Remembering peace

IVEPers give international greeting on Remembrance Day

December 15, 2010 | God at work in the World | Number 24
Mennonite Central Committee |
Warman, Sask.
Ying Ying Wang of China and Santiago Gomez of Colombia sport both poppies and MCC peace buttons at the Remembrance Day service in Warman.

Wearing both the traditional red poppy and the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) alternative peace button, Ying Ying Wang from China and Santiago Gomez from Colombia—participants in MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program—stood before a crowd of 600 people gathered in Warman for a Remembrance Day service, and talked about peace.

Wang, who works at a Ten Thousand Villages store in Saskatoon, called the people of Warman her friends, then talked about China wanting to find peace, just like Canada. She went on to say that the peace of God is the biggest solution to war and conflict.

Gomez, who works at AODBT Architecture and Interior Design Ltd., with offices across Saskatchewan, is from a coffee-growing province in Colombia, where his mother is a Mennonite pastor. He recognized the sacrificial efforts of all soldiers, but added that they were attempting to make peace with weapons of destruction. “Peace is love,” he said, “and true love comes from our God.”

Both speakers received a warm round of applause.

The event took place at the Brian King Centre in Warman, which is named after  an RCMP corporal who was shot near the town about 35 years ago. Ten RCMP officers were present at the ceremonies, as were military officers, former peacekeepers in Bosnia and Corporal Clint Neufeldt, a member of Osler Mennonite Church. Twenty groups presented wreaths to honour those killed in war.

Last year, two representatives from Mennonite World Conference spoke at the service: Bert Lobe, who grew up in the neighbouring community of Osler, and Cynthia Peacock of India. 

Ying Ying Wang of China and Santiago Gomez of Colombia sport both poppies and MCC peace buttons at the Remembrance Day service in Warman.

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