Here are brief reports of what some of the participants are planning for this year's On Earth Peace campaign for the International Day of Prayer for Peace.

Annville Church of the Brethren, Annville, PA 

They will have prayer at their church building on Sept. 21st from 6:30-8:30. They have invited all local churches to join the time or prayer. It is divided into 15 min. segments each containing scripture, a reading (several came from resources on the OEP IDOPP website), silent mediation and an invitation for personal prayer with candles available to light for prayer requests. One of the segments will include a 5 min. video a member of the church made on how Annville Church of the Brethren can reach out to the community.

Annville Church of the Brethren has been active in the DoV by raising $500 each year to then go to award the 2 high school students who win their peace essay contest, which they rotated through the local high schools. They have done this each year from 2001 and will do it through 2010.

The Assembly of Good Christians (General Conference of Cathars)

On August 19, on The Assembly of Good Christians website, there was this message and a link to the On Earth Peace IDOPP website. "Overwhelming support for the International Day of Prayer of Peace Details of how local AGC communities will participate with the Church of the Brethren in the International Day of Prayer for Peace are now expected to be made public no later than Wednesday 19 August, a month before the event.  At this moment 147 locations worldwide have forwarded ideas. At the moment sorting proposals, not security is the task before the Elders."

Beaver Church of the Brethren, Beaver, IA

The Beaver Church of the Brethren, United Methodist at Beaver, Iowa is planning to take part by serving the community a brunch and prayers for peace.

Brooklyn First Church of the Brethren

From Pastor Jonathan Bream:  We at Brooklyn First Church of the Brethren are planning to have a prayer walk in the community around the church on September 21 at 7:00 pm. Sister Doris Abdullah, one of the church's Deacons, will be leading us.

Bridgewater Church of the Brethren, Bridgewater, VA

From Roma Jo Thompson:  We are having a special observance. Ted and Company are going to present a brand new drama "I'd like to buy an Enemy". This will be held at the Bridgewater Church of the Brethren and is open to all the churches here in town, plus we are advertising in the Mennonite churches and the Shenandoah District newsletter.

Black Rock, Glenville, PA Church of the Brethren

From Pastor James Risser:  Just wanted to let you know what the Black Rock Church of the Brethren is doing for our IDOPP observance.  We introduced the event in a recent Sunday worship service, giving a short spoken introduction and then showing the "Blessed to be a Witness" video.  It seemed to be well received.  We plan to have a prayer vigil for peace using a sign up sheet allowing people to sign up for a particular time in a 24 hour period beginning just after worship on the 20^th.  We will provide prayers and readings for reflection during the vigil.  We decided to allow people pray wherever they are at their chosen time.  We also plan to set up a display with peace resources in the back of the sanctuary starting Sunday, September 6^th.   Our worship service on the 20^th will be focused on praying and hoping for peace as well.   Our worship service will be broadcast the following Sunday at 6:30 AM on a local AM station through the Hanover Area Council of Churches.

Carlisle, PA Church of the Brethren

Carlisle Church of the Brethren are having a peace walk on the Town Square of Carlisle on Sept. 20th....

Cedar Creek, Cedar Lake, Pleasant Chapel Church of the Brethrens, Northern Indiana

Cedar Creek, Cedar Lake, & Pleasant Chapel Churches of the Brethren will be coming together to worship, act, sing, & plant a peace pole at Pleasant Chapel. Our theme for the evening is 'Peace'. One man here has made the pole. We have eight plaques that just arrived yesterday (we'll be getting them on the pole this weekend). One of the plaques is Urdu (Pakistani). We have a man in town from Pakistan & a family from India. They all work at the BP & they all speak Urdu.

Pleasant Chapel pastor, Valarie Kline, reports, "We're going to have stone soup that evening....we're encouraging everyone from all three churches to bring vegetables to put in a kettle outside before the services begin inside. That will be symbolic of the unity we share."

"It's been fun brainstorming & coming up with other ideas for the future. We will likely have someone from the newspaper with us that evening. Whether or not we do, I will plan to send an update with pictures."

