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Contributed by Rev. Dr. Trish Hall, Center for Spiritual Living, Metro

As the daily news bombards us with images of war and natural disasters, and anxiety attendant to the upcoming Presidential election swirls around us, I invite you to take a moment to consider the following blessing that I shared at a recent interfaith gathering.  I believe this benediction lifts up the values so many of us share, and I hope brings you a renewed sense of purpose and peace.

Gathered as our varied faiths, we share our deepest hope to be of service to a transforming world and our common dream of: 

• Homes and schools where children thrive,
• Neighborhoods that are safe and clean,
• Cities rich in colors and cultures,
• An economy where no one is expendable,
• A beloved community where all people have the
  opportunity for a dignified and productive life; and
• A community in which all churches, mosques, synagogues, spiritual centers and temples are respected essential members

We give thanks for the blessings of the world community and turn our thoughts toward peace and inclusiveness as we dedicate our hearts and hands to unconditional love and commit to creating and sustaining thriving inclusive and peaceful communities, now.

Salaam, Shalom, Namasté, Ashanti, Amen and So it is.

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.

Contributed by Stephen Wickman, St. Thomas Episcopal

As much as some might disparage public broadcasting, the BBC provides a wonderful service allowing members of the British faith community to share their thoughts.

I was reminded of this over the weekend when the BBC “Thought For the Day” covered the latest developments in what some call empathy education. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/

In fact, when I looked online, I noticed that the word empathy appears quite frequently in BBC podcasts from religious leaders of all backgrounds.

In this particular podcast, the presenter (the Reverend Dr. Rob Marshall) made the point that empathy has a spiritual as well as a physical and mental dimension. While his point was directed at developments in elementary education, it also has a broader application. Too many of us find it very difficult to empathize with people who have starkly different points of view.

As we head into an election season in a very polarized society it is especially important for us to think about how best we can empathize with people who hold vastly different points of view from ours. Please join us at Tyson’s Interfaith on October 6^th when we talk about these issues with professor Al Fuertes of George Mason University, who will discuss how spirituality can help us overcome our differences and be more empathetic toward people holding different points of views.

To learn more about and to register for the Tysons Interfaith/George Mason University October 6 event, please visit:  LINK.

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.

Contributed by:  Susan Posey, Redeemer Lutheran

“Be Imitators of God” was the title of our Pastor’s recent sermon.  My thought was, “Well, that’s a pretty tall order – exactly how are we to do that?”  Pastor Sandy Kessinger’s sermon was based on Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2.  What are these instructions and how do they apply to the here and now when many of us are overwhelmed by current events and simply cannot understand the political views of some of our friends, neighbors and family members?

Is feeling anger ever appropriate?  Yes!  Pastor Kessinger’s take is that, “It is the emotion that kicks in when we fight injustice or unfairness, when we need to defend our rights or the rights of others.”  She goes on to say that it is what we do with our anger that makes it either destructive or instructive.  According to Paul, we are to, “speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.  Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.” (Ephesians 4: 25-27).  Our challenge, according to Pastor Kessinger, is to “express our needs in such a way that we show respect to others and ourselves.”  “We are not to tell lies but always speak the truth in love.  It is okay to be angry but we are not to let our anger linger or turn into sin.”

And if that is not challenge enough, Pastor Kessinger went on to say:

“On the heels of dealing with anger in good and healthy ways, we hear the call to be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving.  I believe it is that element of forgiveness that helps to distinguish us from others.  We are to forgive each other as God forgives us.  We are to love each other as God loves us.  We are to lead selfless, God-pleasing lives.  It is in these ways that we stand in union with the grace-filled activity of God.  It is in these ways that we are imitators of God.  We are all created to be like God so let that light shine for the world to see.”

All of Ephesians Chapter 4, Pastor Kessinger surmises, is Paul making the point that who we are is reflected in what we do.  “Simply put, Paul says, we are to be imitators of God.”

On October 6, Tysons Interfaith will partner with Dr. Al Fuertes of George Mason to present a webinar discussion about how our spiritual side or our religious traditions can help us bridge emotional divisions.  I hope many will join us for this timely and important conversation.  In the meantime, Pastor Kessinger’s commentary on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is an example of one Christian community’s take on how to handle today’s difficult conversations.  For me, this message is a great source of instruction, inspiration and hope for the future.  I hope it is for you as well.

