"Greetings from the 250 congregations of Mennonite Church Canada,
and Manitoba, 48 of which are located here in Manitoba. We represent a peace
tradition and a history of seeking non-violent conflict resolution. We believe
that peace is more than the absence of war. Peacemaking must include a response
to the inequities of our world. We, who follow Jesus, feel called to resist
the culture of violence and to be active peacemakers. We believe that God
calls us give our very lives in pursuit of a world without war, a world of
justice and peace for all creation.
Today we call our leaders to pursue peace everywhere, to reject military
options as a way to resolve international conflict. In Iraq, in Afghanistan,
in Columbia and in other places around the globe, people are living with
injustice, fear, violence and bloodshed. We call on our leaders to seek peace
and to pursue peaceful negotiations. We are asked to justify violence because
of a fear of weapons of mass destruction. We call our leaders instead to
divert resources currently being used for destruction and warfare into resources
for building peace. We believe that offering crisis relief, development aid,
medical and educational resources are ways to build peace and transform hatred
and fear. We pray for courage and wisdom for our leaders to make choices
that build a peaceful and just world.
Today we have the opportunity, and the challenge, to commit ourselves to
use our best resources as individuals, as communities and as a country to
seek peace for every human being. Today, as people of diverse faiths and
races, we can demonstrate to the world that it is possible to live in peace,
that peace is the essence of God's desire for all creation. Today we choose
to reject all violence and war. Today we commit ourselves to building communities
of justice and peace and hope. Let us choose peace and then give our very
lives to pursue it.
