Less than 30 years

The longest wars were the Indian Wars (1817-1898). Others lasted just weeks. Some were occupations of countries in the Caribbean, Latin America and the South Pacific. Others were fought on what is now U.S. soil. Some are well-known: World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War. Others we would have to crack open a textbook to remember. Some are recent like the War in Afghanistan. Others were responsible for building this nation like the Revolutionary War.

Today in the U.S., most people have not known a world without war. We feel the hurricane force winds of war blowing. As United Methodists, we hear the voices of children and youth crying, shouting, marching, and singing for the end of violence, killing and war.

Bana al-Abed was born in 2009 in Aleppo, Syria. As a 7-year-old she began to write on Twitter of her experiences in Syria: the fears, the insecurity and the horrors of war. As a 9-year-old she wrote a poignant and unforgettable story of a little girl trapped in a civil war. After months of bombings, escapes, lost family members and finally the life-saving decision to leave Syria for Turkey, Bana writes (with reflections interspersed from her Mother) a book entitled, “Dear World.” It is the account of a child living in Syria in the midst of violence and war.

When her family moved away from the violence in Aleppo, Bana wrote about her little brother, Noor:

Baba was right: it was much better. It was almost like the war was over and life was normal again – though I sometimes forgot what regular life was anymore, it had been so long. Noor got bigger and started crawling and then walking, and there were barely any bombs. It was nearly like when I was a baby. There were still reminders, though. They didn’t fix all the crumbled buildings, and the water and electricity still came on only two and three times a week, but I didn’t feel so scared all the time and that was nice. I thought that maybe Noor would be lucky – maybe he would never have to know the bombs and bullets and fighting. I didn’t want my little brother to ever have to feel afraid. He was just a baby.

As United Methodists committed to the pursuit of peace, we look toward Peace with Justice Sunday on May 27. We can grieve the history and culture of war that has become so normal. We should listen to and learn from victims of warlike Bana. And we must never stop keeping, making and building peace.

One way our Church does this is through the Peace with Justice offering, which contributes to communities living and working for peace all-around the world. Half of this offering comes to Church and Society, and the other half stays in your Annual Conference to build and enhance peace with justice ministries near you.

There are two ways to give: in your church Sunday morning, or by visiting The United Methodist Church’s page on Peace With Justice Sunday.

May our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness be ever in the pursuit peace.