Monday, September 25, 2000
Peace is goal, message of gathering
World's activists urge acceptance, share experiences
By Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Rev. Damon Lynch, Jr. stood at his pulpit Sunday, spread his long arms as if to embrace all his flock, and preached of peace.
“We pray for peace in our cities and in our neighborhoods, but we thank you for personal peace,” his booming voice echoed throughout a tiny church on North Bend Road in Carthage.
The Rev. Mr. Lynch has been spreading a peace message through God's word for nearly 30 years at New Jerusalem Baptist Church. As master of ceremonies for the Millennium Peace Celebration at Xavier University later that day, he took that message before a crowd of thousands.
Some of the world's leading peace activists — called the International Peace Council — gathered for their annual meeting to honor the opening of XU's new Brueggeman Center for Interreligious Dialogue.
The peace counselors, among them the leader of Cambodian Buddhism and a Nobel Prize winning Northern Ireland peace activist, usually gather in places where they can contribute to a peace process or help to relieve suffering. This year, they chose Cincinnati for their annual meeting at the invitation of Xavier Theology Professor Dr. Paul Knitter.
Their message: Peace is possible, and interreligious collaboration can be a driving force.
But peace is not just for one day out of the year, cautioned the peace councilors; and the pursuit of peace is not just for international councilors of peace.
The Rev. Mr. Lynch had been spreading the message of peace all week at his own church.
On Tuesday, he ducked into a prayer meeting and steered a conversation about false faith into one about peace.
He asked: How are faith and peace intertwined?
Dorothy Spear rocked back in her chair, thought for a moment and then offered her thoughts.
“We as Christians have inner peace because of our faith in God,” she said.
Other group members nodded and shared their thoughts on peace and whether it can ever be obtained. Most agreed it would not be in their lifetime, but they exchanged ideas on when and how peace could come.
As the conversation grew lively and personal, the Rev. Mr. Lynch slipped out.
Finding forgiveness
Finding inner peace can be heart-wrenching and Dr. Chung Hyun Kyung, one of the International Peace Councilors speaking at Xavier University, knows firsthand.
In the late 1970s, Dr. Chung was interrogated and beaten in a South Korean police station for her activity with a radical antigovernment group.
She said she had to find forgiveness for those who tortured her — and find peace and acceptance of others.
On Sunday, Dr. Chung stood up alongside the Rev. Mr. Lynch at the Xavier lectern to honor and accept all faiths and traditions.
Together they said thanks for the religions of the world.
A personal level
But acceptance has to happen on a personal level in order to be spread among peoples, the Rev. Mr. Lynch told his group of singles Tuesday.
The singles told the pastor how they often felt uncomfortable and shunned because they are single or divorced in a society that focuses on couples.
But it's not about what others think, the Rev. Mr. Lynch told them. Instead, he counseled the group to focus on eternal validation, rather than external validation, to find peace.
“When my cologne's not emitting what it should, when Max Factor's not working, it's OK because God has validated me,” he said. “He sees the value on the inside. And at the end of the day, I know I'm OK.”
It was his way of spreading some personal peace to just a few of the 1,800 members of his church.
During the peace celebration Sunday, the Rev. Mr. Lynch paused for a moment before speaking. For a few moments, he looked over the colorful sea of people dressed in green or yellow traditional African garb, maroon and gold Hindu sari, the tan hijab or modest cloak of Muslim women and black suits of the Catholic priests.
Different, beautiful
They were all different on the outside, but all beautiful, he said.
And then he remembered his message of peace.
Can peace be obtained in our lifetime? he asked the group. Most of the time, the 61-year-old pastor said, he doubts it.
But not Sunday.
“I think there is hope for us yet,” he said.
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