"From Fiji to Rwanda, prayers and signs of commitment are being offered for the annual International Day of Prayer for Peace," reported the World Council of Churches in a release earlier this week. The WCC offered a Facebook link at www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=cc53e4ba96d621b45339, where prayers are being posted by people who attended the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC).
"Use me, Lord, to build bridges of hope," is Edelberto Valdés Fleites’s prayer in Cuba.
"Make us artisans of peace in the example of Christ, women and men of courage and discernment. Rather than fleeing from conflict, make us willing to identify, to denounce, and to dare to become mediators for peace and justice," asks Father Bernard Ugeux, a missionary in Rwanda.
In the UK, Stefan Gillies’ peace day prayer is for a man in prison, naval medic Michael Lyons, who is a conscientious objector in detention for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland are publicizing his case.
Noting the military drones that have begun appearing in local skies around the world, the WCC release highlighted a prayer from Wales that begins in Welsh: "Mewn byd lle mae mwy a mwy o sylw'n cael ei roi i ryfe." The prayer translates: "In a world where increased attention is being given to war, in a country where there is an increase in military activity…it’s essential that the people of Wales continue to work for peace and reconciliation."
The Peace Prayer Wall is at www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=964fd55e6b7d335b6f0d. More about the WCC’s International Day of Prayer for Peace emphasis is at www.overcomingviolence.org/IDPP.
Source: 9/21/2011 Newsline
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