Ben Wideman is campus pastor for 3rd Way Collective at Penn State University and blogs for The Mennonite. 

On Sunday, July 10th, four historic peace churches met in State College, Pennsylvania, for what was billed as the first ever “Meeting for Peace” in our town. In the wake of another difficult national news cycle filled with the violence of more religious terrorism in multiple locations in the Middle East; the tragic deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of law enforcement; the shocking violence against police in Dallas, just a few weeks removed from the Orlando shooting; and a natural disaster hitting vulnerable people in Taiwan, it seemed fitting as people of peace to spend an afternoon in a shared space.

State College Friends Meeting hosted the gathering that also included representatives from University Mennonite Church, University Baptist and Brethren and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County.

We met to mourn and reflect, but also to remind ourselves of what our historic peace traditions have been called to throughout our history, and to empower each other to not simply be “historic” but to be actively pursuing peace.

Part of our time also included a traditional Quaker “meeting”: an extended period of silence in which any who felt moved by the Holy Spirit were encouraged to share with those who had gathered. Voices who were present reminded us of moments when our congregations had stood for peace both in our local community and beyond. People highlighted current endeavors for peace such as ways we are engaging our local prison population, working with students at Penn State, creating interfaith conversations, and building support networks for underrepresented ethnic groups and LGBTQ (lesiban, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) individuals in our community.

I found it to be a time of optimism for the future. Those who had gathered were there to celebrate their commitment to peace, but also to move beyond simply discussing their commitment and desiring practical action.

We recognized our collaborative power in working together, something we’ve rarely taken advantage of. Suggestions were made to create a center for peace in our community: one that might include conflict mediation counseling, opportunities for service and engagement, and collaborative spaces.

People also wondered how our peace traditions might empower the people at other congregations in our town who are also hungry for justice and peace in our world.

As we reflected together on the recent violent events in our world, many of them inspired by religious extremism, my friend Selden from the Friends Meeting posed this statement to those gathered:

“People talk about extremists, but I say, a true Christian extremist would never hurt anybody. They would love everyone. Nor would a Muslim extremist. They would love everyone. Take any of the world’s great faiths to their extreme, and where do you end up? Here. The longing for peace and the yearning for goodwill bring us together here. Peace is where we meet.”

It seemed particularly powerful on a Sunday when the lectionary urged pastors to preach on the Good Samaritan, a parable that reminds the listener of the radically inclusive love of God. The Priest and the Levite were individuals who would have been well-educated in their theological tradition. But their practical call to serve those who are in the greatest need in love and peace was missing. Their religious commitments prevented them from actively participating in God’s Kingdom.

Jesus’ call to love our neighbor is extreme. It’s extreme because of the way neighbor is defined. The man of the law asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” and the parable of the Good Samaritan provides the answer that our neighbor is whatever marginalized person needs the most help. It’s not just the person who lives next door, or your best friend or family member. It is whoever is in need.

I’m hopeful that these words this might inspire my own community, and I hope that the pain of the ongoing violence in our world calls our congregations to reach out with love and peace in extreme ways – to the victim of religious terrorism, the people shattered by racial or gender violence, or whomever else might need us the most.

Image: Creative Commons/Reedz Malik.