As a member of a traditional peace church, I find myself taken aback at the eerie silence that my own and other traditional peace churches have maintained in the aftermath of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, this week. Mennonite, Catholic, Brethren, Quaker … not one denomination has issued any official statement of any sort offering words of peace that I am aware of. Not one peep. And believe me, I’ve looked.
What’s up with that? Have we in the church become so resigned to our growing cultural irrelevance that we simply see no point in taking a stand against the encroaching darkness of violence and fear? Are we so ready to abdicate our responsibility as a legitimate voice of morality and conscience for the nation? Or is it that the traditional church is so embroiled in defending itself against scandals of its own making that it no longer has time for such matters as moral leadership?
I have to say I’m baffled. I just don’t get it. This much I do know: It’s not a good sign when the church fails to speak on matters of such sweeping import. If we are not going to shine a light into the darkness, who will?
Ann Graham Price 