Mother's Day for Peace

Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910)

Mother’s Day in the United States began as a peace day.

Following the Civil War groups of mothers of Confederate and Union soldiers met together for consolation. Anna Reeves Jarvis held a Mother’s Friendship Day to reunite families that had been divided during the war and she hoped that Mother’s Day would become an annual occurrence. Her daughter, Anna M. Jarvis, worked for a national Mother’s Day to honor both her mother and peace.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe wrote the first Mother’s Day Proclamation. Earlier she had written the Battle Hymn of the Republic, but she became outraged at the carnage of both the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. She called for a summit of mothers for the promotion of peace.

She wrote in part:

We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.
From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace.

Julia Ward Howe was a writer, a social activist, and and an active Unitarian, including being a preacher in that denomination. Her Mother’s Day Proclamation is included in the Unitarian Universalist hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition.

I urge mothers and those who have or have had mothers to give a thought to peace and the lack of peace. I urge the good people of this country to give a thought to peace in and for the United States and the world and to the policies of the United States toward that peace. Even more, I encourage people to live in and work for peace themselves. I do believe peace is possible if we aim for it knowing that peace itself is the way. I note that even Osama Bin Laden was a mother’s child.

I Am One

I am only one,
 but I am one.


I cannot do everything, 
 but I can do something. 


What I can do, 
  I ought to do 
-and,- 
by the grace of God, 
 I shall do.


 ~Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909)
   American author, historian, Unitarian clergyman, chaplain to the United States Senate


Source: Wikipedia Encyclopedia

A Need for Consciousness-raising

I call this post, “A Need for Consciousness-raising,”  but I guess it could just as well be called “A Need for Awareness-raising.” Whatever you call it, I believe there is a need in American society for something to bring about a change of mind or change of heart.



Robert Wright had an Op-Ed in the New York Times on Thanksgiving Day in which he wrote about having to write a column appropriate to the day. He wrote that he had a hard time giving thanks and that he tended to focus on the negative. He gave some of his examples:



(1) The New Start treaty — which just about every analyst, Democratic or Republican, says would make America more secure — is on the verge of being sunk by a few senators for partisan reasons. (2) This is symptomatic of intense political polarization, bitter division that is paralyzing our politics. (3) Some of America’s divisions, dangerously, are falling along ethnic lines. In particular, American Muslims are often the object of irrational fear and suspicion.



Then, turning to the positive, he wrote:



If people preaching tolerance, understanding, and cool reason prevail, the world won’t go down in flames. My point isn’t just that good may yet prevail. My point is that there’s a correlation between good prevailing and the world surviving in good shape. The more morally enlightened people get — the more they set aside their narrow perspectives and tribal passions and see how things look through the eyes of people from different religions, cultures, nations — the more orderly things will be.



My husband pointed out Wright’s piece to me and, agreeing with Wright  as I do, said he was reminded of the Native American legend or parable of The Two Wolves.



In that little story, a Native American grandfather, in explaining life to his grandson, tells him that a fight is going on within himself.



"It is a terrible fight,” he said. “It is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."



When the grandson asked which wolf would win, the grandfather said, “The one you feed.”



My husband and I agree that this country is in great need of the feeding of the good wolf. There is more than enough feeding going on of the bad wolf. A fight is going on within our society. The churches and other faith communities especially should be the ones feeding the good wolf. The political entities can not. We would like to see the faith communities stepping up in a pro-active manner. It is a job that needs to be done pronto, probably yesterday. The feeding needs to be done in today’s context, not just in a general, sentimental manner, either.



We do need consciousness-raising,awareness-raising, education, re-education, even. We need a higher consciousness.



As a member of a Unitarian Universalist community, I am reminded of the Principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations are called upon to affirm and promote ~

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Because of these stated principles, I believe that Unitarian Universalists and their communities have a special obligation and call in this feeding of the good wolf.

In fact, all faiths uphold what is called The Golden Rule, treating others as we would wish to be treated. (See here and/or here.)  I believe that Rule needs to be emphasized as a way of this feeding, too. The Charter for Compassion (See here.) upholds the Golden Rule and is an implement itself. It needs to grow into a major movement.



However we do it, we must raise the consciousness or awareness in this country. As Robert Wright wrote in his column, “If people preaching tolerance, understanding, and cool reason prevail, the world won’t go down in flames.“

A Place for the Other

Here is a short video of  comparative religion writer and initiator of the Charter for Compassion, Karen Armstrong, being questioned about the Muslim community center proposed to be built two blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center. I was quite taken with Armstrong's answer, feeling that she had spoken a truth.






I would also like to point readers to the op-ed e-letter, Green-Dog Democrat, of Joe Burgess of my town of Frankfort, KY. His current issue entitled, "The Washington Post March over Gingrch and other ignorami" is on the controversy surrounding the center. It is posted on the web here.

