In observance of the International Day of Peace September 21, the Anglican Observer at the United Nations, Archdeacon Taimalelagi F. Tuatagaloa-Matalavea, is organizing a service in Jerusalem where Anglicans from more than 20 nations are meeting as the Anglican Peace and Justice Network seeks way in which to bridge divisions created by violent conflict around the world.
In New York, the Tillman Chapel at the Church Center for the United Nations will welcome more than a dozen religious communities to a commemoration service from 4:00-5:00 p.m. as the world unites in prayer for peace and nonviolence.
"The service [at the Tillman Chapel] has been designed to recommit ourselves to creating alongside one another a world which honors our extraordinarily beautiful diversity," said the Rev. Kathleen Stone, Chaplain at the Tillman Chapel. "The observance is meant to rattle our indifference and shake our intolerance whether it be within civil society or within the U.N. itself."
Celebrating the integrity and diversity of languages, traditions and ways of praying around the world, the service, themed "We the Peoples Cry Out for Peace: A Sacred Call," will incorporate both silence and simultaneously spoken prayers for peace. Drums will beat insistently at times and a single Shinto flute will share in the silence at other moments.
The observance, an initiative of the U.N. Ecumenical Working Group, of which the Episcopal Church is a member, is co-sponsored by the Chaplain’s Office for the Church Center for the United Nations, Religions for Peace-USA and the United Nations Liaison Office of the World Council of Churches.
The chapel is located on the SW corner of 44th St. and 1st Avenue in Manhattan and "is open to all who wish to commit with others to create a world where the ways of peace are honored, treasured, lived and acted upon."
The World Council of Churches has called on its member churches to observe September 21 as an International Day of Prayer for Peace.
Churches worldwide to pray for peace
[World Council of Churches] Churches representing over 550 million Christians worldwide have been invited for the first time to mark September 21 as an International Day of Prayer for Peace.
In the framework of its Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches seeking Reconciliation and Peace (2001-2010), the World Council of Churches (WCC) has called on its member churches to pray for peace on September 21 or on the Sundays preceding or following that day.
This WCC initiative links to the International Day of Peace declared by the United Nations General Assembly, a worldwide effort intended as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, and as an opportunity for education and raising public awareness.
In an invitation to the Council's member churches, the Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, WCC general secretary, encouraged them to arrange for 24-hour observances or vigils on September 21, as well as to include prayers for peace in their services on the Sunday before or after that day.
"Observing an International Day of Prayer for Peace together is one way to combine the strength and witness of churches and faith communities with the strength of the many forces in the international community who are also striving to promote peace and justice in our troubled world," Kobia said in his invitation.
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan warmly welcomed the idea of celebrating an International Day of Prayer for Peace on September 21 at a meeting with Kobia on May 17, 2004. Annan said the initiative responds to his hope that the U.N. Day of Peace will encourage people in different contexts to reflect together on what they can do for peace.
This year, the WCC Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) is focusing on the United States under the theme "The Power and Promise of Peace." In this context, Kobia also asked WCC member churches "to specifically pray for the churches and religious communities in the US who are committing much of their energy for peace and justice in these critical times."
The WCC Decade calls churches and ecumenical organizations to work together at all levels (local, regional, global) with communities, secular movements, and people of all faiths for peace, justice and reconciliation. It also highlights efforts to overcome violence in its different forms, and provides a space for networking and sharing.
According to its mandate, the WCC Decade establishes points of contact with the relevant aims, programs, and architecture of the U.N. Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
Liturgical resources for the International Day of Prayer for Peace, including prayers, stories and concerns for intercession, are available on the DOV web site:
www.overcomingviolence.org/peace2004.
