The faithful way to peace

That God is a God of just-peace not violence is the revelation of Christ and the real truth of Christianity, two leading church figures have said.

One was a Catholic and the other a Presbyterian. But the tenor of the conversation is one that many Anabaptists and those influenced by the Historic Peace Church tradition will resonate with.

The comments came as part of a conversation entitled ‘The Spirituality and Practice of Peace in a World of War’, held at St John’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh on 22 August 2012.

The participants in the Festival of Peace and Spirituality conversation were Fr John Dear, a Catholic priest and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and the Rev Kathy Galloway, head of Christian Aid Scotland and a former leader of the Iona Community. It was chaired by Brian Larkin, coordinator of the Peace and Justice Centre at St John's.

More here.

Witness against nuclear weapons

Supporters of the new Exploring Anabaptism Scotland network joined members of Scottish churches at the 2012 Easter Witness for Peace at the Faslane at 12 noon on Saturday 16 April.

It was our first joint activity since deciding to 'formalise' the network in a frankly rather informal way!

The Catholic bishops in Scotland were represented at the act of witness for the first time.  He was joined by Rt Rev Alan McDonald, on behalf of the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, and Bruce Kent, Vice President of CND.

There was a shared act of worship outside the base, surrounded by barbed wire. Very symbolic. .  Music was led by members of the Wild Goose Resource Group.  The witness took place the day before Palm Sunday and involved a short procession with palm branches.

The event was organised by Scottish Clergy Against Nuclear Arms (SCANA). The Rev David McLachlan, Chair of Scottish Clergy Against Nuclear Arms, commented: “This will be an opportunity for Christians from different churches to meet together and to underline our belief that nuclear weapons are immoral and they should not be maintained or renewed.”