Please use this short talk at events or in your Advent and Christmas services to let people know about the inspiring peace building work Christian Aid is doing around the world. There are also accompanying PowerPoint slides available to download. If you are planning a sermon, there are notes and pointers to turn this talk into an Advent or Christmas sermon in the worship resources pack. You will also need dove of peace decorations which are available to order and you may want to give out donation envelopes. All these can be downloaded or ordered at caid.org.uk/christmas-resources

Now more than ever, we need peace Carols, songs and Christmas cards all use the image of ‘peace on earth,’ but our world is far from peaceful. If current trends persist, by 2030 more than half of the world’s poorest people will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence. Children are being forced to witness atrocities; families are ripped apart as they flee their homes. For millions of people this Christmas, peace seems like an impossible dream. But while peace is broken every day, it is also built every day through the tireless work of peacemakers. Peace is made by individuals and communities living and bringing peace day after day – like Diana Abbas.

Diana is a peacemaker Diana Abbas is a child psychologist working to bring peace to children who have experienced the trauma of conflict. She works for Association Najdeh, Christian Aid’s partner in Lebanon, who run a children’s centre in Nahr al-Bared camp. The camp is home to 30,000 Palestinian refugees, many of whom have fled from Syria. Diana works with the children at the centre to help them improve their mental wellbeing. Diana says: ‘A lot of children with trauma come here to the centre. Their symptoms include sleeping disorders, speech impediments, loss of concentration, loss of appetite, lethargy, depression, grief and aggression.’ Diana uses drawing and storytelling therapy, as well as counselling, to help children process their trauma and work towards a peaceful future. Diana is a frontline peacemaker helping children and their families find peace in the most difficult circumstances.

Hassan and his family long for peace Hassan has found peace through the same children’s centre run by Christian Aid’s partner, Association Najdeh. Nine-year-old Hassan lives with his father and grandfather in Nahr al-Bared camp in Lebanon. Like thousands of others, Hassan’s family are Palestinians who fled Syria. The family were split apart by the conflict. Hassan’s brother suffered shrapnel injuries so his mother took him to Europe to find medical treatment. All this has left emotional scars on Hassan. He misses his mum and siblings. The children’s centre gives Hassan a safe space to learn, play and heal. It’s taken some time – but things are getting better. Hassan’s grandfather explains just how much the children’s centre has helped Hassan: ‘Hassan was affected a lot when we first came to Lebanon. When his mother left, he cried a lot. It’s been four years since she left. But when he came here to the centre he became better: he found safety, he found friends to play with and he became happy. He found everything he needed, everything he lost.’

‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ For a child affected by violence and conflict, peace means the chance to heal and play. Hassan has been able to find this peace through working with Diana and the other staff at the children’s centre. But there are many more children and families who need this help to find peace and move on from the trauma of conflict, violence and uncertainty. Jesus said ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ and in today’s world, it’s easy to wonder where they are. But people like Diana are working tirelessly to bring peace to their communities. This Advent and Christmas, we can stand with peacemakers like Diana and support their work with those who experience conflict. Peace making is about action and our gifts and prayers can be part of that.

Bishop Paride and his 28 words for peace Bishop Paride Taban of South Sudan is a UN peace prize winner. Working with Christian Aid’s partner, the South Sudan Council of Churches, he has worked to bring peace to South Sudan. For more than 20 years, Bishop Paride has recited his own 28-word prayer for peace as a daily ritual, while doing his morning exercises. He describes the prayer here: ‘Love, joy, peace, patience, compassion, sympathy, kindness, truthfulness, gentleness, self-control, humility, poverty, forgiveness, mercy, friendship, trust, unity, purity, faith, hope. These are 20. Eight more words are: I love you; I miss you; thank you; I forgive; we forget; together; I am wrong; I am sorry. ‘If these 28 words are repeated by everybody, and they know them very well, there will be no conflict between the people. If all people put these 28 words into their hearts, and every day they repeat them, there will be no war in South Sudan; there will be permanent peace in South Sudan.’ For Bishop Paride, peace is something you practice. Bishop Paride is a frontline peacemaker.

Doves of peace We can stand with Bishop Paride, Diana Abbas and Hassan and his family to bring peace through our gifts and our prayers. The dove of peace reminds us that God promised peace on earth. You can decorate your dove with colourful pictures, or perhaps one of Bishop Paride’s words for peace or a prayer. Together the doves can serve as a reminder of how creativity and art have helped children like Hassan overcome trauma, how Bishop Paride’s words for peace are a daily reminder to live peacefully, and that during Advent we are preparing for the peace of the Kingdom of God. We can also give to the Christmas Aid appeal so that we can support Christian Aid’s work across the world. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.’ Matthew 5:9