“A life of peace may be further manifested in the Church, in our personal intercourse with our brethren. Happy is he who lives with prayer on his lips and with love in his heart! Oh, how lovely is a loving man! Human infirmity often sins against fraternal intercourse; sometimes by omission, sometimes by commission, sometimes without premeditation, sometimes by a form of language which gives rise to an unintended interpretation, and sometimes, alas, by a wilful outbreak of anger, followed by a sad experience of penitence and mourning.

Fathers and brethren! May the manifestations of peace in these and in all other respects, show our prevalent desire to serve God in all sincerity, wisdom, and meekness; and may the world say of us, with an admiration compelled by our peaceful lives, ‘Behold, how these Christians love one another.’” — Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, Unity, Peace, and Blessedness: A Sermon, Preached at the Opening of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in the First Presbyterian Church, New Orleans, May 6th, 1858 (1858)