The Gift of Peace
By Elizabeth Nicolai
Dona nobis pacem. Give us peace. In 1989 there was a “peaceful revolution” in East Germany of prayer vigils and gatherings in churches of activists singing “Dona Nobis Pacem”. Nearly 100,000 people gathered in a peaceful protest in Leipzig, Germany to pray, chant, and sing. That revolution, that anthem would lead a month later to the fall of the Berlin Wall. A song, a prayer, a gathering of people, and a nation becomes a domino that ends decades of cold war.
We follow a Prince of Peace, we celebrate people who change the world and bring forward peace. We can name Nobel Peace Prize winners, leaders who negotiate treaties, philanthropists who start movements. And it is easy to think that I can not do that. If I am honest, I can not always create peace between the children in my own household. But just as it wasn’t only one person singing in East Germany, it isn’t only me who has been asked to create peace.
Peace is a movement that is stronger with a hundred, with a thousand, with a hundred thousand voices singing. As you celebrate peace this week, look around your community and rejoice in the work of those around us, see where you can add your voice, song, effort. I’m heartened by all the many people who showed up for In My Backyard to create that positive change for our neighbors. I see the letter writing campaigns and calls to politicians to support a variety of causes. And I can feel the prayers and support that our congregation and our neighbors send.
Dona nobis pacem. Give US peace. Peace is a gift to all of us. Peace is a gift from all of us, working together.
Source materials:
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/sports/olympics-german-olympic-bid-has-sour-note.html
https://www.dw.com/en/how-east-germans-peacefully-brought-the-gdr-regime-down/a-50743302
St. John member Elizabeth Nicolai is a Sunday School teacher, Girl Scout leader and substitute bell choir ringer.