As a way of seeking to heal divisions between the three churches and their communities, they plan to distribute puzzle pieces to each member of their respective congregations with instructions to write on the puzzle piece those negative things in themselves that stand in the way of healing division that they desire to eliminate from their lives and the life of their community of faith. The puzzle pieces will then be dropped in a hole at the base of the peace pole and buried.

Church of the Brethren General Offices, Elgin, IL

General secretary Stan Noffsinger will lead a special chapel service for employees, volunteers, and guests to observe the International Day of Prayer for Peace. Because chapel services at the General Offices are held every Wednesday at 9:15 a.m., this special service will be on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria

EYN Jos will have a prayer service on Sept. 21. It will go from 4:30-6:30 or 7. There will be songs & praises, followed by a time for people to share stories of peace or need for peace and then they will go into a time of prayer.  Markus Gamache has also talked with EYN people in Port Harcourt and Abuja about observing IDOPP.

Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren, Elizabethtown, PA

They will do an observance on Sunday, Sept. 20th. The full service will focus on peace. If the weather is good they'll have the closing prayer outside around their peace pole.

Everett Church of the Brethren, Everett, PA

This year, on Monday, September 21, at 6:00 PM, the Everett Ministerium and the board of directors of the Everett Free Library will sponsor a community prayer event at the peace pole. Featured will be a sermon by whoever submits the sermon selected in the annual Jennie Calhoun Baker Peace Sermon event.

The Faith Community of the Brethren Home Community, New Oxford, PA

They will be having a 24-hour prayer vigil.

First Central Church of the Brethren, Kansas City, KS

Paul Cesare writes, "First Central Church of the Brethren is planning the International Day of Prayer for Peace in Kansas City, Kansas, with the theme to be health care reform.  An expert presenter, Corrie Edwards, from the Kansas Health Consumer Coalition, will be speaking on the national issue from the perspective of Kansans.  The event is the culmination of attending numerous meetings where people have shared the need for a civil event to take place around the issue of health care reform.  This event will offer people the opportunity to be life-giving to one another and listen to the facts as they discuss the issue.  First Central members are passing out flyers in the community and, as they greet people, asking them if there are needs in the community that are not being met.  Thus far, the members have been invited to attend a neighborhood association meeting, been asked to start a program to keep youth off the streets, and been told the city needs to do a better job on its drainage ditches.  The congregation will do what it can, but makes no promises, especially about the drainage ditches..." 

Glendora Church of the Brethren, Glendora, CA

Pastor Martin Mike has recruited five area churches to be involved in a vigil that will be held on the Glendora Church of the Brethren property because of its location next to City Hall and across the street from the police station. Mike recruited them by taking info about OEP to a June meeting of the Glendora Ministerial Association. He explained to them that the idea behind our campaign was to seek true shalom at the local level. That approach seemed to really be a determining factor in the involvement of those congregations.

Goshen City, IN Church of the Brethren

Update:  09/08.  They have a planning meeting tonight for their Sept. 21 community prayer service focused on the local effects of the economic crisis. For their 1st planning meeting on Aug. 10th they had 5-6 other churches who came to the meeting and who are now working to put together the prayer service. 

Fourteen other churches and the ministerial association have been invited to the gathering on the 21st. There will be representatives from the Center for Healing and Hope, a free clinic, Window, an organization that gives free food and Casa, which works on housing options for people. The planning team is also working to get three people to share their stories of how they have been effected by the economic fall-out. One man in the Goshen City Church has a harrowing story. They are asking one person from a Hispanic congregation that uses the Goshen City Church of the Brethren building to share the stories of their church community, where all but one of them have lost their jobs.

The worship service will be held in the fellowship hall of Goshen City Church. They will have round tables set up for people to share and listen to each others stories on the local economic situation. They will have Spanish-English translation services there at the service. 

Pastor Bev Weaver and Bill will lead a 5 min. time of IDOPP prayer at the Northern Indiana District Conference on Sat. Sept. 19th at Camp Mack. They contacted the Moderator and asked for some time to observe IDOPP.

This is the first time that Goshen City is a part of IDOPP. 

