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News archive
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| Peace lamps challenge Mennonite Church USA congregations to faithful witness |
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By June Galle Krehbiel for Mennonite Church USA
NEWTON, Kan. Each peace lamp has its story. The ceramic lamps have moved beyond their earthiness to spread the light of peace. In churches throughout Mennonite Church USA and beyond, the lamps shone brightly during the recent advent and Christmas season. In many churches the lamps shine on as congregations pray and petition for peace in Iraq, Iran and the world.
The lamps’ history began with the first delegation of church leaders to Iraq in 2002. J. Daryl Byler, then MCC Washington Office director, gave peace lamps to religious leaders, saying, “When you see this, know that Mennonites in the United States and Canada are praying for peace between us.”
Soon after, some churches ordered and began using the peace lamps, crafted by Dick Lehman of Goshen, Ind. One of those congregations was University Mennonite Church in State College, Pa., where David B. Miller pastors. Since 2002 the congregation has begun every Sunday morning worship by lighting the peace lamp.
“The peace lamp is an ongoing summons for all of us to pray and work for peace. Jesus’ way of peace is at the core of our witness as a congregation,” says Miller, who has also articulated the theology of peace at occasional meetings at Pennsylvania State University. “In Luke’s account Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and declares, ‘If only you knew the things that make for peace’ (Lk. 19:42). That same agony continues to be felt by God for all of human society.”
Last fall, sensing the time was right to once again challenge churches to petition for peace, Susan Mark Landis, peace advocate for Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, collaborated with Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach, director of the Washington office of Mennonite Central Committee. They developed worship resources and provided background information on Iraq and Iran. Through funding from Executive Leadership peace advocate funds, Landis made 100 of the Dick Lehman peace lamps available to Mennonite Church USA congregations at no cost. Sixty-two congregations requested lamps, and more than 30 congregations sent or delivered petitions to their federal representatives.
On Dec. 2 in Oklahoma, Turpin Mennonite Church lit the lamp during congregational prayer time. Pastor Jeff Wintermote remembers praying for “Iran, Iraq and other countries experiencing conflict.” Turpin’s location in the Oklahoma panhandle sometimes makes members feel isolated from the rest of Mennonite Church USA and from the world, but the lamp is a visual reminder of the wider church. “It’s important for our church to be connected to our denomination … and to other missions and peace and justice projects that give us a broader world view,” Wintermote says.
In North Carolina last fall, Asheville Mennonite Church interim pastor Art Smoker ordered a peace lamp, replacing one that he had gifted to the congregation earlier. During advent, with the Asheville congregation’s peace advocate, Teresa Aeschliman, Smoker encouraged the congregation to understand its connection to the lamps that Mennonite church leaders delivered in 2002 to Iraq and in February 2007 to Iran.
“We see our peace lamp as a reminder not only to pray on Sunday and during the week, but to be doing something about the war where we live. Beyond that, it symbolizes who we are as a Mennonite people and as the body of Christ that we care about larger issues of world peace,” Aeschliman says.
The congregation signed petitions, encouraging their congressional representatives to dialogue with Iran. For Aeschliman, an additional page held an “exciting” number of signatures of those willing to meet with their representative locally.
“The reality for a lot of Mennonite congregations is that we haven’t been talking about peace much,” Aeschliman says. “It’s time we get back to talking about peace not only for ourselves, because it’s foundational to the Gospel, but also for our children. If they aren’t hearing about peace when they are growing up, they aren’t going to get it when they are older.”
In Pasadena, Calif., Kristina Hamsher, director of children and youth ministries at Pasadena Mennonite Church, led peace activities during an advent celebration night Dec. 2. “At one table we had the peace lamp surrounded with unlit candles. People were encouraged to read and sign the petition, addressed to our state senators and representatives. Many people also wrote prayers and lit candles. All ages were praying and advocating for peace!” Hamsher says.
In Elkhart, Ind., in December, Hively Avenue Mennonite Church’s peace advocate Louise Claassen and others visited Rep. Joe Donnelly’s South Bend office, taking with them petitions for peace with Iran and signatures from Elkhart’s Hively, Belmont and Fellowship of Hope churches. In early January she delivered a peace lamp to Donnelly’s office.
Claassen’s motivation stems from her experience as a World War II refugee. Though her family was Mennonite for generations, her father became part of Hitler’s army and was missing in action on the Russian front. “It hurts me so much all this bombing and killing and maiming going on. Is it the only option we have to go there and kill? No, the other option is to live a life of peace and be aggressive peacemakers, reaching out to the poor in our communities, for example. There are many ways we can work to make a positive difference in the world,” Claassen says.
Last fall, prompted by suggestions from Susan Mark Landis on MennoLink, Claassen started a one-hour-a-week public demonstration at the peace pole outside their church. The protest has since moved to the Elkhart civic plaza and, even in the cold Indiana winter, she and others meet on Wednesday afternoons to protest the war.
“Unlike Germany in World War II, here we still have the possibility to speak out against war. We can stand on a street corner and hold up a sign, encouraging others to ‘Pray for peace. Act for peace’,” Claassen says.
In Washington, D.C., at Mennonite Central Committee offices, Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach is heartened to hear about the prayers and petitions of congregations. “My hope is that congregations will continue to light the lamp and pray for peace in Iraq and Iran,” she says.
In Orrville, Ohio, Susan Mark Landis calls congregations to even more faithfulness in peace efforts. “Do something. Do it in community. Do it repetitively, routinely, and push yourself a little more than what you have done before,” she says. “God is calling us to return the love we have been given. The more we understand how much we have been loved, the more we are willing to put ourselves in ridiculous and even risky situations to show that love back to God.”
For more information about the peace lamps and other ways to advocate for peace, see www.MennoniteUSA.org/peace.
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| Albuquerque Mennonite Church pastor Anita Amstutz, left, presents a peace lamp to Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., at her Albuquerque office. Accompanying Amstutz to Wilson’s office were pastors from Wilson’s home church, First United Methodist Church of Albuquerque who also brought a petition from their congregation. The two churches have been supporting each other as, together, they pray and act for peace. Photo by Ken Gingerich |
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| Julia Kurtz and Charles Dolcimascolo light the peace lamp Jan. 6 at Asheville (N.C.) Mennonite Church. Photo by Teresa Aeschliman |
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| Hope Dufault-Hunter, age nine, of Pasadena (Calif.) Mennonite Church signs a petition for peace during a Dec. 2 advent celebration service at her church. Photo by Kristina Hamsher |
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| Historical Committee sponsoring 59th annual contest |
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GOSHEN, Ind. The Mennonite Church USA Historical Committee is inviting submissions for its 2008 John Horsch Mennonite History Essay Contest for student scholars.
The contest, for papers on some aspect of Anabaptist history, is open to students in three categories: graduate school and seminary, college and university, and high school. The first-place recipient in each category will receive $100 plus a one-year subscription to Mennonite Quarterly Review. Second place will receive $75 and third place $50. All entrants will receive a one-year subscription to Mennonite Historical Bulletin, published by the Historical Committee.
For more information, contact the Historical Committee at (574) 353-7477 or archives@mennoniteusa.org, or visit the committee’s Web site at www.mennoniteusa.org/history.
The contest, held annually since 1949, is named for John Horsch (1867-1941), the German-American historian and writer whose work was instrumental in rekindling interest in Anabaptist and Mennonite studies among North Americans in the first decades of the 20th century.
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