40 Days of Peace and Acts of Service

How do you connect your faith with personal actions? In conjunction with this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Study Day theme at Goshen College, “Hope, History and Change,” the Study Day Committee is again coordinating a “40 Days of Peace” initiative, starting January 16, 2012. This initiative coincides with the study day and invites students, faculty, staff and community members to extend practices of peacemaking into their daily interactions with others.

Many of these acts of peace may already be familiar, but the purpose of the initiative is to invite each of us into a more intentional linking of our faith with action in the world. The 40 Days of Peace, as part of the Communities of Peace initiative from Service For Peace offers opportunities for diverse groups and individuals to serve together in a variety of creative projects for the improvement of our communities.

Your commitment to taking on the challenge of the 40 Days of Peace during this period will enable you to do your part in creating your community of peace and expand relational horizons by:

  1. Having an awareness of ourselves and how we affect others through our words and actions
  2. Taking an interest in, and a concern for, other people
  3. Thinking before we act
  4. Choosing how to act in each situation

It takes small steps to make great leaps on the path to peace. Make a difference in your own life and in the lives of others on your journey towards being a peacemaker.

Pledge to join in the 40 Days of Peace. Sign up at: www.40daysofpeace.org

40 Days of Peace and Acts of Service

Jan. 16
Consider volunteering for a local organization once a week for the next six weeks.
Jan. 17
Cease all negative words towards others today.
Jan. 18
Donate gently used professional clothing to an organization that helps people rejoin the workforce.
Jan. 19
Compliment at least two people today.
Jan. 20
Visit a local animal shelter and donate time or money to that cause.
Jan. 21
Forgive someone today.
Jan. 22
Teach someone something today.
Jan. 23
Do not complain or talk negatively about anyone today.
Jan. 24
Using online resources, find contact information to send a letter or care package to a soldier overseas. (Or consider donating to an organization such as Veterans for Peace.)
Jan. 25
Help someone in need today.
Jan. 26
Visit a food pantry or food bank and donate food, as well as any other gifts you can give.
Jan. 27
Let go of an age-old grudge that is affecting your peace of mind today.
Jan. 28
Go through your closets, attic and/or basement and look for gently used items to donate to a charity thrift store.
Jan. 29
Visit a senior in your neighborhood or community, and consider doing so more regularly for company and care.
Jan. 30
Say “thank you” to at least four people today.
Jan. 31
Learn more about one of the service-oriented organizations in your community through talking with others.
Feb. 1
Find a new way to serve at least two people today.
Feb. 2
Give blood either today or sometime in the next two weeks.
Feb. 3
Reach out and connect to two people who are very different from you today.
Feb. 4
Write a long overdue “thank you” note today.
Feb. 5
Look for an opportunity to work as a volunteer for Interfaith Hospitality Network,or some other organization serving the homeless.
Feb. 6
Think of the good qualities of someone with whom you are having difficulty and focus on these today.
Feb. 7
Make a donation to a project in a developing country today (such as a microloan, charity or NGO).
Feb. 8
Donate books to a local library, school or church today.
Feb. 9
Take a deep breath if you’re angry – and wait to speak more peacefully today.
Feb. 10
Find a way to help youth or seniors that you do not know (by donating time, goods or services).
Feb. 11
Send two positive email messages to people with whom you haven’t communicated in a while today.
Feb. 12
Clean up a nearby lot, park or public space.
Feb. 13
Respond to rudeness with a carefully chosen peaceful word today.
Feb. 14
Apologize to a person you realize you’ve offended recently.
Feb. 15
Make a contribution of your time and help a co-worker or classmate today.
Feb. 16
Use a car less often this week, if possible (or reduce your energy consumption at home).
Feb. 17
Catch yourself judging another today, and replace that judgment with a positive thought.
Feb. 18
Share your appreciation of someone else’s work today, especially a public servant.
Feb. 19
Shovel snow or rake leaves for someone.
Feb. 20
Ask yourself, “What is another way that I can serve others?” Look for something that you can do today.
Feb. 21
Apologize to someone for something you regret saying or doing during the last week.
Feb. 22
As you review your volunteering experience during the last five weeks, consider continuing with your volunteerism, and bringing someone else with you.
Feb. 23
Teach something to someone much older or younger than you today.
Feb. 24
Plan your next major vacation as one involving service or volunteerism. Consider, for example, a Witness for Peace trip or volunteering during your time in another city or community.