"Feel That Rumble?  It's North Korea Testing Nukes," [1] and "655,000 Civilians Estimated to Have Died in Iraq," [2] and "War Costs Top $500 Billion; Could Reach $808 Billion," [3] and "U.S. Plan for New Nuclear Weapons Advances." [4]   Meanwhile, the trees around us are bleeding pomegranate reds, as if attesting to the bloodshed fueled by dollars earmarked for guns and bombs.

Whether we dwell on it, or avoid it; whether we are personally touched by it, or choose to go about our daily lives as if we weren't at war, I believe this news seeps into our spirits at an alarming rate. 

Our nation is ill at ease. Political junkies and pop culture addicts alike sense that we are on the brink--even smack in the middle--of a deadly era. Our nation leads the world in spending more on guns and bombs than we spend on education and children. Our nuclear arsenal dwarfs that of other nuclear nations. Our jump to war, as if it were the only tool adequate for solving international conflict, invites other nations to do the same. We're headed in the wrong direction, and most of us know--instinctually and spiritually--that nothing but a change in course will make the world better for our children and grandchildren. 

A Native American proverb says it well: "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." So for the sake of our children, we no longer have the luxury of remaining silent and looking the other way. We know this to be true in our deepest selves. 

In my work with WAND, I have the amazing blessing of traveling to cities across the nation to talk with and train people who are ready to take action for peace. The good news is that the nation has inclined its ear to the whisper that says a new world is on its way. And we're a part of the movement. 

Recently, the Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB) ran a story about our work with Christian communities to promote peace, five years after the events of September 11, 2001. The "In Focus" television episode aired four times in September, featuring our Faith Seeking Peace program in addition to the work of Soumaya Kahlifa, an Atlanta Muslim who also had a unique, faithful response to 9/11. AIB, a nonprofit devoted to interfaith issues, reaches an audience of 900,000 in the Atlanta metro area.     

The media is just one way our message about peace is reaching communities of faith. Through WAND’s Faith Seeking Peace facilitator trainings, we are creating grassroots inroads to communities who have tired of the "stay the course" mentality and rhetoric. 

Here's what training participants are saying:

"Thank you for letting me have a say about how I feel about the war, no one has asked me."

"Now I know what to say to my bull-headed brother-in-law."

"My personal experience has been that my political activities and my faith communities do not cross over--amazingly--and I long to find ways to help people in my faith community see many of these political issues as faith issues."

Feel that rumble? It's not just the buzz of the electric autumn breeze.  It's ordinary Americans, many of them women, beginning to speak out for peace, a much-needed change in course. 

If you are interested in bringing the Faith Seeking Peace curriculum or facilitator training to your community, contact Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss at ahvoss@wand.org or Tanya Wallace at 404-524-5999.