Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service April 13, 2007 Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director 800-323-8039 ext. 260 cobnews@brethren.org
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER REQUESTS DELIVERED TO HOUSE SPEAKER BY CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
(April 13, 2007) Elgin, IL -- On World Day of Prayer, March 2, the Church of the Brethren delivered 300 requests of prayer for an end to the Iraq war to the first woman Speaker of the House, reported the Brethren Witness/Washington Office.
Members of the Church of the Brethren from across the nation requested of Speaker Nancy Pelosi the following:
"Please pray that God will grant peace to all races, creeds, and nationalit ies worldwide. Please also honor your commitment to help end the conflict in Iraq and bring peace to this world we share, through your actions as one of America's political leaders,"
In delivering the prayer requests, Phil Jones, director of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, shared these thoughts: "The Church of the Brethren has a long and rich heritage of living out the Christian teachings of nonviolence. We share in the pain and anguish that the violence of war is bringing on our nation's families as well as on the families of those of Iraq and Afghanistan. On this day of prayer we ask for committed prayers of peace and well being for all people. Speaker Pelosi, we hope you will be diligent in searching for ways to guide our congress into an understanding of peace and nonviolence, dialogue and mediation, along with compromise and compassion as tools of foreign policy. Seek the way of unity, not division."
Since 1812 women have encouraged one another to engage in personal prayer and take leadership in communal prayer within their mission auxiliaries and associations, according to a brief history of the World Day of Prayer from the Brethren Witness/Washingt on Office. This emphasis led to annual days and weeks of prayer. In 1941 the coordination of World Day of Prayer in the US became the responsibility of the interdenominational movement Church Women United. World Day of Prayer is recognized around the world on the first Friday of March.
For more information contact the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, 337 N. Carolina Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003; 800-785-3246; washington_office_gb@brethren.org.
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.
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For more information contact:
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 800-323-8039 ext. 260 cobnews@brethren.org
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