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PRAY

A PRAYER FOR NATIONAL
PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
IN THE PHILIPPINES

ALMIGHTY GOD,

You are the purpose of our existence,
and the reason for our being is
to glorify You,
and You alone,
our Creator.

We seek to submit our creativity
to You,
our Creator;

We seek to continually experience
both the transcendent and the immanent
Shalom we have in You,
our Christ;

We seek to be consistently energized
by the Ultimate Energy
of Your Presence,
our Comforter.

Understood through our spiritual journey,
through the counsel of our spiritual leaders, and
through the affirmation of the Church,
We hereby accept our Calling:

to offer our lives towards the attainment of genuine
peace and reconciliation in our land:

where worldviews and value systems
are mutually respected and
freely expressed in
the context of
a multicultural society;

where truth is advanced by
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness, and
faithfulness;

not by religious imperialism,
not by economic domination,
not by political manipulation, and
not by military suppression.

Understood through our spiritual journey,
through the counsel of our spiritual leaders, and
through the affirmation of the Church,

We hereby accept our Mission:
to offer our time, talents, and treasures
towards the attainment
of a socio-political transformation of our land
where, through active non-violent means,
our people can–

assert our national sovereignty and independence
from foreign domination and control;

promote a self-reliant and sustainable socio-economic development through–
genuine land reform,
nation-building industrialization, and
protection of the environment;

uphold the social and economic welfare of
workers,
peasants, and
other marginalized sectors;

guarantee the right to self-determination of
the Bangsamoro,
Cordillera, and
all the Indigenous Peoples
who are our beloved cultural parents;

and,

advance a comprehensive policy
on peace negotiations.

We hereby submit to You
our Creator, our Sustainer, our Provider
this understanding of the purpose
of our existence, our calling, and our mission
with praises and thanksgiving.

For Your glory and honor.

In the name of
The Creator
The Christ
The Comforter.

Amen.

 


 

WE ARE ACTING IN FAITH TO REALIZE THIS PRAYER THROUGH PAR PROGRAM

PAR is PEACE AND RECONCILIATION. PAR is the heart of our ministry.

PEACE. The concept of peace — from the Hebrew term shalom and the Arabic term salaam —  is understood here as:

 

RECONCILIATION. This is focused on building relationships between antagonists. The primary goal is to seek innovative ways to create a time and a place

  • to address,
  • to integrate, and
  • to embrace

the painful past and the necessary shared future as a means of dealing with the present.

 

PAR MOVEMENT. Through the eyes of faith, we envision a PAR Movement based on salaam-shalom. We see our land enjoying a God-initiated wave towards a taste of salam-globalization. We see various peoples’ initiatives toward making our land and people harmonious in all their relationships. We see our local communities influenced by a culture of peace.

This PAR Movement starts with a nationwide education, organization, and mobilization plan.

1. We’ll discern a PAR Leader in every province who practice a set of biblical leadership ethics.  PAR Leaders are respected women- and men-of-peace. This principle is from Jesus’ instruction to the seventy people he sent out:


“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you.  Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.”  (Luke 10:5-7 NIV)


A person of peace must be discerned and would have the following characteristics:

  • Prioritizes Kingdom values in her or his life.  Righteousness, justice, peace, and mercy are very important to this person.
  • Earns the respect of people.  This person’s family and community regard him or her as trustworthy.
  • Accepts and welcomes strangers.  This person is hospitable.
  • Cares about your safety and security.  This person becomes your protector.
  • Expands your connections to a network of key leaders.  This person serves as your ‘public relations officer’.

This person of peace must also be discerned communally. The discernment process will be done in consultation with each province’s fellowship of pastors and Christian leaders.  PAR Leaders are respected women- and men-of-peace who are actively modelling a person who demonstrates

  • a heart of a servant;
  • a soul of a teacher;
  • a mind of a manager; and,
  • the strength of a leader.

2. We will facilitate the organization of PAR Communities in every province under the leadership of the PAR Leader. These PAR Communities are groups of community leaders—church leaders, local government leaders, civil society organization leaders, academic leaders, business leaders, or any mix of these—

3. We’ll help organize PAR Teams. PAR Teams are composed of local volunteers from various communities who are trained for 8 months to be an on-going, rapidly-mobilized teams who will implement their PAR Communities’ programs. The general objectives of PAR Teams are:

  • to promote peace and reconciliation in our land by giving skilled, courageous support to communities experiencing various conflicts
  • to inspire various parties-in-conflict to discard violence in favor of nonviolent action as a means of settling differences
  • to provide various communities with first-hand information and resources for responding to situations of conflict, and to urge their active involvement
  • to interpret a nonviolent perspective to the media and to our nation as a whole

4. We’ll facilitate the development of PAR Programs. PAR Programs are peace-building action plans that are discerned by the PAR Communities as they get immersed in the challenges and opportunities in their local contexts. These programs include:

  • Inclusive Development Training
  • Social Entrepreneurial Initiatives
  • Community Organization
  • Peace Education
  • Armed Conflict Area Survival Training
  • Fact-Finding Missions
  • Conflict Transformation
  • Disaster Preparedness
  • Trauma Healing
  • Inter-Faith Dialogue
  • Cross-Cultural Communications


BY FAITH, WE SEE AT LEAST ONE PAR COMMUNITY IN EACH PROVINCE BY 2030

Imagine.  By December 31st, 2030, each of our provinces will have a circle of leaders called Peace and Reconciliation (PAR) Communities!  They would serve as the catalysts to organize PAR Teams in their municipalities or cities.  These PAR Teams, in turn, would serve as radical transformation volunteers in their respective families, churches, neighbourhoods, barangays, cities or municipalities.  The PAR Teams would also get involved in PAR Programs that are relevant to their specific context.

We have introduced Peace and Reconciliation Principles and Practices in 33 out of 81 provinces in the Philippines as of August 2020.

20 in Mindanao. 4 in Visayas. 09 in Luzon. But we still have to nurture these PAR Communities so that they would be firmly rooted in the respective soils of their socio-historical contexts.

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OUR GLOBAL PEACE COMMUNITY

We are sent by Mennonite Church Canada Witness in partnership with our international community.