Special to United Methodist Insight | Aug. 6, 2026
The United Methodist General Board of Church and Society recently marked the 81st commemoration of the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. Every year, thousands across the country remember and honor the over 200,000 lives lost from the horrors of nuclear war through candlelight vigils, informative lectures, peaceful protests, and more. On Aug 6, Nuclear Prayer Day, many persons gathered at 6 p.m. at the United Methodist Building front steps for a global prayerful commemoration of these anniversaries and to call for a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons, sponsored by United Methodist Church.
Let us also remember persons of African ancestry who have made a global impact for peace.
Diplomat and peacemaker Ralph Johnson Bunche (Wikimedia Photo)
Ralph Johnson Bunche (August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in the Arab–Israeli conflict. He is the first black Nobel laureate and the first person of African descent to be awarded a Nobel Prize. He was involved in the formation and early administration of the United Nations (UN), serving as the under‑secretary‑general and briefly the acting secretary-general in 1953, and played a major role in both the decolonization process and numerous UN peacekeeping operations.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination, which most commonly affected African Americans. During an April 1967 appearance at the New York City Riverside Church, King delivered a speech titled "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence".[213] He spoke against America's role in the war, arguing the US was in Vietnam "to occupy it as an American colony"[214] and calling the US government "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today".On October 14, 1964, King became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in the U.S.
Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan Speaks With Press After Meeting o
Former United Nations general secretary Kofi Annan (Wikimedia Photo)
Kofi Atta Annan[a] (8 April 1938 – 18 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat and statesman who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. In 2001, its centennial year, the Nobel Committee decided that the Peace Prize was to be divided between the UN and Annan. They were awarded the Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world", having revitalised the UN and prioritised human rights. Soon after Annan was awarded the Peace Prize, he was given a chieftaincy title by the Asantehene of Asanteman. The honor was conferred upon him for his "[selfless] contributions to humanity and promotion of peace throughout the world".
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president. Obama also oversaw the end of the Iraq War. Obama is a Protestant Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts in international diplomacy.
Peace Making Opportunities for Young Adults
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in March 1961.Volunteers are American citizens, typically with a college degree, who are assigned to specific projects in certain countries based on their qualifications and experience. Following three months of technical training, Peace Corps members are expected to serve at least two years in the host country. https://www.peacecorps.gov/
United Methodist Volunteers in Mission is the official short-term volunteer sending agency of the United Methodist Church. UMVIM has offered a framework through which disciples can engage in short-term mission locally, nationally, and globally. Our volunteers are lay and clergy, young and old, with differing abilities and vocations, from all walks of life. https://umvim.org/
United Methodist Board of Church and Society careers and internships. In a world plagued by war and terror, violence and destruction, people of faith have a clear call to build peace with justice. https://www.umcjustice.org/what-we-care-about/peace-with-justice
The UNICEF Internship Programme offers students and recent graduates from diverse academic backgrounds the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with UNICEF through global internship opportunities. Interns at UNICEF get experiential learning opportunities in the humanitarian sector and a meaningful internship experience that will support their academic, professional and personal development. https://www.unicef.org/careers/internships
United Nations careers and internships. https://unjobs.org/themes/internship
Richard F. Gillum
Courtesy Photo
Dr. Richard F. Gillum is Creation Care and Peace with Justice Servant at Good Hope Union UMC in Silver Spring, MD.