The Details: A Public Vigil
What is a vigil?
A public prayer meeting, vigil, rally planned with 2-3 other faith or community groups. On or near Sept 21. Those congregations that also do a Listening Initiative will likely bring stories & information from the listening initiative into their vigil.
This is the type of IDPP event to have if...
- You are ready to stretch out into the public, and let people know about your commitment to peace.
- You desire to reach out to other congregations/faith groups related to your concerns about violence.
- Your group has done IDPP before and knows how to put together a vigil.
- It feels like a good challenge!
Things to think about...
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Allow 6-8 weeks of planning time.
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While one congregation can take the lead, a better plan would be to have participating group collaborate and plan together. This type of IDOPP event is ideal for a local ecumenical group or ministerial association to sponsor.
- Consider including erecting a peace pole, either purchased -or made locally, as a key component of your observance.
Consider using the Kids as Peacemakers mural project as a way of involving children and youth.
Consider using a very public venue for your vigil--a public park or amphitheater--a place where everyone will feel welcome and the public will see you!
How we can help you...
- Access to the online resources & links of this web site
- Access to the member's forum where you can give and receive feedback from OEP staff and other participants.
- Listing in the online Participants List.
- Copy of the IDPP Organizer's Handbook with step-by-step guidance about how to organize your vigil.
- Special training in getting publicity via a conference call.
- 2-3 telephone consultations with OEP staff at important times during your organizing process.
- You will be asked to complete an online report on your vigil midway through and at the completion of your event giving the highlights of your experience. This information will be used to tell the story of what happened on the ground through On Earth Peace's 2010 IDPP Campaign.
Wait! What about the "Listening" Initiative?
The Details: A Listening Initiative + Vigil
What is a "Listening" Initiative?
A "Listening" Initiative is a focused effort to reach out and gather up stories from people in your community. It can be informal and short in duration, or a longer process.
Ask who is affected by violence, how they are hurting, what is causing this, and what signs of hope people see. Ask, "What is God doing in your community?" Present what you hear in a public prayer vigil the week of September 21.
It can be short-term (one evening of listening with teams in several places around the community) - or it can involve at least 2-3 months of planning, relationship building, and information gathering with as many as 3-6 local faith groups and organizations.
No matter the scope of your listening initiative, we recommend that it culminates in a public prayer vigil focused on the actual violence/peace & justice concerns you've heard from your neighborhood/community. The vigil may be the catalyst for a continued effort to address these local concerns, following September 21.
This is the type of IDPP event to have if...
- Your previous experience with IDPP has given you an idea of what might be possible, and you want to go further.
- Your congregation is already significantly involved in peace and social justice ministry in your community, or feels the direct effect of violence.
- Your congregation is ready for an exciting, challenging way of engaging your community, regardless of your previous experience with IDPP or community ministry.
Some things to think about...
- The essence of a listening initiative is to gather stories and experiences of what's happening in your community in order to lay the groundwork for more effective and focused ministry in the future.
- You might choose a specific issue to listen about (for example: gun violence, education, unemployment & recession), or plan a more open-ended time of listening.
- Even if you feel like you are already well aware of what's happening, the listening initiative can serve as a basis point for your next steps in community ministry. The point is to develop new or deeper relationships, and a newly clarified and commonly-held sense of what's going on.
- Listening initiatives are a form of "Social Action Research," which has a strong rooting in nonviolent community mobilization approach developed in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, by Martin Luther King., Jr, and his colleagues. Social action research is just one part of a longer-term process of catalyzing the community.
- In general, the more time you have to organize your listening initiative, the better the outcome can be.
- Consider using Change for Peace as a means of spiritually strengthening yourselves as you organize.
How we can help you...
- Access to the online resources & links on this web site
- Listing in the online Participants List.
- Copy of the IDOPP Organizer's Handbook with step-by-step guidance about how to carry out a listening initiative and organize a vigil.
- Special training via conference calls, about listening initiatives, getting publicity, etc.
- Telephone consultations with OEP staff at important times during your organizing process.
- You will be asked to complete an online report on your vigil midway through and at the completion of your event giving the highlights of your experience. This information will be used to tell the story of the impact of the 2010 On Earth Peace IDPP campaign.
- Training in nonviolent community leadership starting in October 2010 will help you take your work to the next level.
We're not ready yet! We have a few questions, Send us some more information.
7 Steps of a Listening Initiative
1. Team up with two to three others in your congregation or community, to pray and work with you on this new venture.
2. Ask “What’s happening here?” in a new way that builds relationships and community by listening to stories more than by offering solutions. On Earth Peace will help you do that.
3. Reflect on what you've heard. Pray about it. Keep praying.
4. Partner with groups in your area that are already addressing the problems your community is facing.
5. On September 21, 2010, bring together people who are hurting, partner organizations, and people from communities of faith--a new group of people who will share with one another about the needs they see and ask God to help them address those needs.
6. Listen, share, celebrate your blessings, and pray about your unanswered needs.
7. Meet again a week later to talk about next steps and to plan for further training from On Earth Peace.