Peacemaking. Last spring, the Spiritual Life Team of the Wyoming Interfaith Network sent out a survey inquiring about your top interests. As a team, we have been working on what would be most helpful to the spiritual lives of religious people in Wyoming. When we looked at the responses to the survey, you said: Peacemaking.
As we, on the Spiritual Life Team, explored different options of peacemaking, we discovered there is a movement across the country called “Better Angels.” Better Angels takes its guiding vision from President Abraham Lincoln’s appeal to the nation for our better angels to come forth in efforts of peacemaking.
Mostly, Better Angels seeks to address the divide in political conversation – Reds and Blues. Political divisions are not as deep as you might think. With a little understanding combined with the desire to be a good neighbor – sincere listening and talking; talking and listening -- people come together for the good of all. The skills taught have to do with all human relationships. After all, who hasn’t encountered a barrier with a neighbor or a co-worker or a family member. We all could use a few more skills in human peacemaking.
The Spiritual Life Team is encouraging you to host a documentary on the Better Angels. The documentary is an introduction to peacemaking through an appeal to be better angels in your world. The next presentation will be in Lander at the public library, February 26. It is fairly simple for you to sponsor a documentary presentation on Better Angels. All it takes is about two hours in an evening. Reserve your public library, or your place of worship, or even your home, and invite your community to the presentation. You can learn more at: www.better-angels.org.
If you would feel more confident with a personal guide, Kris Korfonta serves as the Wyoming Coordinator for Better Angels. You can connect with Kris at kkorfonta@better-angels.org. We encourage you to be a peacemaker in Wyoming.
The sacred Scriptures of our religious traditions urge us to live into our better angel. The prophets and teachers all appeal to something deep within us – our better angel -- that calls to our better selves to come forth for the good of all. To be sure, we slip and fall short; yet, the call of the Holy continues to speak to us, deep in our soul, that there is something more to this earthly life. Our Holy Scriptures urge all of us to live into the ethical demands of our better angels. We know we cannot do it alone. We need each other. And, we need the help of the One Spirit who moves amongst us and in us and around us.
Doug Goodwin, serves as Spiritual Life Team Leader in the Wyoming Interfaith Network and as pastor at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Sheridan.