As we look at the year ahead, The political rhetoric will heat up as we move toward the November midterm elections. Democrats will continue to blame the previous administration and try to force their way forward in Congress. Republicans will proclaim themselves the alternative to big, inefficient government and call on the voters to oust the “Beltway insiders” in Washington, D.C.

Today’s snow has hushed the land outside my window, creating just the right moment to reflect on the year ahead.

I enjoyed the new movie Invictus. Morgan Freeman did a stellar job of portraying the early years of Nelson Mandela’s leadership in post-apartheid South Africa. Mandela’s willingness to forgive the past and embrace a rugby team that had been a symbol of the oppression for so many is inspiring.

I recently had the honor of spending some time with Dr. Peter Kusmic, one of the world’s ecumenical leaders, a scholar and a man known for his peacemaking efforts in the Balkans. Peter is the brother-in-law of Dr. Miroslav Volf, a professor who anchors the Center for Religion and Culture at Yale. Both of these men take the words of Jesus seriously, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

Finally, EU and UN officials are coming clean and speaking of “global management” and “global governance” as the aims of the Copenhagen climate summit.