Our society likes to think of itself as strong and peaceful. But if one violent eruption after another — Charlottesville, Las Vegas — has shown us anything, it is that we are not yet who we want to be.
We are a society with too much fear and not enough peace, the Rev. Donald Perryman, senior pastor of the Center of Hope Community Baptist Church in Toledo, told The Blade editorial board.
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“Real peace is not going along to get along. Peace is only achieved by addressing unresolved issues. We have to really sit down and dialogue and understand each other’s issues.”
That is easier said than done, Mr. Perryman acknowledges.
“We are called to examine how can we work for peace in our community,” Pastor Joel Shenk, of Toledo Mennonite Church, told The Blade. “Blessed are the peacemakers, remember. And we need to take that seriously.”
This is where we need to get serious about overcoming fear, Mr. Perryman said. Because fear prevents us from seeking peace.
“Every time something like this happens, we go out and buy more guns because we think that someone is going to take them away,” Mr. Perryman said. As long as we act out of fear, there will be no peace.
First Published October 3, 2017, 9:45 p.m.
