Brethren deliver World Day of Prayer requests to House Speaker.

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. Brethren from across the nation requested of Speaker Nancy Pelosi the following: "Please pray that God will grant peace to all races, creeds, and nationalities 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," reported the Brethren Witness/Washington Office.

In delivering the prayer requests, Phil Jones, director of the 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, dialog 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/Washington 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 an interdenominational movement now known as 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.

Source: 4/11/2007 Newsline