Issue a Challenge of Peace to Elementary Students   May 2008

By Kelley Renz, M.A.

"Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty" (Archbishop Oscar Romero).

•  Have your students write essays on “what peace is.”
•  Have students study the life of Archbishop Romero: How did he work for peace?
•  Who is the patron saint of peace?
  • Have students nominate people for a peace award that they create and name qualifications for.
•  Challenge students to create a “Peace Wall” in which each class is asked to contribute artwork.

Mary Queen of Peace Mission Statement

 We, the people of Mary Queen of Peace Church, are called by God to live in a community as disciples. Through the sacraments, God nourishes and empowers us to follow the example of our namesake, Mary Queen of Peace. With the help of God's love and grace, our mission is to build up the kingdom of God on earth, bringing our community closer to the Lord and closer to one another as we worship together, educate and serve. (Webster Groves, Missouri)

•  This parish in Webster Groves, Missouri, lives out their mission of peace by working to have close relationships with one another. Discuss ways remaining in close relationship achieves peace.
•  Have each class of students, or each student, write mission statements concerning peace. Then brainstorm practical ways these mission statements can be lived out.
• Ask for volunteers to research when Our Blessed Mother was given the title Queen of Peace and why.

Famous Prayer Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

•  Assign each line to one student or a group of students to brainstorm its meaning.
• Assign each line to one student or a group of students to create artwork to illustrate its words and meaning.
•  Pray this prayer together each day of the month of May.

Kelley Renz is a freelance writer and veteran catechist with over twenty years in religious education. She is the author of God Listens to Our Children (OSV) and the blog “Dear God, This Is Kelley” (http://deargodthisiskelley.blogspot.com).