In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly established the International day of Peace (IDP). It was in 2001, that the GA modified the resolution (A/RES/55/282) and designated September 21st as the annual date of the International Day of Peace.
The intention of the resolution is to have the entire world observe a day of peace and nonviolence. All peoples and organizations are invited to commemorate the day in an appropriate manner.
An ever-expanding number of people worldwide, representing a wide variety of religious and spiritual traditions, have committed to the task of working with other like-minded individuals and groups for an International Day of Peace Vigil with the following objective:
“To encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, 21 September in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world.”
This global 24-hour spiritual observation for peace is meant to demonstrate the power of prayer and other spiritual practices in promoting peace and preventing violent conflict. These worldwide spiritual observances will also help raise public awareness of the International Day of Peace and directly support the establishment of a global ceasefire. Individuals and groups are invited to support this worldwide initiative by committing to hold a 24-hour vigil on 21 September.
Please register your commitment on the International Day of Peace Vigil website at www.idpvigil.com or mail it to:
International Day of Peace Vigil
777 UN Plaza, Concourse Level
New York, NY 10017
Indicate the name of the individual or group, a contact person, and the number of people participating in the Vigil. All commitments will be posted on our website unless otherwise stated.
International Day of Prayer for Peace 2011
with On Earth Peace of the Church of the Brethren
Invitation to a Prayer for Peace
Based on Psalm 122:6-9
Reader # 1: Let us pray for the peace of (name of your community) :
Reader # 2: May they prosper, those who love you.
Reader # 3: Peace be within your walls, and security within your households and gathering
places.
Reader # 1: For the sake of the stranger among us we will extend welcome and hospitality.
Reader # 2: For the sake of our relatives, friends, and guests we will say, “Peace be within you.”
Reader # 3: For the sake of this nation, our global village, and all Creation, we will seek your
good.
Readers # 1, 2, 3 (unison):
For the glory of God, we will seek good for you, (name of your community) !
A Prayer for Peace
(based on John 14:27)
We pray to you, O God, because we need you to bring peace into our hearts and lives.
We remember that Jesus told us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be
afraid.”
To be honest, God, our hearts are troubled because of the acts of violence that we or others
have suffered. You know that we are passionate that your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. How can this violence be a part of your plan? (pause in silent reflection)
We confess our fears: that injustice will go unchecked, that greed will enjoy too many benefits,
and that distrust will establish barriers that prevent us from fully loving one another. (pause in silent reflection)
O God, Forgive us for not always obeying Jesus’ commands to not let our hearts be
troubled and to not let them be afraid. In silence, we now give over to you whatever is troubling our hearts. (pause in silence). We now give over to you whatever we are afraid of.
(pause in silence). Thank you, O God, for freeing us from our troubles and fears!
Now, fill us with Jesus’ gift of peace. Open our hearts to receive the instruction of His Spirit.
Open our minds to focus on Jesus’ words. Open our ears to listen to the needs of our community. Open our attitudes to be influenced by other followers of Jesus. Please give us courage to do his will and to be peacemakers, in his name!
Amen.
A Brief Liturgy for the Peace of the City
Rev. Audrey deCoursey
Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.
Marry and have children, and bless your children’s children—that you may be increased there, and not diminished.
And seek the peace of the city where I have taken you and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.
For thus says the Lord: I will come to you and perform
My good word toward you.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
~ Jeremiah 29 (NRSV)
a CALL to JOURNEY
We are a blessed but a pilgrim people,
bound for the city of God.
On a journey we are sent,
called to live on the move,
love even as we travel,
share the zest of life with every step,
bear light along the way.
We are called to remember our homelands,
draw strength from our strong roots.
We carry ancient memories within our bodies;
we are cloaked with timeless stories;
we are sheltered by a cloud of witnesses and saints.
Yet we are called to step out, go forth,
leave the security of comfortable homes
and known thoroughfares,
and keep moving forward.
It is not an easy path we are on, as a people,
but a life of movement in waves and pulses,
of growth in fits and spurts.
We must find our identity
along the steps of this pilgrimage;
we must find our peoplehood in the approach
as much as the arrival.
We know not when we may reach our destination,
but we know where we are headed,
and that is enough.
Bound for the city of God!
HYMN
You are salt for the earth, by Marty Haugen 226, in Hymnal: A Worship Book (Brethren Press)
a BLESSING for where we LAND
Scattered across many lands;
sown deeply and with purpose
in the many places we have been planted;
we are the seeds of God’s kin-dom for every time and place.
Take root anew where you have been planted,
in city, town, or countryside.
Soak up the nutrients of that place;
bathe in its waters.
And use that nourishment to grow upward,
to sprout and blossom and bear fruit
and rise toward the heavens.
Feel the beams of the sun covering you,
whichever square feet of earth you have been given as a home.
Know that it is the light of the Prince of Peace that shines on you,
the wind of the Holy Spirit in your breath,
the wisdom of the Creator that ordered your every cell.
And know that it is the rich diversity
of the unique patch of land where you are taking root
that is your community – human and more than human –
out of which you will grow,
and which you will, in turn, nourish as you bear fruit.
Here in this land you can bring forth God’s kin-dom.
Here you are God’s people,
today and forever.