Newsline: Day of prayer brings hope for a future beyond violence to 90-plus communities

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl

Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

DAY OF PRAYER BRINGS HOPE FOR A FUTURE BEYOND VIOLENCE

>TO 90-PLUS COMMUNITIES

(Sept. 21, 2010) New Windsor, Md. -- Over 90 congregations and

community organizations in 20 states and three countries are taking 
part

today in the International Day of Prayer for Peace as partners with On

Earth Peace, an agency rooted in the Church of the Brethren 
cultivating

people and communities to advance justice and build a peaceful world.

These 90-plus communities join tens of thousands of people on five

continents who have been participating in events in the week 
surrounding

Tuesday, Sept. 21. Today marks the sixth observance of the World 
Council

of Churches International Day of Prayer for Peace, which joins the 
United

Nations' 25-year commitment to an International Day of Peace.

On Earth Peace's partner congregations and communities are planning

public vigils, interfaith worship services, prayer drop-in times, 
childrens'

mural making, installation of peace poles, and many other events.

As part of the activities, Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the 
Church

of the Brethren in Nigeria) has launched an effort in Jos, Nigeria, 
to build

bridges among Christians and Muslims as they share their mutual 
concerns

or peace following sectarian violence. This week's prayer services in 
Jos

include both Muslims and Christians praying for peace in the wake of

>church burnings, looting, and killings.

In Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Breakthru Church International 
sent 30

people door-to-door wearing bright orange t-shirts to ask about 
obstacles to

peace and to point to signs of hope in preparation for a prayer 
service and a

later public meeting. The effort is to build hope and investment in 
their

>community.

Several services in the United States are bringing people of 
different faiths

together to pray, an action that seems prophetic in the face of 
rising anti-

>Muslim sentiment in this country.

"Observing the International Day of Prayer for Peace is more than a 
day. It

is a process," says Matt Guynn of On Earth Peace. "Wherever there is 
hard-

heartedness, violence, or poverty, there is a crooked path that God 
can make

smooth. That doesn't happen overnight or in a year, but over time, in 
each

heart, in each village, town, and city, in each society, as we work 
to build a

culture of positive peace and active nonviolence.

"In local group after local group, we see that each year there is a 
growing

sense of possibility for God's peace. The prayers offered up each 
September

21 are an opportunity for community members to ask God for help, for

inspiration, for guidance for overcoming evil with good."

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 
celebrated its

300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 123,000 members across the 
United

States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in 
Nigeria, Brazil,

>the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Matt Guynn

Program Director and Coordinator of Peace Witness

>On Earth Peace

>12727 SE Market St., Portland, OR 97233

>503-775-1636

>www.onearthpeace.org

>mguynn@onearthpeace.org