Growing up in a rural congregation in northern Alberta and now attending a church in Toronto has allowed me to experience the Presbyterian Church in a variety of settings. My recent experience at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Kingston, Jamaica gave me a new image of the Christian faith that is bigger than the PCC; an image of a global church that is based upon humanity and similarity.
The conference broke down the denominational barriers that often divide rather than unite the church. As a young adult steward, I worked with other young adults from around the world who came from various backgrounds and denominations. Although we were not always in perfect harmony, conflicts usually stemmed from differing personalities and never created situations where friendship was lost. Ecumenism may test and try, but the value of the community created is worth the struggle. The church is meant to be united. We share common goals according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and working together we can reach farther and do more.
The IEPC was hosted by the World Council of Churches in May, celebrated the end of the Decade to Overcome Violence (2001 – 2011), and discussed the role of churches in building a more peaceful world. As a young adult steward, I spent most of my time handing out headsets, giving directions, answering questions and assisting where needed. The conference culminated in a final message to be sent to the WCC’s General Assembly in Busan, South Korea in 2013; the document is available online.
The convocation focused on four areas: peace in the community, peace in the marketplace, peace with the earth and peace among the peoples. The gathering caused me to reflect on the role of the church and the ecumenical community in issues of justice and peace, and where we are complicit in maintaining systems of injustice that hold us all back from living in a peaceful world.
In Canada, the church and nation have been actively involved in the injustices toward aboriginal peoples. Though residential schooling no longer exists, the legacy of these actions and many others remain, and the legacy has failed to be adequately addressed. Apologizing and reconciling is positive but until it is matched with equitable opportunities, the injustice continues.
We work against peace by the way we conduct ourselves within a “free” market that maintains a system where the global North profits at the expense of the global South; where locally the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. We fail to be at peace with the earth as we waste energy heating large and often poorly insulated buildings, fail to enact recycling and composting programs, and show a lack of ambition to mitigate the negative impact we have on the environment. We actively discriminate and build injustice into our communities when we discredit homosexuals who feel the call to ministry but find the church blocking their way.
It continues to be a challenge to exist in an earthly world with such different systems than those of heaven. The church is a wonderful place and does good work, but it has more work to do in the fight towards greater justice and peace.
