Florida Catholic | Believers To Unite In Prayer For Peace During Service

Believers to unite in prayer for peace during service

Members of various faiths, from Baha’i through Sikh, will join together for an Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace during the Diocese of Orlando’s Festival of Faith May 10.

JENNIFER POWERS | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 04.25.08

ORLANDO | They are Christian, Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Native American. They’ll come in unity to pray for peace.

Adding another dimension to the Festival of Faith, a three-day celebration of the Catholic Diocese of Orlando, the faithful from many traditions will gather for the Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace Saturday, May 10, at 10 a.m. The focus is not on doctrine or theology, but on a shared value — the desire for peace in the world and among God’s children.

The prayer service opening statement expresses the intent: “We gather to remember our common dignity, our unique heritage as children of God, and our interconnectedness as brothers and sisters in the one human family.”

At the invitation of the diocesan Office of Advocacy and Justice, representatives from a diverse group of religious traditions have worked since October to put together a prayer service that would represent and respect the various religious traditions found in the central Florida community.

“We are amazed that people have been so excited about this from the very beginning. People have felt very honored to have been asked to participate,” said Debra Stafford Shearer, who, as director of the office that issued the invitations, headed the committee. “We hope that their response means that we will be able to create more opportunities to collaborate on the things we all value.”

Stafford Shearer said more than 150 people have already formally indicated they would come by mid-April, and she expects 400 in all to attend.

Among those who will participate is Roland Zwicker from the Baha’i faith. Zwicker said his community has responded positively about sharing in common prayer. “Religion should be the cause of love and unity, not the cause of separation and division,” he said. “Any effort toward unity is amazing.”

Each represented group has written or provided a prayer from its own faith tradition that focuses on peace and human dignity. Woven into the service will be music from the Native American community, along with songs from the African spiritual tradition performed by the choir from Orlando’s Jones High School. Concluding the service will be a prayer chant from the Sikh community.

“We (as a Catholic diocese) have a long-standing reputation and history of inviting others to work collaboratively with us on projects,” Stafford Shearer said. “In these projects, peace and justice are at the heart of what we are doing. It is bigger than any one of us.”

David Acata, a youth pastor from the Seventh-day Adventist Church and a prayer-service committee member, echoed that. “Regardless of who is doing the work,” he said, “God is there when the cause is justice.”

Acata will bring 50 high school students with him to the prayer service. “I want them to be connected with others who care about their world,” he said. “I want them to stand up for the poor and have a heart for the things that break God’s heart.”

His group has participated with the diocese in interfaith work on behalf of victims of genocide.

Also participating are people from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, including Victoria Laney and Jim Pratt, president of the Florida Stake (diocese). “We are really touched by the initiative of bringing people of faith together, calling on God to pray for this world,” said Pratt. “It shows great wisdom and a lot of faith to invite so many people to join in prayer.”

Laney is working to get the word out in her faith community. “What a wonderful way to bring people together to promote a peaceful world,” said Laney. “If there was ever a time for prayer, it is now.”

The Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace is open to anyone of faith who wishes to join in prayer. Shearer noted, “The Festival of Faith shows the beauty and universality of our faith, and we invite all walks of life to be our brothers and sisters.”

The Interfaith Prayer Service will take place during the Festival of Faith at the Orange County Convention Center, South Concourse, 9899 International Drive, Orlando, Room S 331. A reception will follow, featuring guest speaker Hedley Abernethy, peacebuilding education adviser for Catholic Relief Services.

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Believers to unite in prayer for peace during service

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