Green Tree Church of the Brethren, Oaks, PA

Out of a 2-year relationship between pastor David Leiter and his friend Nathan, pastor of Bethel Baptist, a neighboring African-American church, they are organizing a joint worship service at Bethel Baptist on Sept. 20th with a meal following the service. Green Tree and Bethel Baptist are sponsoring the service but they are inviting the community to attend and asking other local clergy to participate in leading it. Nathan will preach on "Peace and Violence: Broadening our Definitions." Says David, "Thinking about peace in terms of Shalom has helped broaden the idea of what peace is. We need to do the same for violence. Not having health care, access to education, and food are all forms of violence as well."  It would have been a concern if the sermon's perspective would have come from peace as only anti-war and anti-militarism. People of Bethel Baptist have more nationalism and patriotism in some ways then the people of Green Tree in terms of understanding war and militarism. So the pastors thought they had to broaden the definitions of peace and violence to reach their congregations.  After the sermon, David will offer a challenge to the people gathered; "What You Can Do Now." 

Highland Ave Church of the Brethren, Elgin, IL

From Associate Pastor Audrey DeCoursey:  The IDOPP will be part of their Sunday service.  As the congregation has been doing work on responding faithfully to the economic crisis and to counter-recruitment, they may incorporate these into their observance. She envisions getting the youth involved as well for the service.

 Huntington, IN Church of the Brethren

From Dean Beery:  The Huntington Church of the Brethren is teaming with a local convent (Victory Noll) to do a community service.

 Update 09/08:  Their IDOPP vigil will be at Victory Noll on Sept. 22nd during there weekly Taize service. Manchester College students will lead the sentence prayers portion of the service and students from Huntington University will set up the ambiance of the room. Cliff Kindey, of Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT) will speak about what he does in his personal life to be able to go out into places in the world to work for peace.

 La Porte Church of the Brethren, La Porte, IN

From Lucinda Barnum-Steggerda: "As a Pastor, parent, and Parent Educator in an elementary school I see a need to come together as church community to pray for peace. Our entire Worship service September 20 will center around praying for peace. The sermon I have written is in the form of a prayer and allows people to voice their prayers and also sit in silence and let the peace of God descend upon them. It moves through many different areas in our lives where peace is needed. Resources have also been used from OEPA website and hymns of peace will be sung. The children;s story will be "Praying with our Feet: by Lisa D. Weaver."

 La Verne Church of the Brethren, La Verne, CA

They are holding an Everylight workshop and vigil to "build a world of encouragement, exploring the current conditions that make prayer powerful and peace possible." The workshop will be held at the church on September 20, from 2PM-4PM. Participants will learn how to build a system of encouragement in their communities and in the world.

Lower Miami Church of the Brethren, Dayton, OH

From Nan Erbaugh:  We're planning a 4-6pm outside prayer time with a short worship time at 5pm.  We'll have a sign up announcing IDOPP and inviting passersby to stop in and pray with us.  We'll also have other one word signs up like unity, peace, tolerance, family, etc. just to attract attention.  Our own folks may stay for 2 hours or come and go.  I guess it's kind of a combined observance and vigil.  I plan to write letters to the other churches in the township to invite them.

Update 9/10: 

They will have big signs up in the church yard inviting people to pray from 4-6 pm under the walnut tree. Signs saying "education," "family," "tolerance," "unity," "love" will also be in the yard. They have invited many local churches to stop by. They'll have books out for people to look through as well and at 5 pm they'll have an organized worship for about 20 min. with focused prayers for their township, Jefferson, where the school district is failing in part to lack of funding with white flight and the average age of residents in 60s. Also there has been an increase in gun violence over the last year.  They're also thinking of hanging a white sheet to side of building where people can write their thoughts, concerns, prayers. 

Lakewood Ministers Association, Michigan (Hope Church of the Brethren, Lake Odessa, MI)

From Jim Kinsey:  The Lakewood Ministers Association, made up of 16 congregations, will hold a prayer vigil on Sept. 21st. Jim and his associate pastor will be organizing a team of others from the association to put their event together. The event will be at the Congregational Church, which offered to hold it there.  Jim is very excited about getting the association involved.  He expects perhaps 150 attendees at their vigil.

