Peace and Unity
 
You have called us to be one
To live in unity and harmony,
And yet we are divided:
Race from race,
Faith from faith,
Rich from poor
Old from young,
Neighbour from neighbour..
 
O Lord, by whose cross all enmity is brought to an end  break down the walls that separate us.
 
Tear down the fences of indifference and hatred.
 
Forgive us the sins that divide us.
 
Free us from pride and self-seeking.
Overcome our prejudices and fears,
Give us courage to open ourselves to others by the power of your Spirit
Make us one.
  
Opening words of the Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches 1983
Peace begins with a smile..
Spread love everywhere you go.
Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
There are no great things, only small things with great love. Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.
It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
 
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Let Your God Love You
 
Be silent.
Be still.
Alone.
Empty before your God.
Say nothing.
Ask nothing.
Be silent.
Be still.
Let your God look upon you.
That is all.
God knows.
God understands.
God loves you
With an enormous love,
And only wants
To look upon you
With that love.
Quiet.
Still.
Be.
Let your God--
Love you.
  
Edwina Gateley
​Sometimes
By Sheenagh Pugh
 
Sometimes things don't go, after all,from bad to worse.  
Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
Sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man, decide they care enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go amiss, sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of snow
that seemed hard frozen:  
 
May it happen for you
_________________________

The final line of the poem, a sincere wish that you, have success, is very disarming and touching.  The poem as a whole is a lovely reminder that sometimes indeed, the world is not so bad.  For as awful as things seem, as bleak as prospects for peace in the world, as beleaguered as our environment becomes, sometimes, just sometimes, things go well.  Wishing that goodness on another is noble and wonderful, and something we could all use more of.