A message you don't want to miss

Let's face it. Most church signs are dead boring. They contain basic information about the service, the time, and sometimes the sermon title. Despite living in the US for over six years now, I have yet to meet a person who came to church because of a sign like that.

So, when I came to First Church in Marlborough I began working with church volunteers on ways to use our sign on the common, to convey messages close to us. Some were funny, so more serious (see attached pictures). The reactions were generally positive, and a couple of non-churched folks told me that they saw our sign and it made them think about the messages displayed. Which is what we were hoping for.

But our most recent sign is different. Just before Labor Day we posted a message: "Whatever war can do, peace can do better." We felt that as Christians it is our duty to witness to and pray for peace - always, even if the odds are against us. This past Saturday our pastor and some members joined the call of pope Francis and religious leaders of all denominations, and prayed for peace. 

The sign has generated a lot of responses. I had people re-tweet it, and repost it on facebook. One person wrote: "Your church wins. It wins Sunday, it wins awesome, it just wins." Another wrote "You win the internet today."

But I am hoping the message will resonate more strongly that just be tweets and retweets and likes on Facebook. Our commitment to peace requires more than just occasion "likes." It calls on all people - of faith, and of not faith - for hard work, for perseverance, for hope, and resolute conviction. For the sake of our children, our own, and for the sake of the whole wide world, we must pray and act against hatred, cruelty, enmity, malice, and violence. Though the media, politicians, and pundits tell us that war is the only answer - we should remember that its only a response, and not the best one either.

Whatever war can do, peace can do better. So #prayforpeace. Always.