Searching for Hope
After the racist mass shooting in Buffalo and shootings in California, Houston, and Chicago, images of violence and grief engulfed my mind. I can only imagine the heightened vulnerability Black, Indigenous, and people of color feel as members of targeted groups. Black Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to die from gun violence and 14 times more likely than white Americans to be wounded, as documented by the gun violence prevention group Brady.
During this past week, I found myself longing for images of hope: images, that counter the hateful rhetoric which fills up social and news media. Not images that put us to sleep or distract us but that maintain hope so we can continue to work for peace and justice in our workplace, local community, and wherever we live and are active.
ACPE leadership and staff this week met with the Anti-Bias taskforce to hear their recommendations for anti-racist practices. This work for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion needs to continue to be a top priority for ACPE and the Foundation.
As my mind was searching for symbols of hope, I was reminded of an image of my youth in Germany. The picture adorned flags, bags, and patches on parkas and jackets. It depicted the UN Bronze statue by Russian artist Evgeniy Vuchetich representing the figure of a man holding a hammer in one hand and, in the other, a sword. It was surrounded by the words “swords to plough shares.” This image originated in the peace movement within the Protestant church in the former GDR and became popular in the West German peace movement as well. The East German movement inspired a peaceful revolution against oppression by the government. The story surrounding this picture is one of hope and empowerment. Remembering this symbol, I returned to the text of the Hebrew Bible in Micah 4. As we mourn the victims of recent shootings and the 16,806 victims of gun violence in 2022 alone, may we find hope to do our part in countering hate and racism and expanding peace and justice.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid.
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