"It is the duty of believers, regardless of the religion to which they belong, to proclaim that we will never be able to be happy if we are against one another; the future of humanity will never be able to be assured by terrorism and the logic of war". — Pope John Paul II 2/23/03

Many denominations have produced statements, programs, and resources on peace and justice, but we see little use of these in local congregations. Why aren't congregations involved in social issues? Why don't they enable people to express concern about global threats? Why don't they use the materials produced by their denomination?

As we asked these questions, we found that some "activists" had very unrealistic expectations about congregations, and many congregational leaders were fearful of what would happen if they were to deal with "controversial issues" in the congregation. When we asked these questions, one lay person said, "I'm afraid that there would be such discord raised that the congregation would come apart and that the people who vehemently disagree would leave." Another said, "I'm afraid people will think we are not patriotic or think we are soft-headed, naive idealists." Still another said, "I'm afraid that I will burnout and drop-out."

At the beginning:

1. Ask participants to take a 3x5 card and write down what they hope will happen in this conversation. (3 minutes)
   
   
2. Have them turn the card over and write on the other side what they are afraid may happen. (3 minutes)
   
   
3. Then ask participants to introduce themselves briefly, giving their name and whatever they would like to share about their hopes and fears (or concerns).

This relatively non-threatening beginning is practice towards later being able to articulate their hopes and fears about the issue being discussed. Every issue evokes hopes and concerns from our own history.