We began the year with a Call to Action – put forward to our CC network by Deborah Moldow to reach out into their communities and invite houses of worship to observe the IDP. 

The time has come for people of faith – the vast majority of our six billion sisters and brothers worldwide – to honor our own heritage by stepping forward in a living demonstration of a global culture of peace.

Religious leaders, communities of faith and organizations are invited to issue a proclamation of support for the International Day of Peace, engaging their respective communities and places of worship in observance of the day on 21 September.

In response, as Gerardo Gonzalez reports from Santiago, Chile, “Communities belonging to various religions and spiritual traditions active in Chile were invited to meet in their own places (churches, temples, synagogues, mosques, etc.) on 20 or 21 September to pray from their own faith for peace, aware that other communities, built upon other faiths and spiritual traditions, will be doing the same in other places of our country and the world.”

A very different program in Sarasota, Florida, USA collected enough food to feed 1,000 people. The Women’s Interfaith Network of the Center for Religious Tolerance held an IDP food drive to emphasize the link between peace and social justice.  Twenty-six different groups and faith communities made a great turn-out, showing that service to others is a profoundly shared value among all faiths, and one around which they could rally and join together in community action.

The Interfaith Peace-Building Initiative CC in Ethiopia reports that the recipient of their third annual Peace Award was UNESCO - in appreciation for its global work on inter-religious dialogue, promoting a culture of peace and dialogue among civilizations.  The award was bestowed at the African Union in the presence of religious leaders, government officials, diplomatic communities, UN agencies, scholars, elders, business communities, youth and students.

In Manila, Philippines, a group of over a hundred people demonstrated: torches were lit for the peace walk with all marching to the beat of the drums, ringing of chimes and gongs and voices raised in a chorus of chanting - “Stop the war in Mindanao! Give peace a chance!”  A rich evening interfaith concert - Faiths in Harmony, Symphonies of Peace - filled the evening with

an array of creative peace presentations from a diverse multitude of spiritual groups and partner organizations.

Read much more about these and many others; don't miss dozens of delightful photos.