Bishop Hope Morgan Ward: Being Close Together

Dear Friends,

Grace and peace to you as Jesus Christ comes bringing peace on earth.

Sharing the rich experience of pilgrimage to Palestine last month with women bishops from the Wesleyan and Anglican traditions, I experienced immersion in peace-building communities of people who live in the midst of ongoing and intractable conflict.

Bethlehem remains imprisoned behind a fortified separation wall. The people of the city of Christ’s birth live under constant threat and intense pressure.  One statistic demonstrates the incarnate reality: eighty percent of the children in Bethlehem show signs of trauma, anxiety and fear.

In Bethlehem, in the shadow of the wall, there is a center called Wi’am, which means “being close together” in Arabic.  Wi’am is a place for conflict transformation, restorative justice and mediation, countering overwhelming challenges with hopeful work among women, men, youth and children.

In this and in every place of conflict, we are called to be peacemakers.  In this holy season of Advent hope, we give thanks to God for the presence of an indispensable resource for The United Methodist Church and the world -  JustPeace, The Conflict Transformation Center of The United Methodist Church

JustPeace was born out of a yearning for life-giving ways of engaging conflict and a hope for conflict transformed.  The needs in our world continue and we respond with confidence through the one who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.”

JustPeace seasons the life of our church through teaching and resourcing, advancing our capacity to engage conflict constructively.   Through the ministry of JustPeace, United Methodist people are increasingly a healing and reconciling presence, drawing from the JustPeace well of guidance, training and coaching as we navigate conflict as faithful leaders.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of JustPeace, I invite you to year-end generosity to this essential ministry of The United Methodist Church.  Your gift can be made by check or on-line by credit card at:

http://justpeaceumc.org/donate/

The song of the angels resounds in every place of anxiety and conflict – “peace on earth, good will to all.”  Thank you for your partnership and generosity in this good work.

With gratitude for our life together in this holy season,

Bishop Hope Morgan Ward