Mack Memorial Church of the Brethren, Dayton, OH

This year, they plan to work with the Dayton International Peace Museum which has its festival about the same time as IDOPP, on September 19. They will hold an observance in church on Sunday morning, and then some kind of public vigil on Monday, September 21. Dayton has been going through some very hard times. All automobile industry associate manufacturing has ceased and NCR just announced that they are pulling out of Dayton. They have seen an upswing in violence in the community. They are very interested in finding ways to gather people together and listen to their needs. Even though Mack Memorial is much smaller than it used to be, they have adopted a vision calling for them to be the hands and feet of the community. 

Manassas Church of the Brethren, Manassas, VA

Their IDOPP plan is to hold a congregational candlelight vigil on Monday, September 21. They will also dedicate their service on Sunday, September 20 to a peace theme. They will be holding special Sunday School classes on peace during the fall, ending on Peace Emphasis Sunday, November 8. 

Manchester Church of the Brethren and Timbercrest Seniors for Peace, North Manchester, IN

The Manchester Church of the Brethren and Seniors for Peace has planned to observe the occasion by holding a silent vigil in front of the North Manchester Post Office from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. on Monday, September 21, 2009. Signs with a brief peace message and attractive handout will be available, which can be personalized hopefully by Parents, Seniors, Grandparents, Veterans, etc. for peace. It is anticipated that Students, Parents, Grandparents and other denominational groups will join in the observance. 

They are hoping others of the community will join them, if only for part of the 90 minute period. If that is not possible, passers-by will be encouraged to give a friendly "honk" as they drive by.

Mechanic Grove, Quarryville, PA

Mechanic Grove is participating in Kids as Peacemakers mural project as part of a larger initiative through the Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness.  They used the curriculum and resources provided by Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness to run a 6-week teaching time with the 20-30 children from their congregation that culminated in a covered-dish lunch after Sunday service where the children painted 2 mural boards incorporating what they experienced in the 6 weeks of learning and talking about peacemaking. Their murals will be displayed in an Art Walk, along with others from the county on Sept. 19th at the Lancaster Clipper baseball stadium. The Barnstormers team will donate $4 from the price of admission to that day's game to the Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness.  The congregation's peace committee made an intentional and concerted effort to involve the children of the church community in learning and talking about peacemaking, because they felt they have not put enought emphasis on kids as peacemakers in their congregation's peace witness. Mechanic Grove will also engage in IDOPP on Sunday, Sept. 20th, with a sermon on what it means to be a peacemaker. 

Middlebury Church of the Brethren, Middlebury, IN

From Melissa Troyer:  "We're doing a vigil. It's actually more of a community celebration with all the groups around town who have worked towards the struggles of our 18% unemployment and it's symptoms this past year. So, it won't be a quiet vigil, rather we're having probably 8 churches and five different music groups involved.  The theme will be taken from Matthew 5:23-24.  We're addressing the area's economic challenges.  In previous years the participating churches in IDOPP have been the 4-5 Mennonite and Brethren congregations in the area.  This year we are inviting other churches from the community, and are hoping to involve them planning the event next year." 

The celebration will be held on Main Street in Middlebury at Memorial Park.  It will have three focus areas:  1) a story of reconciliation involving two Mennonite congregations that split 80 years ago over issues no longer relevant, and are now beginning to merge in light of their economic circumstances; 2) Middlebury Ministerium activities, including the Community Food Pantry sponsored and supplied by member congregations that used to feed 12 families/wk and is now feeding 200;  and introduce and recognize a new community agency, the Middlebury Area Recovery Committee (MARC), which is an effort to coordinate church and civic programs that are helping people.  Music from several local congregations representing different gender and generations will be performed between the three parts of the event.  The idea is to focus on how the community is helping itself through this crisis.  At the end of the evening, everybody will gather with lighted candles and go out into the world. 

Northern Indiana District Conference

Pastor Bev Weaver and Bill Weybright will lead a 5 min. time of IDOPP prayer on Sat. Sept. 19th at Camp Mack. 

