Sun. Jan. 18, 2009 (Rosemary Monreau)

Rosemary Monreau was our guest speaker, representing the Lingana Foundation which seeks to teach reconciliation to Muslim teenagers in war-torn areas in Darfur (about the size of Alberta), Chad, Central Africa, etc. To help introduce us to the problems she is addressing, she brought and displayed powerful drawings created by students which depict graphic scenes from fighting in the villages from which they had to flee. 1 Samuel 3.1 tells us that "The Word of the Lord was rare in those days"; many of the ideas concerning reconciliation are rarely or never heard today in parts of Africa beset with feuds carried on for generations and with very serious family violence issues. Monreau hopes that, as Christians live a life of reconciliation among these peoples, individuals will come to know the love of God, even if not the specific ways and thinking of Christianity. She is therefore interested in promoting reconciliation through living a life of compassion. By consistently showing compassion, Muslim individuals (who respect Jesus as a prophet, though not as the greatest prophet) may ask new questions. Her dream is to train some 1,800 young people (11-18) in thinking about reconciliation for a year, and then have the older students help spread the ideas. She requests our prayers, financial support and volunteers willing to work on the foundation's behalf in Vancouver. [JEK]