, and that
justice hurts, and breaks both things and assumptions, and stirs things up. How working for peace will break relationships
that we might not want broken, and how it will cost us personally if we get
serious in our search for peace. There
is nothing easy about it and we are in danger of turning away from the task.
Our prayers were taken from the Pagan, Anglican, Hindu and
Jewish traditions. And we heard a vivid
poem about how the clearing up really gets done after a war – and after the
media circus has left town. We heard and
joined in with some wonderful pre-recorded hymns sung by the Unitarian Music
Society, and discussed the deeply thoughtful lyrics.
We lit candles for our own concerns about peace. We meditated on our own confusion about how
our own actions can really make a difference, and what we can do if we want
peace but the person we are dealing with just doesn’t want peace but revels in
discord and power struggles.
Of course, we found no simple answers; but we each went away
feeling the time together had been precious.
