The Little Ways of Building Peace
Editor’s Note: In his first FMS blog post, DCSC volunteer Philip Krabill describes how his ministry site promotes peace and the “little” ways that it makes big differences.
“Those who make us believe that anything’s possible… are often the ones who have survived the bleakest of circumstances. The men and women who have every reason to despair, but don’t, may have the most to teach us, not only about how to hold true to our beliefs, but about how such a life can bring about seemingly impossible social change.”
This quote from The Impossible Will Take a Little While by Paul Loebe summarizes what I have learned so far as a member of DC Service Corps. As a Peace Coach at Little Friends for Peace (LFFP), I have joined an organization with a radically hopeful vision for the future. LFFP believes in a world where everyone can live free of violence and prejudice, held by a beloved community. LFFP works for this goal in a little way by meeting with groups in the DMV area, building relationships, and introducing tools of nonviolence.
The methods that LFFP uses are quite small in relation to its hope for the future (hence “little” being in the name), but they believe that the small changes they make in their community will have a profound influence on the future of peace.
Admittedly, it is difficult to buy into the worldview that LFFP espouses. How can one organization with a handful of employees make any kind of broad influence? I found my answer by visiting the Father McKenna Center for men experiencing houselessness.
The Father McKenna Center hosts a few dozen men on a daily basis for meals, showers, and services that meet other daily needs. For a few hours twice a week, LFFP staff visit the center to hold sessions about different tools for inner peace. For men in such dire circumstances as lacking housing and employment or struggling with illness and addiction, I would not have guessed that LFFP’s sessions made a big difference. We do not directly help them with any of those things, but what I have found through my short time with LFFP is invaluable: through these sessions, I find inner peace.
The McKenna men are grateful for every day they wake up. They share their stories with vulnerability and humility. They enthusiastically encourage their peers going through particularly hard times. Each time new members appear at the center, they receive this culture in the form of a warm welcome. It is clear that as much as the men have unmet basic needs, there is a central need for connection as well. If, in a little way, LFFP’s sessions at the McKenna Center allow for this space of fellowship, then the work we do is forming peace in the world.
This culture is not unique to the Father McKenna Center. With dedicated relationship-building, anyone can sow seeds of peace in the face of injustice, whether it be in our homes, our communities, or our world. Peacebuilding takes time and patience, but it also takes the delusion that every interaction is the chance to make a difference.
Question for Reflection: How can you foster peace in little ways for those in your community?