Other Stories from the Campaign
Annville Church of the Brethren, Annville, PA
Bridgewater Church of the Brethren, Bridgewater, VA
Everett Church of the Brethren, Everett, PA
The Faith Community of the Brethren Home Community, New Oxford, PA
Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren, Elgin, IL
Timbercrest Seniors for Peace, N. Manchester, IN
Bridgewater Church of the Brethren, Bridgewater, VA
by Roma Jo Thompson
The Peace Committee of the Bridgewater Church of the Brethren hosted Ted & Company Theater Works on Monday evening, September 21, 2009. The doors of the church
were open at 6:15 and the program started at 7:00 p.m.
Pastor Fred Bernhard welcomed the people and opened with a Prayer for Peace.
A poem by Nancy B. Turner, "Let Us have Peace", was read by Hugh Whitten with emphasis and feeling.
The Russian Baptist music director and a student played three songs using an Accordion and stringed instrument (similar to a banjo) that was Russian. The translator, a young man named Paul, translated the name of the songs and some meaningful comments.
Ted & Company Theater Works ( Ted, Trent and Pete) did a marvelous job presenting the premier play "I'D LIKE TO BUY AN ENEMY'. The drama and music (by Trent) was very challenging and thought-provoking. The whole audience laughed at their antics.
We had a great committee that placed posters especially made for this evening event at hundreds of businesses and churches. Ted & Company provided bulletin inserts for the churches to use. We did not have an actual head count but believe there was over 300 people present. The church was packed!
We have received lots of appreciative comments. Outside on the church lawn and on the road to the church we had Peace signs and the children's peace panels on display at the entrance of the church.
by David Waas
Timbercrest Seniors for Peace and the Manchester COB cooperated in a vigil on the 21st. It was from 11 AM to 12:30 PM in front of the N Manchester Post Office. During that time we had about 40 persons who were there for all or part of the time David Sollenberger took some video but it was raining and so I'm not sure what he was able to get. Thanks for all the help in getting the day organized across the country.
Annville Church of the Brethren, Annville, PA
Annville Church of the Brethren held an IDOPP observance on Monday September 21, 2009 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Our service included 15 min. increments of scripture, a reading, prayer or litany and time for prayer and silent meditation. We had invited all of the churches in our community. Even though our attendance was small, all of those in attendance felt the presence of God and felt as though we had contributed to the greater good by taking time to consciously pray for peace.
Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren, Elgin, IL
Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, IL held a special peace prayer vigil during their morning worship on Sunday, September 20, following a theme of "Seeking Shalom of the City".
Associate pastor Audrey DeCoursey, who planned the service, said, "It went very well. We had lots of positive feedback. Several people expressed appreciation for the event, saying it was beautiful, even though the service ran 20 minutes over and the peace prayer was at the end. It felt like a great way to lift up the concerns of our congregation for its local community, and to lift our gaze from our own problems and joys to the wider world context. In lighting the candles and using a diversity of voices in the prayer reading, we brought many persons and spirits into the space."
The text of the prayer read at the vigil is
posted on the church blog, at http://hacob.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/international-day-of-prayer-for-peace/
Everett Church of the Brethren, Everett, PA
From Pastor Frank Ramirez: "A local website covered part of the ceremony, available at http://bedfordcountyfreepress.com/.
I'm afraid my introduction was fumbled a bit. I meant to say that the observance did not favor any political party or denomination, but was for all people. Anyway, Marilyn Lerch, pastor of the Bedford Church of the Brethren, gave the message Grassroots Peace, in which she challenged people to work internationally, but also locally, recognizing the need to do the things that make for peace in all aspects of our lives, from such obvious things as Domestic Violence, to respect for the earth with regards to such choices as bringing canvas shopping bags into the grocery store."
The Faith Community of the Brethren Home Community, New Oxford, PA
Our congregation meets on the campus of Cross Keys Village of the Brethren Home in New Oxford Pa. Given that many of our seniors have mobility issues and the limitations of many of our nursing residents we decided to have small worship centers in each of our neighborhoods, assisted living, independent living and at our meetinghouse.
These worship centers included a bible, suggested scripture readings, registration sheet and candle (battery operated). We are glad to report we had over 90 persons involved in praying for peace with many expressing appreciation of joining with other Christians on this special day. -- Merv Wunderlich, Pastor and Director of Pastoral Care.