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.

Contributed By: Stephen Wickman, St. Thomas Episcopal

Earlier this summer, I was blessed to attend a reunion on the Eastern Shore.  Unfortunately, while there, I got into two heated conversations about politics—one with the husband of a friend of 60 years and the other with a total stranger in a bar. While I was away, I missed the wise words of our Deacon in training from the pulpit.  You can read the full text of her message HERE. And, upon returning, I received in my inbox a wonderful podcast interview with Krista Tibbit that was hosted by Sarah Jones and offers a hopeful way to approach these difficult conversations.  (It’s entitled: “Are You There God with Krista Tippet.”  A link to the recording and transcript can be found HERE.)

Our Deacon, Mary Cushing, offers practical advice. We should “recognize that every single person we encounter is a beloved child of God, even the person who most raises our political hackles. That doesn’t mean we can’t disagree. It doesn’t mean that we need to be silent. What it does mean is that the way we engage needs to be the way of Jesus: the way of love….extending others some grace. In non-church-y words, that means giving them the benefit of the doubt. People in ‘the other’ political camp probably aren’t loony or brainwashed. For the most part, they arrived at their positions the same way ‘we’ did, by a thoughtful process.”

Krista observes: “[I]f we can overcome our very unreasonable desire that people be simple, and we can just decide their one thing or the other and dismiss them or call them our friend, then we could say, okay, you believe this one thing that really feels, can even feel harmful to my identity and harmful to our world. And yet here’s this thing that we are both passionate about, that is good for our world. Can we at least be in conversation or even some kind of partnership around that?”

We at Tysons Interfaith are working with Dr. Al Fuertes of George Mason University on a webinar to be held October 6, right in the middle of a heated election season, to talk about how our spiritual side or our religious traditions can help bridge these emotional divisions. Please put this date on your calendar and join us in conversation.

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.

Contributed by Dr. Trish Hall, Center for Spiritual Living, Metro

The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is May 29.  In this two-part series, Dr. Trish Hall explores the concepts of peacekeeping and peacemaking, and the importance of “being peace” in our world.

In the days following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Russell M. Nelson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, called on members of his church and the people of the world to become peacemakers.

Nelson declared, “The path to becoming a peacemaker is often misunderstood. We too often focus on outward behaviors rather than the principles of peacemaking. Peacemaking is a quest that will test the best within us.”

Many peacekeepers and peacemakers are pacifists – people who believe that war and violence are unjustifiable.  Peacemakers and peacekeepers share a single purpose: to create a world that works for all.  How they approach achieving their shared goal of Peace is different.  Both are needed as we grow human understanding.

Peacekeepers tend to focus on controlling behaviors.  They do their utmost to maintain critical balance to prevent new hostilities. Peacekeeping is often frustratingly temporary as Nelson pointed out: “It controls surface behavior without solving the underlying issues that ignite anger, contempt, and distrust.” 

Peacemakers seek to go beyond containment to unearthing the causes that burst forth as war, domestic assaults, race-riots, and gang violence. Through in-depth conversations into potentially volatile topics, mediation, negotiation and education they work to change outward behaviors from the inside by expanding understanding and building new relationships.

Both require:

Self-awareness – What is the state of your inner being?  Are you peace, not just peaceful?  Start your self-discovery by sitting quietly, allow your thoughts to slow down and become totally present with yourself.  Release your engagement with your external and internal environment.  What are you sensing? Draw Peace into your awareness.  Sense Peace.  Continue to be peaceful, affirm “I am Peace.”

Keen Alertness – Both our internal and external worlds are subject to anxiety and strife.  We must be sensitive to what we are experiencing: Is it coming from our personal history?  Is the current environment awakening old, unresolved issues?  Are we taking on the emotions around us?  To be present, alert observers, we must not get enmeshed in circumstances.  We must differentiate intuitively in the moment, what is stemming from our internal world and what is originating externally.  This may seem tricky.  How can we deeply sense what is going on, without engagement and assess without interpreting, judging, or projecting?

