Julia Ward Howe is best known as the poet who wrote the words for "The Battle Hymn of Republic" at the behest of James Freeman Clarke, who thought the tune "John Brown's Body" deserved "some good words for that stirring time." Howe was attending Clarke's "Church of the Disciples" at the time. The hymn was published in the Atlantic and quickly became a national sensation.

Not only was Howe a poet, she also was an author, editor, and strong social activist for women's rights, abolition of slavery, and prison reform. She was the first woman elected to the Academy of Arts and Letters, as result of her scholarship in American history. She served as editor of the Woman's Journal and co-editor of the abolitionist newspaper Commonwealth.

Though she wrote the words to the "Battle Hymn," Julia Ward Howe was not an enthusiast of war, and eventually called for a "Mother's Day for Peace." In the "Mother's Day Proclamation," she makes her sentiments as clear as possible and provides a call that resounds through this twenty-first century as well. She understood that many women - and men - could not condone war as a solution to conflict and that, whether war is inevitable or not, we are called to consider higher means in response to tyranny.

While we contemplate Julia Ward Howe's thoughts, let us also honor all those women who battle breast cancer and the women and men who support them in that fight, as the choir brings us, "Who Will Curl My Daughter's Hair," commissioned for the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation by the Women's Chorus of Dallas and the Turtle Creek Chorale.

"Who Will Curl My Daughter's Hair," commissioned for the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation by the Women's Chorus of Dallas and the Turtle Creek Chorale. Sung by the UUFC Choir

"President Wilson called upon our men to make the world safe for Democracy and made every man of them a hero. But Democracy . . . can never be "safe" until the doctrine of the worth of [all human beings] is understood.

War is not possible where [people] recognize that all are alike as God's Children . . . Can we teach this great lesson to the people of the warring world? True it will require time, it will be a matter of education to prepare the way for such a civilization, but can we not begin today? We have sacrificed 50,000 men to make the world safe for Democracy; can we not send 1,000 consecrated preachers who shall teach the foundations of Democracy? Now is the time to begin, when men are tired of war, when women are heart-sick, when the nations are impoverished and overburdened, when all the people everywhere are wishing for something better . . . What a glorious opportunity for any denomination to be the exponent of a new civilization which should express itself in love for [humanity]! To make a new world in which [people] can dwell together in peace!"

Olympia Brown was ordained to the Universalist ministry in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War. She served both as a parish minister and as a community minister. She worked for women's rights and against militarism. At one demonstration protesting Woodrow Wilson's turning his back on the suffrage movement, she burned his speeches in front of the White House. She voted for the first time at the age of 85, one of the few original suffragists to do so.

A pioneer in many ways, Olympia Brown was a champion of education for women and an advocate for peace throughout her life.

Like Julia Ward Howe, she left behind words that challenge us in this twenty-first century, Are we prepared to join together ". . . to make a new world in which people can dwell together in peace!"? Have we the courage of our convictions to do any more than speechify? I am grateful that our youth were able to hear Rigoberta Menchu Tum during this year's Peace Jam. Perhaps they will be better able to take this call for peace out into our world more effectively than we have.

Now let us hear from a 20th century Unitarian Universalist woman who also calls us to action for peace:

"I try to think as a human being and not merely nationally, but there is one personal plea that I would like to make to you, my friends, as an American. Please try to forgive America for being so powerful. We cannot help it. We are neither to be prized nor blamed for it. It is the inevitable result of causes, geographical and historical, which just happen to be so. We are not worthy of this power. We have not the experience and wisdom and goodness that it calls for. Condemn our wrong doings, make clear our blunders and do not condone our shortcomings. Help us. We so need help, but be realistic and generous in understanding the strange situation in which we find ourselves, like an inexperienced young man or woman who awakens one morning to find himself heir to a large share of immensely tangled and complicated estate."

How many of you have even heard of Emily Greene Balch? She was a member the International Council of Women, first established in 1899. Their primary purpose was the promotion of social peace, including the establishment of a permanent International Parliament. This body would substitute a Tribunal of Justice for warfare. These women were committed to peace and arbitration as means for resolving national disputes. In 1915, when the First World War began, the Council called a meeting at the Hague. Emily Greene Balch represented the United States of America. Over 1500 women gathered from many countries, some of which were already at war. It proved to be the only important international gathering held during the war. Though they had many differences, they managed to reach agreement on a plan to bring about peace by instituting continuous meditation. Thus, they asserted that conflict may be managed by negotiation, even on an international level. Their work preceded the founding of the United Nations.

Emily Greene Balch spent the rest of her life working for peace throughout the world. In 1946, she became the second woman in history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1960, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Unitarian Association.

Certainly these are not the only women - or men - from Unitarianism or Universalism who have worked for peace. They simply remind us of a far deeper, wider, and richer heritage in our faith movement of which we often know very little. Each of us may find a way to continue the work they began, perhaps by teaching our children conflict management skills and compassionate communication, perhaps by bringing opposing groups to the table to negotiate, perhaps by reminding others that not all people of faith believe that war and violence are "justified." Each of us may add our energy and consciousness to the human process that may yet tip the balance toward justice and peace. Let us do so with respect, responsibility, and relish for the process.

So Be it! Blessed Be!