Additionally, I note that the two arms of my faith community, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, sent a joint letter to New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, in support of the center.

UUA Statement on Peacemaking

Note: This Statement of Conscience was passed at the recent General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is taken from the UUA webpage that is found here. I commend it and the Association.

Creating Peace


2010 Statement of Conscience

We believe all people share a moral responsibility to create peace. Mindful of both our rich heritage and our past failures to prevent war, and enriched by our present diversity of experience and perspective, we commit ourselves to a radically inclusive and transformative approach to peace.



1.Our commitment to creating peace calls us to the work of peacebuilding, peacemaking, and peacekeeping.

Peacebuilding is the creation and support of institutions and structures that address the roots of conflict, including economic exploitation, political marginalization, the violation of human rights, and a lack of accountability to law.



Peacemaking is the negotiation of equitable and sustainable peace agreements, mediation between hostile parties, and post-conflict rebuilding and reconciliation.



Peacekeeping is early intervention to prevent war, stop genocide, and monitor ceasefires. Peacekeeping creates the space for diplomatic efforts, humanitarian aid, and nonviolent conflict prevention through the protection of civilians and the disarmament and separation of those involved in violent conflict.



2.We advocate a culture of peace through a transformation of public policies, religious consciousness, and individual lifestyles. At the heart of this transformation is the readiness to honor the truths of multiple voices from a theology of covenant grounded in love.



3.We all agree that our initial response to conflict should be the use of nonviolent methods. Yet, we bear witness to the right of individuals and nations to defend themselves, and acknowledge our responsibility to be in solidarity with others in countering aggression. Many of us believe force is sometimes necessary as a last resort, while others of us believe in the consistent practice of nonviolence.



4.We repudiate aggressive and preventive wars, the disproportionate use of force, covert wars, and targeting that includes a high risk to civilians. We support international efforts to curtail the vast world trade in armaments and call for nuclear disarmament and abolition of other weapons of mass destruction. We repudiate unilateral interventions and extended military occupations as dangerous new forms of imperialism. In an interdependent world, true peace requires the cooperation of all nations and peoples.



5.For Unitarian Universalists, the exercise of individual conscience is holy work. Conscientious discernment leads us to engage in the creation of peace in different ways. We affirm a range of individual choices, including military service and conscientious objection (whether to all wars or particular wars), as fully compatible with Unitarian Universalism. For those among us who make a formal commitment to military service, we will honor their commitment, welcome them home, and offer pastoral support. For those among us who make a formal commitment as conscientious objectors, we will offer documented certification, honor their commitment, and offer pastoral support.



6.Our faith calls us to create peace, yet we confess that we have not done all we could to prevent the spread of armed conflict throughout the world. At times we have lacked the courage to speak and act against violence and injustice; at times we have lacked the creativity to speak and act in constructive ways; at times we have condemned the violence of others without acknowledging our own complicity in violence. We affirm a responsibility to speak truth to power, especially when unjust power is exercised by our own nation. Too often we have allowed our disagreements to distract us from all that we can do together. This Statement of Conscience challenges individual Unitarian Universalists, as well as our congregations and Association, to engage with more depth, persistence, and creativity in the complex task of creating peace.

II. Historical and Theological Context

Our Universalist faith in the oneness of the whole human family teaches us that peace is necessary; our Unitarian faith in the sacred potential of each person teaches us that peace is possible.



A. Historical Practices

For two hundred years, Unitarians and Universalists have worked to build peace by removing the underlying causes of war. As early as 1790, Universalists gathered in Philadelphia declared, “Although a defensive war may be considered lawful, yet we believe there is a time coming, when the light and universal love of the gospel shall put an end to all wars.” The Massachusetts Peace Society, founded by Unitarians Noah Worcester and William Ellery Channing during the War of 1812, helped launch the first peace movement to include both those repudiating all violence and those supporting defensive wars, to welcome members of all religious persuasions, and to affirm that nonviolence is humanly possible as well as divinely commanded. Since that time, Unitarian and Universalist peace efforts have continued to be informed by those principles. Though we have always held diverse views on the justification of defensive and humanitarian wars, at our best we have worked together to end the violence of slavery, to promote international law, to liberate Jews and others from Nazi tyranny, and to build the United Nations and other institutions of international cooperation. This Statement of Conscience builds on this tradition by challenging individual Unitarian Universalists, as well as our congregations and Association, to engage in a variety of nonviolent and peace building practices.



B. Theological Principles

This Statement of Conscience is grounded in the following Unitarian Universalist theological principles:



The fundamental unity and interdependence of all existence. The interdependence we have long affirmed has become the daily reality of our globalized world. Our interdependence makes it both possible and necessary that we see the peoples of the world as one community in which the security of each nation is entwined with the security of all others.



