Peace and Games

We invite you to share the following story with your congregation. It should take no more than 2 minutes to read aloud. You might also wish to include the story in your church newsletter. This story is part of Equipping #60 October 2005.

Sometimes it only takes a game to spark an interest in peacemaking. Peacemaking through play is one surprising way God has worked through the Anabaptist Center in Seoul, Korea, even when we didn’t realize it. Cheryl Woelk, Witness worker writes the following:

A Korean friend of mine recently quit her job to join a peace camp delegation to East Timor. Then she went right on to a time of service in Aceh, Indonesia. We have been friends for over three years. Recently, she was reflecting on what has shaped her vision for peace. She told me that the Holy Spirit had used a casual comment of mine, made during a game, to spark her interest in practical peace building. I was amazed. What could I have said? When had this happened?

Several Korea Anabaptist Center staff had come to visit her church, myself included. Following the worship service, we stayed to play some games with the college and career group. One of the games we played was a competitive game where the winner of each round had to punish the loser by giving them a slap on the wrist. Not thinking anything of it, I half-jokingly commented that, as a peace-loving person, I couldn’t do that! However, my comment struck my friend harder than any playful slap. She thought and prayed a lot about my comment. A new level of understanding was transforming her. She began to realize that peace is more than a spiritual concept, more than an international issue. Peace also belongs to the playful and mundane details of our everyday lives. It is part of the very fabric of life for a follower of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

I was humbled and grateful that this seemingly insignificant experience had sparked such a holy moment and transformation. Realizing and accepting that peace affects how we think, speak, spend, and play, she has taken steps to live a life of peace. We celebrate the way God’s passion for peace has saturated my friend’s life and wonder what new adventures in peacemaking await her. She invites others to join her in making the Prince of Peace Lord in all of life. Who will join her?

- Cheryl Woelk, Education Coordinator, Korea Anabaptist Center