Peace Train – Get on board

On this the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, the effects of which remain deadly and destructive on all sides today, I want to promote peace, but how? There have been many peace walks, peace protests, peace initiatives in recent decades; there have also been peace trains: Cue Jusuf Islam (Cat Stevens). Why not then, and why not now.

We all wonder how we can promote peace, not only in the community of our own relationships, but nationally and globally. War, terrorism, violence affects us all, as violence begets more violence in a deadly succession of retaliatory anger. In war, people suffer, the land suffers, the vulnerable suffer, aggressors suffer. There are no winners in warfare.

The good folks at peacetraincanada invite all Canadians to engage in a variety of ways with a Peace Train initiative. Travelling from Vancouver to Ottawa everyone is encouraged to meet the train in order to learn from and encourage one another in the active role of peace-making. The schedule is as follows:

LAUNCH PARTY

Nov 14                Vancouver  7 PM

MEET THE TRAIN

Not 15                 Vancouver 2 PM

Nov 16                Kamloops  Midnight

Nov 16                Jasper 11 AM

Nov 16                Edmonton  7 PM

Nov 17                Saskatoon  6 AM

Nov 17                Winnipeg  10 PM

Nov 19                Toronto 2:30 PM

All times subject to Via Rail changes / See the posters for location details

So what’s the Peace Train all about? The Peace Train initiative seeks to re-establish conversation and action in Canada regarding our role in “negotiating” towards peace throughout the world. This will involve meetings in November in Ottawa with politicians and organizations working towards peaceful solutions in our world.

Folks who will be on the Peace Train leaving Vancouver, Friday November 15, 2024, will be in attendance at the gathering at Canadian Memorial Church Thursday eve Nov. 14 at 6:00 pm.

They will be welcomed by supporters along their journey to Ottawa and met there by other leaders in this peace initiative.

Kathleen Wallace-Deering a life-long Anglican and a former staff person with Project Ploughshares (a project of the Canadian Council of Churches), and from 1997 to 2000 writes:

“Now is the time, this is the place, and we are the people”.  This stirring call to social action by the late Herbert O’Driscoll, in a sermon he gave around 1980 when he was Dean of Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral, has shaped my spirituality and life-long ministry as an Anglican layperson working for peace, social justice and environmental stewardship.

Forty years ago, at the height of the Cold War when the threat of nuclear warfare seemed imminent, many Anglicans and other Christians were visible and vocal, carrying banners and singing among the multitude of 115,000 people walking over the Burrard Street bridge in Vancouver’s Walk for Peace, reported to be the largest peace demonstration in Canadian history. . .

It is time once again for us, as Christians and as Canadians, to raise our voices for peace, as wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East cause horrendous civilian suffering and bring us closer than we’ve been in decades to the catastrophic use of nuclear weapons, either intentionally or by accident.

The main “ask” of the Peace Train delegation meeting with government officials in Ottawa on November 21st is the re-establishment of an independent institute, similar to the Pearson Peace Centre which was closed 15 years ago.

The Peace Train e-petition (which we are all encouraged to sign) calls upon the House of Commons “to establish and fund a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice focused on research, education and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and peace operations…”

In this dangerous era of increased confrontation and new forms of warfare employing drones and AI, we need security experts and analysts working with diplomats and peace researchers to chart a path away from escalating conflicts which are putting us on the brink of nuclear war.  And we need our Canadian government to commit to robust diplomacy and peace building initiatives as an integral part of Canada’s foreign and defence policy.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact the Rev. Margaret Marquart mmarquardt@telus.net

PEACE TRAIN THEME SONG 

PEACE TRAIN PETITION

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled

To sign the petition go here.

Whereas:

•             Canada signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, pledging itself to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

•             Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Canada’s adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reflect our commitment to the principles of justice, equality, and freedom;

•             Upholding the basics of justice, equality, freedom, security, and well-being for all is essential for preventing conflict and war and for Canada’s own security and stability;

•             The lack of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms is the underlying cause of violent conflict;

•             An open society and an informed public and parliament is essential for the understanding of complex issues of violent conflict and for the achieving of lasting peace and disarmament; and

•             With the closing of the Pearson Peace Centre, Canada lost an important civilian-led, independent institutional structure that supported effective research, policy, and training in peace operations and conflict resolution.

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to establish and fund a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice focused on research, education and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and peace operations for Canadian civilians, police, military personnel, and the international community.

A MESSAGE FROM SABEEL Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre, Jerusalem

Gracious God, in a broken world tethering on the edge of despair and darkness, we find redemption in your holy name. Despite the destruction around us, we hold steadfast to the example of Christ the liberator, who stood un-moving at the face of empire. Instill in us that same spirit, so that our collective strength will rise above the forces of war and destruction. Liberate the hearts and minds of those captive to the violent theology of empire and bring them closer to your grace and goodness.

Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer

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