“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

Isaiah 2 verse 4

With the M23 rebel group coming within 12 kilometres of Goma a couple of weeks ago before they were repelled by the Congolese army, and with relations between Rwanda and DRC as frosty as they have been for a few years, many fear an escalation of open conflict in eastern Congo. Once again, our parishes near Mount Nyiragongo have fled towards the city and many others have fled over the border to Uganda.

Within this context the main prayer for the vast majority of residents of eastern DRC is simply for peace. And today civilian, military and church leaders from across Goma stood together in the centre of the city to prophesy peace (Amani in Swahili).

Transforming tools of war into gardening tools

Organised by Tearfund DRC and taking inspiration from Isaiah 2:4 we literally beat swords into ploughshares. In a prophetic act with decommissioned weapons supplied by MONUSCO (the UN peacekeeping force) hundreds of people from every religious denomination took their turn to hammer the tools of war to turn them into tools of peace.

With the hoes that were made we planted flowers, accompanied by testimonies of child soldiers who had left the armed groups to grow crops and to fight for peace. The Catholic Bishop of Goma then took a specially commissioned hoe to present to the Pope who was due to visit Goma on July 4th, but has postponed due to ill health. The focus of his visit is peace and reconciliation.

Inspired by similar events, especially in the US, it is the first prophetic act like this in DRC and was an incredibly powerful display of visible public unity and a commitment to do everything we can to work towards peace in a region that has known nothing but war for almost 30 years.

Photos. Top row: Mgr Willy, the Catholic bishop, with representatives from the police and the Anglican Church hammer decommissioned guns into garden tools. Bottom row: Planting seeds of hope, writing prayers for peace and the tool to be handed to the Pope.

11 June 2022