It all begins in consciousness. We must challenge ourselves, clarify our convictions and honestly assess why we identify ourselves as peace people.  What is it that is calling us to embrace being a stand for peace as our personal responsibility – to show up as Peace?

Next, we discern Divine Guidance and invite it to inform us as to how we are to be.  Whether you engage in fervent plenary prayer, follow a practice of visioning, use the powerful practice of affirmative prayer or any other form, do what is yours to do to open to the Divine, open to the wisdom of the One Creator, listen to and glean guidance from Spirit.

Lastly, we must clearly, courageously do what Spirit within has decreed.  Many of us have “heard a call,” even felt it deeply, and then let it fade.  “Life got in the way.”  Whether in prayer circles, meditation groups, uplifting individuals or being a mighty voice that can enroll others in changing how our populations relate to one another, we are the only ones that can shift the consciousness of our world in our particular way.

You may not realize your own importance or may question how what you do could possibly have any effect on much of anything, yet as Dr. Margaret Wheatley said, “One of the things we need to learn is that very great change starts from very small conversations, held among people who care.  Forget about the politics … What are the things that you really have deep, abiding concern for?  What is it you really have some passion for?  If you go into that question for yourself, you will find the energy to go forward.”  You will undoubtedly attract others who share your concerns. By asking crucial questions, you set change in motion, you unveil hidden limiting beliefs at their root, reveal pivotal misunderstandings and discover new possibilities.

Immerse yourself in the sensations of being a peace person – of letting the world know what you are by your presence, your words and actions.  You are Peace.

Feel the vibrancy of being fully engaged as Peace.  See and feel making a difference in your own unique way.  You are Peace.

Well … don’t just sit there … Be it!  Do it! 

Start right now, in this new, now, present moment!  Be a Peace Presence.  

Remember:  Everything you do matters!

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writers and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.

Contributed by Dr. Trish Hall, Center for Spiritual Living, Metro

The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is May 29.  In this two-part series, Dr. Trish Hall explores the concepts of peacekeeping and peacemaking, and the importance of “being peace” in our world.

Do you have the courage to live your values even when confronted by powerful opposing views?  Are you willing to stand with the oppressed, those who may have been treated unjustly?  Do you have what it takes to sit in the fire of heated conversations to reveal harmonious solutions? If you answered, ‘yes’ to these questions, you may be a “peacemaker”.

In the early 1990’s I met a woman who was home on respite.  She was a peacekeeper in Palestine.  Hearing her stories of life in the occupied Gaza Strip were very different from the perspective I had accepted from the media.  She was a Methodist serving Muslims, there to escort children to school and accompany adults to work.  Faith traditions were irrelevant, only her commitment to be a presence for Peace mattered.  She showed us pictures of spectacular scenery and beautiful olive groves and told of guns fired through the trees not aimed specifically at the men picking olives but instead to impose economic harm by scaring them from harvesting their crop. She told about walking the children to school and being stopped on the street by armed military personnel.  We learned that she prayed every day for safe passage for the children and their families.  Peacekeepers, whether serving as escorts, negotiating disarmament agreements, or removing landmines and explosives abandoned after wars, are clear about who they are and why they do what they do.

Peacekeepers are committed to moving world populations to safer ways of being … to peace with one another and within themselves.  Peacekeepers come from all walks of life, in all sizes, ages and ethnicities, and play all roles in family and community (locally and internationally). For some it is a passion, a spiritual calling, a career, and for many a synthesis that shows up in every aspect of their lives.  Years ago, we were called “peace-nics.” 

Every May 29th, the United Nations celebrates International Peacekeepers Day.  The day honors the more than 115,000 current members of the UN Peacekeeping Force and pays tribute to those who have lost their lives trying to make the world a better place.  Since its creation 76 years ago, more than a million civilians and law enforcement personnel from 125 countries have served.

The UN Peacekeepers “wage a war against war.”  There to protect and care for civilians, disarm ex-combatants, ensure ceasefires are kept and rules of law are observed, they support free and fair democracy with special emphasis on protecting human rights and particularly the rights and voices of women.

Gratefully, we join in this honoring, and we know that peacemaking and peacekeeping are the responsibility of each and every one of us! 

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writers and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.