Wednesday, June 25, 2008

A Peaceful Surprise!

Early this morning -- and I do mean early, 6:45 blessed a.m. -- the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship held its GA breakfast. Now, lest I begin getting an abundance of early morning breakfast invitations, let me hasten to add that this is not an hour at which I am customarily social. But, when it comes to a good surprise, and the celebration of someone who truly deserves applause, I'm there.

This morning's breakfast featured several impassioned reminders of our broken world which cries out for peace. Two recent partners in the Christian Peacmaking Teams who have been active in Iraq were honored. We heard from a Palestinian Christian Non-Violent activist who shared stories of challenge and courage.

In the midst of all of this, perhaps the most rousing applause was reserved for one of our own. The Rev. Peggy Howland, one of God's most uniquely fashioned formidable forces, was honored with a Peaceseeker Award for 2008 for her years of service to the PPF. Soon to celebrate her 50th Ordination Anniversary, Peggy has participated in the work of PPF for four decades. For many years now, she has also been the coordinator of the GA breakfast.

Keeping the secret from her was surely a challenge, but somehow they pulled it off. Several of the HRP crowd were gathered to share in the joy.

An early morning, yes, but a great way to start the day!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh, what a hoot this was for all of us HRP folk! We knew Peggy was going to receive a surprise award so of course we all gleefully jumped out of our beds before 6 "blessed" AM (and if you believe that one I have a beautiful bridge in NYC to sell!). We hooted and hollered and carried on (as New Yorkers are sometimes known to do) and probably embarrassed the two women at our table who were not from HRP. What FUN!