Our church choir recently sang about peace. The anthem, written by Dave and Jean Perry, included words for peace from many languages: pacem (Latin), salaam (Arabic), shalom (Hebrew), paz (Spanish), pace (Italian), hei-wa (Japanese), friede (German), mir (Bosnian), amani (Swahili).
The lyrics talk about a yearning for peace in every land … a dream, a prayer heard from our birth. I believe the song writers are correct that all nations hope for peace. So why do nations quarrel?
The Hebrew scriptures describe a peaceful land where “the lion will lie down with the lamb.” Is it only a dream, or could humans live in harmony? I’m writing this column about peace because it is the second theme of Advent, the weeks leading to Christmas. Peace is also universally celebrated on Sept. 21, the United Nations International Day of Peace. Around the world, children and adults are invited to write an acrostic poem using the initial letters in the word peace.
Perhaps you could challenge yourself to write a peace acrostic. You can download and print a template or you could simply write “peace”, one letter below each other, and use the letter as the start of your free-form poem.
Here is my hasty attempt:
Patience and understanding,
Encouraging diversity,
Accepting changes,
Cherishing each moment,
Every day nurturing peace.
