“Speak little, listen much. Walk tall and don’t carry a stick at all.”
Keith E. Gingrich
Six years ago today, my uncle Keith Gingrich died after battling pancreatic cancer for almost one year. Keith worked for many years in Sudan with the Mennonite Central Committee, as well as the Washington (D.C.) office. While he died on Veteran’s Day, he was known by all as a true Veteran for Peace. His work in the Sudan, in India, Washington D.C., and up until 3 weeks before his death, he was working with then Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords to try and get a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty ratified.
My uncle Keith was an amazing man of God (with an incredibly amazing beard!) who I wish I had spent more time with. Some of my older cousins have memories of many in-depth conversations about faith, pacifism and the Christian life that I wish I could have been a part of. During my freshman year of Whitworth, in Writing 101, I wrote a short paper on my Uncle Keith; if you’re interested in it, click here. I pray that on a day like today, that we would be thankful for the War Veterans who have gone before us to make this land a safe place for us – but let us also be thankful and remember those Veterans of Peace, those who continually looked for another way to be faithful to their convictions about God’s desire for peace in the world.