General Assembly 2015
Poster by Amy McConachie of Ross High, joint winner in the 10-13 category.
Tuesday May 19
moderator's medal
The Moderator's Medal is an annual competition to encourage young people to think about spirituality, faith and belief. This year's winners prepared work on the theme of 'peace'.
Peace by Tamzin Longhorn, St John's Academy, Perth (joint winner of the 10-13 category)
A sudden hush, a moment of calm
The planet holds her breath
Even whispers fade to silence
Invisible in life and in death
There are those who say war is always wrong
Violence should never be an option
But what if it was their homes being taken away
Their possessions up for auction
When you are on the receiving end
When it's not happening far away
When things become directly personal
What now would those people say?
In war there are so many forces
Not just soldiers heroes and villains
But often the significant actions
Are undertaken by civilians
With humans there cant be perfect peace
That’s not the way we are designed
But fighting on this enormous scale
Is there no other solution we can find?
We have so much we need to fix,
There is so, so much to do,
Yet we fight and bicker amongst ourselves
People, what is wrong with you
How many girls are banned from school
How many children stare each night
How fast are we running out of time
When we could put all of them to right
The money spent on tanks and guns
Could be spent on medicine and food
If we can make a difference, change the world
If we can, don’t you think we should?
Peace happened on Christmas Day
In the midst of World War One
The men talked and played football
Then fought once the day was done
If everyone took a step back
Put others needs before their own
Did their best to love and help
United instead of going it alone
So perfect peace is not realistic
But something better must be found
And if we all stand together
We might find that middle ground
Peace by Lisa Whyte, Waid Academy (winner of 16-18 age group).
What is this precious word of peace
That we all yearn and strive for?
A dying breath or a feeling within
A truce or a world without war.
We all hope, pray and dream
For peace in our world today
But it takes us all to work side by side
We all have our role to play
The still and calm I feel inside
Is faith and trust in the Lord
This peace within takes work and strength
Happiness is my reward
For each person to be a part
Of our journey to find peace
They must trust that for everyone
Inequalities will cease
Justice and fairness needs to be the start
So integrity is built among all
A sincere offer, an honest word
Is the first step no matter how small
Consideration, cooperation are the vital key
To opening up compassion and trust
For understanding and tolerance
Will always be a must
So let us all give peace a chance
And have everyone be a follower
Peace is not only a gift from God
It’s our gift to one another
It is not enough to talk of peace
We have to believe it from within
If we each take just one step today
The journey can begin.
