TAKE LENT INTO THE COMMUNITY: PEACEMAKING IN OUR TIME by Cecil Ramnaraine
Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
January 19th was Martin Luther King Day, celebrating one of the great Christian peacemakers of our time.
Who doesn’t realize that Peacemaking is something needed in our time! We as Christians can learn to be peacemakers and teach others to be peacemakers. I have written a curriculum that does just this. The curriculum has also been taught in adult education in churches, in teacher training in college, and in high schools in Minnesota. It is free. It is on-line. I want to suggest that we as Christians in the SCV can use this also in our community.
First, a little bit about myself. I am an old Presbyterian. I attended an elementary school run by the Canadian Presbyterian Mission in Guyana, South America. I was baptized there when I was in the fourth grade by Rev. James Dickson who was head of the mission. Then I enrolled in the Presbyterian high school. Upon graduation at fifteen, I began teaching in their elementary schools as a student teacher. In 1952 I was granted a partial scholarship to Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, a school sponsored by the Presbyterian Church. I have been a teacher.
The Peacemaking Curriculum: I have retired from teaching in Minnesota, and while teaching, I wrote a curriculum on peacemaking. On November 2, 2014, I signed up for the Adult Education Committee of our church. The committee has a great Lent program called Family Table. It co-ordinates with Pastor Bill’s able leadership during Lent to study the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, our Lord. We can make our study of Lent count by taking the teaching of Jesus into the community. That is where He did His ministry. My peacemaking curriculum can be used to do this. It can be viewed on the internet at www.CecilRam.com or in the two paper copies in our church office.
The curriculum is based on the work of ten Christian peacemakers in our time. Examples are: Mother Teresa, who helped the poor, the helpless and the orphans; Martin Luther King who dealt with peace and racism and whose birthday is a national holiday (January 19); Eleanor Roosevelt who worked for human rights and equality; Nelson Mandela, who practiced forgiveness and reconciliation; Dag Hammarskjold’s work for world peace in the U.N.; Franz Jaggerstalter who lived and died following the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” and choice in war and peace; President Woodrow Wilson who proposed disarmament and the League of Nations; Dietrich Bonhoeffer who opposed Hitler and World War II; Albert Schweitzer, a Christian Missionary; and Will Rogers, a promoter of racial tolerance.
Using the Peacemaking Curriculum in the SCV: We can propose this curriculum to our children’s and grandchildren’s schools. As tax payers we can meet with the school teachers and principals and show them a free curriculum. We can encourage them to teach some or all of the above and by using our peacemakers we can continue the work of Jesus. Barbara Irwin conducted an Adult Education class on this curriculum at our church four years ago and has the material. In addition, we have a start in education — Rebecca Cranert will be teaching it at Monticello School in the fall of 2015.
These are noble starts to project the teachings of Jesus into our SCV community. If you are interested in the issues of peacemaking and justice, you can view the curriculum on-line or see the hard copy at the church office. Perhaps there are some of you who, like Becca, are in education and could use this material in your classes. If you feel do nudged by the Holy Spirit, please let Cecil or Barbara Irwin know of your interest.
Cecil Ramnaraine is the brother of Patrick Ramnarine, who is member of First Pres. Cecil is a “snowbird” who spends winters here, and when the snow and ice melt, he returns to his home in Minneapolis! We are delighted to have Cecil’s contributions in our Faith Community.