Imagine for a moment, our safe, quiet communities in Grey and Bruce counties have been transported half way around the world and dropped right into the Middle East. And just for the sake of conversation, let’s say we are now in Syria.

Our cities are not safe or quiet any more, but torn by an internal civil war. Families have lost relatives when the government or somebody used chemical weapons on innocent civilians. The dead are buried, but the pain lives on.

Schools are closed. Young men, teenagers, really, with nothing else to do, are being recruited into the various militias and armies. Some bodies have already come home for burial. Many gave gone, never to return.

The two military bases nearby, one close and one further away, are bustling. But a foreign country is threatening to launch an airborne attack on military targets, and frankly, anything close to the military target could also fall victim to collateral damage.

You decide it’s time to pack up and move your family out of the area for safety. But your options are limited. Some people may simply not be able to leave. And so you sit, waiting.

That’s what the people of Syria are facing right now. Some have left. The United Nations agency UNICEF says there are over 2 million refugees, the majority of whom are children under 18. And additional 4.7 million Syrians are counted as "internally displaced". That means they have moved to safer parts of their own country. Almost all have left their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs.

UNICEF says it only has funding to meet the needs of less than half of the refugees, externally and internally. United Nations High Commission on Refugees Special Envoy Angelina Jolie (yes, the actress) has said, "The world is tragically disunited on how to end the Syria conflict, but there should be no disagreement over the need to alleviate human suffering, and no doubt of the world's responsibility to do more."

The drumbeat of conflict and war is increasing across the Middle East. Is there anything which can be done?

While UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Syria, his calls have fallen on deaf ears.

Canada says it won’t be involved in any "boots on the ground", but Canadians are calling for our government to respond in other ways.

Recently, the leaders of Canadian Christian churches called, through the Canadian Council of Churches, for the Canadian government to take four constructive steps in respect to the crisis in Syria.

They asked our government to respond robustly and generously to the pressures and tensions experienced by both displaced peoples and by the host countries in the region that provide refuge; to lead in the protection of human rights with special attention to the rights of children, women and minority groups; to hold firm to the obligation for all state and non-state actors to respect international law, particularly in situations of armed conflict; and to assist the Council in their efforts as churches to work with local peacemakers and providers of humanitarian assistance in the region.

Last week, the development and relief charity World Vision Middle East wrote an open letter to the G20 world leaders meeting in Russia to ask of them, "We urge you today to set a date for peace talks where those involved with this conflict can negotiate an immediate cease-fire, and a lasting peaceful solution. The worst thing for children right now is more fighting. When will you say "enough"?"

On Labour Day Sunday, Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for peace, calling for a day of fasting and prayer. He said, "...we want a peaceful world, we want to be men and women of peace, and we want in our society, torn apart by divisions and conflict, that peace break out! War never again! Never again war! Peace is a precious gift, which must be promoted and protected."

His words "War never again! Never again war! " have stormed across global social media as a simple, yet profound, universal truth.

It’s a long way from Grey and Bruce to Syria, but we are all humans on the same earth. It is time for us to pressure our elected officials to respond with humanity and generosity and support all global efforts toward peace and not toward war. We want a peaceful world. Let’s pray for it and work toward it.

Rev. David Shearman is the minister of Central Westside United Church, Owen Sound and the host of Faithworks on Rogers TV - Grey County, Cable 53.