The transforming power of love. We affirm the reality of love as a dynamic power within and among us. This power moves us to create relationships of compassion, respect, mutuality, and forgiveness; to love our neighbor; and to recognize everyone as our neighbor. We stand on the side of love when we work for peace.



The inherent worth and dignity of all persons. All human beings have the right to a meaningful and fulfilling life, including physical safety and economic and social well being. All have the responsibility to work on behalf of the dignity of others.



Human freedom. Most human beings are free moral agents with the capacity to make choices and are accountable for these choices. Human freedom may be used creatively or destructively. These possibilities are expressed not only in our individual choices and actions, but also in the institutions and social structures we create. Peace is the product of human choices that empower human agency and extend the possibilities for human freedom.



Rejection of moral dualism. We reject as false the sharp separation of good and evil, refusing to assign individuals and nations into one category or the other. Moral dualism can blind us to our own and our nation’s capacity for evil and to the inherent worth and dignity of those whom our nation labels as enemies. In the midst of ambiguity we can build peace by cultivating the goodness in ourselves and others.



Cooperative power. Power is created and expressed in complex networks of human relationships. Power can be used to create or destroy, to liberate or oppress. Preventing war and creating nonviolent alternatives require the use of cooperative power—power with, not power over. Cooperative power is grounded in a commitment to mutual persuasion rather than coercion.



Justice and peace. Justice concerns the fair ordering of human relationships, including social and political relationships. War signals the breakdown of fairly ordered human relations. Peace is an attribute of relationship; it is a process, not a stagnant state. Peace emerges as our social and political institutions become more cooperative and more just. Lasting peace rests on just relationships.



Humility and open-mindedness. We affirm an open-mindedness that makes us suspicious of all claims of finality, including our own. Humility allows us to take strong stands while remaining open to the possibility that we are wrong or that future circumstances may call for a different position.



III. Calls to Action

Creating peace calls for action at all levels of human interaction. To be effective, our actions must be incorporated into existing structures and institutions, and new systems must be created. We support the Unitarian Universalist Peace Ministry Network in its work of identifying resources, disseminating information, and evaluating methods to create a culture of peace on all levels.



Creating Peace in Our World

We covenant to advocate vigorously for policies and participate in practices that move our nation toward collaborative leadership in building a peaceful, just, and sustainable world, including:



•supporting the Unitarian Universalist-United Nations Office in advancing the United Nations’ efforts in promoting peace, and its implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;



•supporting the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee in ending the use of torture and addressing institutional violence in all its forms;



•supporting the Unitarian Universalist Association and our congregations in influencing public policy decisions made by the U.S. Congress and Administration; and



•participating in international civilian peace building, peacemaking, and unarmed peacekeeping teams.

Creating Peace in Our Society

We covenant to act in the wider community in reducing the causes of institutional and structural violence by:



•supporting Association and congregational initiatives aimed at eradicating all forms of cultural, political, and economic oppression;



•supporting the socially responsible investment of our Association and congregational assets; and



•supporting Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth in advocating lifestyles and policies that promote harmony with our natural environment.

Creating Peace in Our Congregations

We covenant to create peace through worship, religious education, and social action by:



•developing Peace Teams to provide training in compassionate communication and conflict resolution, and to engage each congregation in multi-level action toward a culture of peace;



•working through congregational governing bodies to develop and honor behavioral covenants in all aspects of congregational life;



•working through our lifespan religious education structures to provide workshops on conflict resolution and compassionate communication, to encourage understanding and participation in social justice ventures, and to utilize Unitarian Universalist resources such as “Peacemaking in Congregations: A Guide to Learning Opportunities for All Ages”;



•becoming a resource for creating peace within our communities in cooperation with other faith traditions and community organizations;



•working toward the reduction of violence in our communities by supporting community policing, economic development, and conflict resolution;



•supporting veterans, military service members, conscientious objectors, and their families, and providing them with opportunities to share what they have learned; and



•supporting nonviolent resisters and their families, and providing them with opportunities to share what they have learned.

Creating Peace in Our Relationships

As individuals we covenant to:



•learn and practice the skills of compassionate communication;



•honor the behavioral covenants of our congregations; and



•adopt lifestyle changes that reflect reverence for the interdependent web of all existence.

Creating Peace within Ourselves

We recognize that peace begins with each person and covenant to:



•develop for ourselves and our congregations spiritual practices that cultivate inner peace;



•sustain these practices as foundational to wholeness, forgiveness, and reconciliation; and



•practice loving-kindness and compassion toward ourselves, and pay attention to the ethical insights that follow.

In reverence for all life, we covenant to practice peace at all levels of human interaction.



Last updated on Wednesday, July 7, 2010.


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