IDPP 2011 Press Release
119 Communities to Pray for Peace and Violence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2011
Contact: Matt Guynn
Tel: 503-347-2108
NEW WINDSOR, MD, USA--Grassroots community groups around the world are marking the seventh observance of the World Council of Churches’ International Day of Prayer for Peace, which coincides with the United Nations’ International Day of Peace on September 21 of each year. Over one hundred congregations and community groups in twenty-one U.S. states and ten countries have partnered with the Christian-rooted peace agency On Earth Peace to create community prayer events for the week surrounding September 21, 2011. This is On Earth Peace’s fifth annual campaign to invite communities around the world to participate in the International Day of Prayer for Peace.
The locally-identified focus of events includes many faces of violence: gun violence, riots, bullying, war, and hatred based on belief, among others. At least 30 events in the network are organized by youth and young adult leaders.
Local organizers are affiliated with at least eleven different denominations or religious traditions, including the Church of the Brethren in the USA and the Democratic Republic of Congo, United Church of Christ, United Methodist, General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches UK, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of both America and Denmark. The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA will mark the day as part of its General Assembly this week in New York City.
Many communities are using the International Day of Prayer for Peace to connect people from various religious perspectives and cultural backgrounds. In Richmond, Indiana, the interfaith group, Children of Abraham, which provides a forum for dialogue among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, organized “10 Days of Prayer for Peace” beginning on the tenth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center and concluding today, on the International Day of Prayer for Peace.
A group of Buddhist, Jewish, and Christian leaders in San Diego, CA, organized by the First San Diego Church of the Brethren, will join together for a prayer service titled “Interrupting Violence with Prayer,” responding to a growing number of police deaths in the line of duty, and walking together to the site where a police officer was recently shot.
Unity in the Community, a group based in Manassas, Virginia, has organized a prayer event including religious leaders and traditions including Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Native Americans, Unitarians, Wiccans and the various cultural traditions they represent. “We are enriched and blessed by many different faith expressions, and together we stand united for peace and justice in our community,” said event organizer Illana Naylor, founding member of Unity in the Community.
Other groups are using IDPP to address youth and community violence. In Portland, Oregon, several area Lutheran congregations (ELCA) are building on strong anti-bullying resolutions passed this summer by the Oregon Synod and the ELCA National Assembly, by organizing an IDPP youth event focused on bullying. “’Love My Enemies?’ Finding Freedom from the Power of Bullying,” includes interactive presentations on responding to verbal, physical, and cyber-bullying, a segment on “How Jesus Responded to Bullying”, personal story sharing, and a forgiveness circle.
From the United Kingdom, John Philip Carter of Lewisham Unitarian Meeting wrote, “Lewisham (a borough of London) experienced some of the rioting that happened a month ago. We hope with our event to bring together members of the community for a time to reflect on peace and to pray and commit ourselves to what we can do.”
On Earth Peace program director Matt Guynn reported, “We have seen local IDPP events become a time for community and faith groups to generate energy and spiritual power to address the real problems people face. Martin Luther King, Jr., talked about the triple evils of poverty, racism, and militarism. Around the world, people of conscience are stepping up to catalyze new responses to these and many other faces of violence. It’s our prayer that IDPP events will help build new possibilities in each participating community.”
Previous On Earth Peace IDPP partners have developed ongoing organizing and leadership initiatives in Philadelphia, PA; Rockford, Illinois; and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, among other locations.
With capacities in youth leadership development, reconciliation, and community organizing, On Earth Peace seeks to stop violence and build reconciliation. Founded in 1974, On Earth Peace is rooted in the Church of the Brethren.
The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist denomination with its central offices in Elgin, IL, USA. It is an historic peace church with a strong commitment to service and relationship. The Church of the Brethren is conscientiously opposed to all war, and intentional about working with peacemaking and reconciliation concerns.
ADDITIONAL INFO MAY BE FOUND AT THESE
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