Oakton Church of the Brethren, Vienna, VA

From Missy Burket:  We are putting together an IDOPP observance. We are planning to do both a Twitter, Facebook, and email hourly update throughout the day to provide people issues or ideas to pray about. We are also planning to have an open house at the church from 5-9 pm to offer people a place to pray and be prayed for. We are intentionally reminding people that peace begins with inner peace.

Oak Grove Church of the Brethren, Rocky Mount, VA

I am helping to plan the service to be held at Oak Grove Church of the Brethren. on Sunday Sept. 20th. It will be the 2nd annual IDOPP event for the Virlina District and planned by the Peace Affairs committee of the District. -- Karin Musselman

Palmyra Church of the Brethren, Palmyra, PA

The Palmyra Church of the Brethren is planning a service focused on peace on Sunday, Sept. 20.  Speaking at the service will be Dick Mahoney, director of the the Baker Peace Institute at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA.  We'll also have a display of books on peace from our library, a children's sermon on how peace is spoken around the world (languages), some peace-themed music, and a "Moment for Peace" to talk about what our own congregation is doing to make peace in our community and world.  During the service, we'll highlight the IDOPP the next day and encourage congregants to pray for peace.

Pomona Fellowship Church of the Brethren, Pomona, CA

Observance in Sunday morning worship with prayer for peace. There will also be joint worship with local churches on Monday evening for a vigil.

Portland, OR Peace Church of the Brethren and Metanoia Peace Community (UMC)

On Sunday, September 20, the Portland Peace Church of the Brethren will be having a whole day of peace-related activities.  At their morning worship, Brethren folksinger-composer Mike Stern will speak and play.  In the afternoon they are partnering with the Metanoia Peace Community (UMC) for more singing, fellowship and a prayer vigil.  Mike Stern will perform a children's folk music concert in the afternoon, followed by worship and a meal.  After the meal, a delegation from the Hiroshima World Friendship Center will share their experiences and pray with attendees from several other Portland faith groups.  Mike will play again for that prayer vigil.

Rockford Community Church, IL -- Samuel Sarpiya

Samuel Sarpiya is a church planter who expressed interest early in the campaign in conducting a listening initiative.  He spent weeks interviewing pastors, community leaders and the public about their concerns.  What arose out of those conversations was the need to address the declining condition of Rockford schools and the issue of providing equal educational opportunities to all the people of Rockford.  

Their vigil will be a multi-week event that will run from September 21 until October 5 at the urban retreat center setting that Samuel has been offered. The Rockford community has a history of churches coming together to pray publicly in the fall season.  Samuel has arranged for a professional photographer/videographer to film clips of the event for Kay Guyer's video. Samuel says that he expects a good turnout of local churches for the vigil.

The situation in Rockford has changed dramatically since the thir week in August when two white police officers shot and killed an unarmed escaped black prisoner in an African American church on the west side of Rockford. The man had been talking with the pastor's wife when a police car drove up. He panicked and ran inside the church to a restroom at the day care center there, where he was shot in full view of the children.

The pastors involved in planning the IDOPP vigil around school issues have decided to go ahead with their plans, since all of the arrangements have been made, but they have all agreed to meet after IDOPP to focus their attention on how to move forward in the community in a reconciling way. Samuel felt that there might well be a need for further On Earth Peace involvement with the community.

San Diego Church of the Brethren, San Diego, CA

There will be a community meeting on August 29 at San Diego First Church of the Brethren. The City Heights neighborhood of San Diego has been given $10M and a trained facilitator, Jeanette Neeley, to do a listening project with as many people as possible from the neighborhood.  The California Endowment has given grants to 14 other locations in California, but the grant to City Heights is the only one where the decision about what project to pursue is being made at the grassroots level via a listening initiative. What makes City Heights different from the other locations is that in the last 10-15 years the Price Family Foundation (Price Club) has put a lot of money into City Heights, and that has helped to build a sense of community ownership and empowerment in City Heights.  The California Endowment wants its project communities to focus on issues involving youth and health. In City Heights the more local focus is likely to include gang violence, school attendance and nutrition. The issues that arise from listening efforts in City Heights will form the substance of the prayers that will be raised by San Diego First Church of the Brethren and the other participating congregations during their International Day of Prayer for Peace vigil in September.

