Instruments of Peace

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;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

"Seek to live in harmony with all. Do not think you are better than others. Walk the road of life with the humble of heart, and do not be wise in your own eyes. No one should pay back evil with evil. Do what you know to be honorable in the eyes of another. If it is within your power, walk the road of peace with everyone" (Romans 12:16-18, First Nations Version).

Here is a resource that we've found helpful from the organization Amplify Peace. As followers of Jesus we want to be people of the Peace of God, bringing empathy, and peace into the areas of our lives and society where there's conflict. This is a learned skill, for which we need the empowerment of the Spirit.

 

ACTIVITY
Spend time as a group sharing on situation where you'd like to be a peacemaker.
Spend time discussing what you could come to understand about their perspective.

QUESTIONS

• Brainstorm ways people can show a desire to understand.
• Discuss the impact shifting you posture from seeking to be understood to seeking to understand can have on a conversation.
• Think about a current area when you are desiring to be a peacemaker. What would saying things like "tell me more" "how did you came to that understanding" do in your conversation?

ACTIVITY
Create a list of benefits of diversity. Think about what is to be gained from having different personalities, different experiences, different cultures, different people in a community.

QUESTIONS

• What is one good lesson you have learned from someone different than you?
• How could valuing difference help in peacemaking? What is hard about listening to different values, different experiences, different perspectives?
• Share a time when you listened to someone different than you. How ere they different, and how did your conversation go? (Different hometown, culture, views, etc.)

ACTIVITY
Pick two people from a group. Tell them each to think of a favorite meal, vacation location or activity. Tell person one separately that their goal is to convince the group their choice is the best. Tell the second person separately to share what they enjoy most about their choice and that their goal is to help the group understand its value. After each person shares, debrief together. What did the group hear, think, and feel? Any difference or similarities? What did each presenter think and feel as they shared?

QUESTIONS

• What is a communicator's goal in a debate? What is their goal in dialogue?
• How could these different goals impact how conversations happen: inform, convince, learn, teach, share, change, or control.
• Brainstorm ways to move from debate mode to dialogue mode.

ACTIVITY
Share a favorite movie or book with the group. The group will take turns asking the question in a respectful and disrespectful way. Debrief your experience both on the receiving end of the questions and on the end of forming questions to ask. Try asking a Who/What/When/Where/Why question about their perspective.

QUESTIONS

• Share the same question in a respectful and disrespectful way. What do you notice?
• What could a respectful question bring about?
• What gets in the way of asking respectful questions?

ACTIVITY
Spend time as a group sharing a part of your story. You could share an accomplishment you are proud of, a challenge you have overcome, or a how you grew up. Set a timer and give each person 5 or 10 minutes.

QUESTIONS

• Discuss what happens when we hear more of someone's story.
• What could happen if we seek to be aware of someone's journey?
• Where could you continue to practice to share different parts of your story?

ACTIVITY
Think of a close friend/spouse/family member. How do you honor the relationship over the need to be right?

QUESTIONS

• How could you honor people over the need to be right? What would the opposite of that look like?
• What could honoring someone's dignity look like in a: disagreement, in a conversation, in the stories we share about people later?

ACTIVITY
Spend time sharing stories of other peacemakers. Listen to Amplify Peace Podcast stories together.

QUESTIONS

• Share how faith impacts your perspective of peacemaking.
• Share a story of a peacemaker you have heard about (books, podcasts, history, etc.).
• Every drop of peace is valuable. Discuss how your life of practicing peace is valuable to peacemaking.