THERE’LL BE PEACE

1. There'll be peace,
peace for every woman, every man, stillness on the waters, on the land, on the land.

2. When he comes,
everything will harmonise again, hatred will be gone, we will be friends, only friends.
There'll be peace on the earth below, and in the sky above flies the dove. There'll be peace for the stars that shine, for the rocks and hills, yes, there will.

3. Bring your peace,
peace that started when you gave your life,
bursting from the grave to end the strife, end the strife.
Bring your peace to the earth below, paint the sky above with your love. Bring your peace, take our hate away, give us peaceful ways, peaceful ways.

4. Won't you come,
Jesus, Prince of Peace — O make it soon, come and sing your everlasting tune, peaceful tune.
There'll be peace

1987. Maybe it's because I was at university in the late 60s and early 70s. Or that I got into folk music and protest music earlier in the 60s. Whatever the reason, the idea of peace is central to my thinking about the Christian faith. Not ‘peace of mind’ or ‘peace at any price’. They're soft and fluffy concepts, that suggest the absence of conflict, but also the absence of challenge and growth. No, the biblical picture of peace is stronger: wholeness, congruence, togetherness. One of the earliest songs we used in contemporary services was Sebastian Temple's Prayer of St Francis. St Francis of Assissi still seems as good a role model as he was to people of his day. And Make me a channel of your peace still seems as good a prayer as it did then.

 

30.9.24
 

Back from a Break 

 

During September, Dorothy and I travelled
to Norway and the UK.

After long flights
- Adelaide to Melbourne,
Melb to Dubai (14 hrs),
Dubai to Oslo (7 hrs) -
we did Norway in a nutshell
from Oslo to Bergen, then
the Hurtigruten Cruise 
up the west coast of Norway
and back again.
Then an 8 day Trafalgar tour
and 4 days in London,
before taking the direct flight
(16 3/4 hrs)
from Heathrow to Perth.
We're a bit tired (!) but we'll still be a part
of the LWA convention and the 
General Convention .

See some of you there.