A Just Peace
Hymn composed by
Timothy L. AndersonContextual information
Ending violence in our world requires not only direct acts of peacemaking, but also the establishment of systems that promote equity in access to the resources necessary for human flourishing, as well as the cultivation of cultural and social norms that encourage compassion and caring toward all others. “A Just Peace” serves to counter the common misconception that true peace is merely the absence of direct violence. It aims to achieve that end by highlighting in each of its four stanzas specific ways in which, even in the absence of direct violence, we must implement appropriate structural forms and foster cultural values of respect and dignity to create a just and sustainable peace in our world.
Ending violence in our world requires not only direct acts of peacemaking, but also the establishment of systems that promote equity in access to the resources necessary for human flourishing, as well as the cultivation of cultural and social norms that encourage compassion and caring toward all others. “A Just Peace” serves to counter the common misconception that true peace is merely the absence of direct violence. It aims to achieve that end by highlighting in each of its four stanzas specific ways in which, even in the absence of direct violence, we must implement appropriate structural forms and foster cultural values of respect and dignity to create a just and sustainable peace in our world.
Tune Name
PAZ JUSTA
Tune Name
Text Meter
10.9.10.9
10.9.10.9
Song Composer
Timothy L. AndersonHymn Arranger
Composer Background information
Tim Anderson (he/him/his) is the longtime Music Director of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL. He regularly appears as an accompanist and is an ensemble member of Artists’ Ensemble Theater, having provided music direction for several of their productions. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center and has served as Treasurer and President of UUMN (now AUUMM). In June 2025 Tim retired from academia as Associate Professor of Philosophy at Kishwaukee College.
Lyricist Background information
Tim Anderson (he/him/his) is the longtime Music Director of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL. He regularly appears as an accompanist and is an ensemble member of Artists’ Ensemble Theater, having provided music direction for several of their productions. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center and has served as Treasurer and President of UUMN (now AUUMM). In June 2025 Tim retired from academia as Associate Professor of Philosophy at Kishwaukee College.
Arranger Background information
Lyrics
Peace is not the silence after battle
when the vanquished live their lives in fear.
Peace comes when we nurture care for others,
find humanity behind their tears.
Peace is not a quiet resignation
in the face of anguish and despair.
Peace comes when we lend our voice to others,
lifting up their suff'ring and their cares.
Peace is not an ordered way of living
realized through systems that oppress.
Peace comes when we foster means to flourish,
giving ways for all goods to possess.
Peace is not mere tolerance of others,
choosing to ignore and not engage.
Peace comes when we see in one another
neighbors all in life from age to age.
Resources
Music XML and MEI and MIDI and Musescore files