Advent Peace Testimony

Quakers have a testimony of peace;

by testimony we mean a call to bear witness by our words and actions to our ideals.

Our Faith and Practice says: 

"Our peace testimony begins with opposition to war and is a positive affirmation of the power of good to overcome evil. We seriously consider the implications of our employment, our investments, our payment of taxes, and our manner of living as they relate to violence at all levels. We remain sensitive to the covert as well as the overt violence inherent in some of our long-established social practices and institutions, including unfettered capitalism and the unjust distribution of wealth. We work to change those elements which violate our conviction that there is that of God in everyone."

Agenda
1. Journal queries

2. Plan a Quaker Christmas celebration

3. Advent prayer for peace

1. Journal queries:

· Do I live in the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all war?

· Do I refrain from taking part in war as inconsistent with the Spirit of Christ? In what ways do I take part in war indirectly?

· What am I doing to remove the causes of war and to bring about the conditions of peace? Where there is hatred, division, or strife, how am I an instruments of reconciliation and love?

· Do I recognize that I am capable of both violence and peace? How do I build bridges that lead me to face and resolve conflict?

· How do I communicate to others an understanding of the basis of our peace testimony?

· As I work for peace in the world, how am I nourished by peace within myself, my family, and my meeting?

2. Plan a Quaker Christmas celebration:

Traditionally, Friends don't observe liturgical seasons and Christian holidays in the same way as other people. This principle grew out of a rejection of the excessive eating and drinking, and aggressive begging, that occurred in the 17th-century, and what early Friends saw as the hypocritical stance of celebrating Christmas one month a year, and then forgetting the message of Christmas for the other eleven.

Quakers stress the importance of serving God in everyday life - every day is a holy day, a day to be rejoiced and a day to celebrate the Spirit’s active role in our lives. I seek to live every day within the Spirit of Christmas - peacefully, joyfully, and with love.

That said, I see no problem with my urge to settle in to the season the earth presents me with, and celebrate it, while also honoring my Quaker beliefs.

Today I look at my Christmas checklist, and evaluate it for congruence with the Quaker testimonies. What adjustments do I want to make this year?

How to Celebrate a Quaker Christmas:

Simplicity: Be moderate with decorating, shopping, eating, and drinking. Excess isn't necessary for joy.

Peace: Be aware of the ways that commercialism feeds the war machine, and disengage as much as possible.

Community: Find ways (even during a pandemic) to be in brother/sisterhood with friends and neighbors.

Equality: Christmas is an important time to continue to work for justice, and to share my wealth.

Unity: As the excitement of the season grows, make sure I check in often with my family to see that we are unified.

3. Advent prayer for peace:

Balance in the Center

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me show love,

Where there is injury, pardon

Where there is doubt, faith,

Where there is despair, hope,

Where there is darkness, light,

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console

Not so much to be understood as to understand

Not so much to be loved, as to love; 

For it is in giving that we receive, 

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

It is in dying that we awake to eternal life.

— St. Francis of Assisi