UPDATE on Aug. 29 meeting:   Great session!  The facilitator expected to fill up about 4 tables sheets with our brainstorming--- well, we were onto p. 9 before it ended!! (Linda).  

Monday night, Sept. 21, 7pm: Prayer Power to focus on Eradicating Violence in City Heights.  The 3 Historic Peace Churches--- Church of the Brethren, Mennonites, and Friends (Quakers) all located in Fairmount Park, City Heights--- invite EVERYONE to an Ecumenical/ Inter-Faith Evening Gathering on the International Day of Prayer for Peace, for a time of prayer, candle-lighting, song, and considering how best to be instruments of God's Peace in City Heights.

We'll join together for a time of PRAYER for those who are in gangs, those who are tempted to join gangs, parents who are worried about their youth, all those who have been victims of violence or abuse (both in their past, growing up--- and, currently), - all those who live in fear of violence - all those whose homes are in turmoil (conflict, overcrowding, stresses of poverty), community organizers--- Peace Promotion Momentum Team and all those working to eradicate violence in City Heights, police officers--- working on violence prevention, and dealing with dangerous situations, teachers in City Heights, students who are making choices for peace, the concerns of your spirit!! and, we'll pray for guidance--- for discerning God's leadings and nudging to us, as we seek to know how to best be instruments of God's Peace in City Heights.   We'll also have a candle-lighting ceremony, join in song, and offer the Pledge of Nonviolence as a possible tool to help promote peace in City Heights homes, schools, and places of worship. 

Skyridge Church of the Brethren, Kalamazoo, MI

Monday, September 21, 10am to 8:30pm, Skyridge Church of the Brethren -- Prayer space in the sanctuary and displays of children's artwork from the Peace Pizzazz Celebration in the narthex will be open to the public all day; 4:30-5:30pm Cooperative Games on the church lawn; 7pm Community Prayer Service.  Sponsors:  Skyridge Church, Kalamazoo Friends Meeting, Department of Peace & Women in Black.  

Staunton Church of the Brethren, Staunton, VA

From Scott Duffey:  We will have an ecumenical prayer service at the church.  It will be interactive with various prayer stations, as well as some focused music and readings. 

There is an Augusta County Peace Group doing a vigil on the courthouse steps on Monday night.  So we picked the right time by going with Sunday evening from 6-7 PM. 

South Bend IDOPP, Lois Clark -- United Religious Communities

The South Bend IDOPP committee formed 3 years ago with OEP's 1st campaign. This year they will have a prayer vigil in the lobby of county city building from noon-1pm. They will be called to prayer by a drum group, who were every excited to be contacted to do some drumming for peace. David Cortright, Notre Dame professor at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, will open the gathering and then 8 faith leaders people will read prayers from their traditions -- Hindu, Native American, Muslim, Jew, Christian. They will close with "Let there be peace on earth." This day they are focusing on prayer as they will spend a season of research and listening through the fall and up to MLK day, based on youth violence in South Bend.

They want to do a listening initiative through the fall because they want to spend a lot of time on this and to do it for Sept. 21 would have been rushed.

The committee working on IDOPP and this extended listening initiative include United Religious Community, Church Women United, CURE (group that holds a prayer circle on each Thursday after a shooting and killings at the spot of the violence), TAP (Transforming Action into Power which includes schools & community groups), Andre Stoner Mennonite pastor in South Bend who organzied the Center for Peace and Nonviolence, the Michiana Peace and Justice Coalition (comprised of union leaders, Notre Dame professors, other community members), a man who is a community outreach person at a local hospital (the committee is looking to him for statistics on shootings and others who end up in ER because of violence), Director of the Charles Martin Center (named after a young man who was killed in South Bend), a person who works in the criminal justice system.

