Remembrance Day is upon us. For many, it's a time to remember and honour those who have fought for our freedom. This can be a challenging time for others, especially those in the peace church tradition.
This includes Mennonites, the Church of the Brethren, Society of Friends and Quakers, many of which, chose not to go to war.
"We're motivated by a following of Christ that understands both Christ's life and teachings to insist on non-violent ethics and a non-violent life," said Darryl Loewen, executive director of MCC Manitoba. " And so, remembering the tragedies of war, is, on one hand, simple enough, war is devastating. It's destructive of life and properties and environments and communities."
As we head into Remembrance Day, Loewen says it's not about ignoring the day. Rather, he says it's important to look at it differently.
"We're convinced that the model of Christ presents us a non-violent as the default for the day," Loewen explained.
One way MCC gets this message across is through their peace pins which say 'To remember is to work for peace.'
"MCC has been preparing these peace pins, making and distributing them since 1989," said Darryl. "It was prompted by the thought of a pastor in Ontario with connections to MCC and interest in activity in MCC saying to the folks of the day we should create something that can promote the notion of non-violence in remembrance of the time of war at the time when Canadian society and others are mindful of tragedies of war ."
Since introducing this pin, Darryl says it has helped create conversation.
"The life of Christ was a life of conversation. It's healing on the wrong day. It's challenging cultural and religious norms," said Darryl. "Engage in conversation. Ask it. Share it. If you're one who wears a pin and not a poppy, explain that you feel like you're putting yourself out there in an awkward way. If that's actually true, there's some humanity to that, and I think there's no harm in revealing one's humanity if you're a person who wears both. And I know lots of folks who do."
He says there's a thoughtful reason why someone is wearing both, and if you're wearing a poppy, explain that too.
"This isn't so much for everyone to agree on a single approach. It's not to defeat another person's notion. But it is a chance to live well in the zones where there's overlap and not full agreement. It doesn't need to live. It doesn't need to cause folks to retreat into philosophical or theological caps."
Anyone interested in picking up an MCC peace pin can visit their office at 140 Bannatyne Avenue or any MCC thrift shop across the province. Churches can also request to receive some by contacting the MCC office.