The theme of the meeting is “A Time for Hope: The Church's Role in Overcoming War and Conflict.”
Bedford Strom's opening remarks touched on persistent barriers to peace and how prayer is the most powerful force for spreading compassion.
“I very much welcome the choice of this conference to focus specifically on war and violent conflict,” he said. “The most persistent barriers to the path to peace are the walls we build to limit our sympathies to our own groups.”
Bedford Strom cited more prayer as the most powerful force for expanding our empathy.
“As Christians and as churches, our credible witness to the world requires that we simultaneously face and are willing to address our own shortcomings, failures and patterns of unfaithfulness,” he said. “Addressing the conflict, coercion and violence inherent in ourselves, our relationships, our churches and our institutions is an opening for addressing the overt violence and war that we see all around us.”
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