What does it mean?

The Iona Community members emphasize working for peace and social justice, rebuilding of community and renewal of worship. So it is safe to say that focusing on areas of injustice that need to have a light placed on them is one of the focal areas of the community. Some of them do this in very grand ways such as demonstrating or protesting at nuclear submarine bases to try and rid the UK of this armament. It is profoundly expensive and an economic drain that could be put to use in other areas. Some work as Peace Observers at Israeli check points in Palestine. Still others do things in smaller, but equally important ways, such as create a garden cooperative in their mixed ethnic neighborhood. Turns out when Christians and Muslims get their hands dirty, “justice and peace join hands.”
I admit to feeling overwhelmed and confused in all of this. Overstimulated by the abundance of wrongs that need righted, I grind to a halt. I am fully aware that small, tiny efforts on my part do make a contribution. But they feel so small and lost. I don’t feel like giving up, but digging in. How can I be more purposeful about being a Christian that will “seek peace and pursue it?” How and in what ways will I contribute in the world as someone who does “all the good that I can, all the ways that I can, as long as ever I can?”
So here is the exercise I am going to engage in over the next few days, leading to the remainder of the year. In the June 2014 issue of “Sojouners” managing editor Jim Wallis included 10 Personal Decisions for the Common Good. These apparently appeared in his book THE UNCOMMON GOOD: HOW THE GOSPEL BRINGS HOPE TO A WORLD DIVIDED (2014). I will offer each of these and how I will commit to working on each of these.
These are thin places in these I am sure. And as I challenge myself I challenge you to commit to each of these.