The committee wants to do deep research into youth violence as a public health issue in South Bend. Lois says they have "given the spirit full reign here" and felt that they needed more time to do this research and listening through MLK day. They hope that the listening initiative will be combined with an annual listening circle event called "Taste of Peace." In the past it has brought churches together to talk and listen to each other around racism. This year the IDOPP committee hopes it will do its listening circles around youth violence.

Unity in the Community, Manassas, VA

(Aug 28) Illana Naylor, a member of Manassas Church of the Brethren, reported details of the IDOPP vigil that is being planned by Unity in the Community, a local multi-faith organization in Manassas that she is a member of.  Unity in the Community has been observing the International Day of Prayer for Peace since the beginning of the On Earth Peace campaign three years ago.  

Illana said that she "couldn't be more pleased", and that working on the event this year "has been a joy." 

Their event carries the theme "Healing for Our Community," and will take place at the Reformed Jewish synagogue, Congregation Ner Shalom.  The rabbi, Jennifer Wiener, attended the event last year at the Islamic center, the Dar Al Noor Masjid in Manassas.  She was warmly greeted by Muslims at the mosque, and spontaneously offered to hold this year's IDOPP event at Congregation Ner Shalom.  Last year's event was held in the middle of the Muslim holy days of Ramadan.  This year, September 20 marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and so it was agreed to hold the event on September 13.  

Last year's event had no music, since Islam proscribes music in the context of worship in the mosque.  However, the Muslim participants at this year's event have no objections to music as part of the service, since it is not being held in the mosque.  Illana says that accommodations like this to the customs and traditions of the participating groups has grown each year, resulting in greater participation and tolerance between faith groups.

This year's service will begin with a time of community participation where attendees will be given the opportunity to identify their concerns for the community.  Then there will be a time for musical performances by each faith tradition.  Illana is particularly excited about having the composer of the  Suite for Peace, Ahmad Nadimi, on hand to conduct a performance of his orchestral work for choir.  Following the music, spiritual leaders from the area will each be given a minute to share their ideas of what peace is.

University Baptist & Brethren Church, State College, PA

From Bonnie Klein-Smeltzer: My congregation is going to have worship focus on a peace theme and then have Celia Cook-Huffman a Peace Studies professor from Juniata lead our adult forum class on practical peacemaking and conflict resolution.  

Warrensburg Church of the Brethren, Warrensburg, MO

From Gerry Crouse:  We would like to celebrate the IDOPP in our worship on September 20th and, possibly, have an open time of silent meditations and prayers for peace on Monday evening, Sept. 21 for about an hour.  The community will be invited to participate.  Additionally, that preceding week, we plan to highlight and encourage participation in the IDOPP celebration on our lighted church sign by Hale Lake Road.

Washington City Church of the Brethren, Washington, DC

From Sarah Malone, Pastor:  Washington City will be marking IDOPP on Sunday, September 20, with a service for peace.  We will also be marking it by my participation in the Climate Justice Day of Action on Sunday and Monday through Jordan Blevins' conference in Washington

Wyomissing, PA, Church of the Brethren

Our plans for September 21 are as follows:

News release: Wyomissing Church of the Brethren, 2200 State Hill Road, will hold a Peace Pole dedication ceremony on Monday, September 21, 2009 at 7:00 PM (rain or shine) in recognition of International Day of Prayer for Peace.  The dedication and planting of the peace pole is a combined effort of the Church and Boy Scout Troop 538 as part of an Eagle Scout project. Call 610-374-8451 for more information. 

More Details: International Day of Prayer for Peace is a campaign of On Earth Peace to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Peace.  The Peace Pole Project started in Japan in 1955 by Masahisa Goi, who decided to dedicate his life to spreading the message, "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in response to the bombings on Hiroshima.

A peace pole is a handcrafted monument inscribed with the words "May Peace Prevail on Earth" usually in four or six languages.  The Peace Pole reminds us to keep Peace ever-present in our thoughts. Since the beginning of the project, over 200,000 Peace Poles have been planted in over 200 countries around the world.  In Berks County, there are Peace Poles at Phoebe Berks Village and Immanuel United Church of Christ.