You’re Invited to. . . "A Future and a Hope"
An Overview of the On Earth Peace 2010
International Day of Prayer for Peace Campaign
On Earth Peace invites you to participate in the 2010 campaign for the International Day of Prayer for Peace, September 21.
An initiative of the United Nations and the World Council of Churches, the International Day of Prayer for Peace is a time when the guns, armies and militias go silent as 24-hr ceasefires are observed around the world, and when people and grassroots groups join in celebration, prayer and speaking about their hopes for a more peaceful world.
Every September 21, hundreds of thousands of people around the world express their commitment to build strong community and vibrant peace—neighbor to neighbor; neighborhood by neighborhood; crossing racial, ethnic, and class lines; and reaching around the world.
Since 1974, On Earth Peace’s education, reconciliation and organizing programs have touched thousands of people in hundreds of congregations and groups. On Earth Peace grows from a three-hundred year faith legacy of opposing war and seeking reconciliation, and we are now laying plans for the next century of building peace and reducing violence, in God’s service.
Through our 2010 IDPP campaign, we invite individuals, families, and faith/community groups to grow in faith and hope for the future that God intends for our communities and the world.
As it is written in Jeremiah 29, “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.”
We believe that God offers a future and a hope to each person, each family, each community – a future of dignity, well being, justice, hope and nonviolence. This campaign is an invitation to pray and act in the service of that future and hope!
Whether you register as an individual, a family, or a faith/community group, there are options to strengthen roots of spiritual engagement with violence, and grow branches of relationship and community leadership. We provide a menu of options for people starting from many different places, to grow in spiritual power and/or in community leadership on violence.
You are invited...
- In the days, weeks, and months leading up to September 21, you will take an encouraging spiritual journey toward the future and hope God offers you and your community. For some, this will be mostly prayer and reflection (roots). For others, it will involve intentionally reaching out to others in your community (branches).
- On September 21, 2010, you will gather with others who share concerns about the problems your community faces. Together, you will pray for your community and the healing it needs.
- In the months after September 21, On Earth Peace will continue walking with you to make individual, family and group peacemaking an ongoing part of your life and the life of your community.
You are invited to step into the future and the hope that God offers!
An Overview of Roots & Branches
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Essence |
Open your heart to the world’s brokenness |
Build shalom-focused relationships with friends and neighbors |
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Focus scriptures from |
12 Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. |
7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace. |
A Theological Reflection on the Roots and the Branches
For Individuals
Registering as an individual might be right for you if:
- You're thinking of doing IDPP mostly at your own personal initiative - not as part of a community group, church, etc.
- You'd like to deepen your own spiritual roots for engaging violence.
- You want to build a few personal relationships with your neighbors, focused on violence and its solutions.
The chart below provides details about individual participation. While the activities are designed to complement each other, you will know best what time and inclination you have to commit to the campaign.
If you are ready to join the campaign, go to the registration page for individuals.
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INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATION – Suggested Fee: $20 (about the cost of one DVD or 5 coffee drinks)
You Choose: ROOTS and/or BRANCHES |
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Focus |
Prayerful focus on local, national or international violence |
Prayerful focus that connects you with others about local, national or international violence |
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Commitment |
On September 21:
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Resources |
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Go to Individual Registration page.
For Families
Registering as a family might be right for you if:
- You'd like to use your participation in IDPP to strengthen your family's commitment to spiritually-rooted Christian peacemaking.
- It sounds fun to have a potluck meal with other families where you also talk for a few minutes about violence that touches you and your beliefs about another way.
The chart below provides details about family participation. While the activities are designed to complement each other, you will know best what time and inclination you have to commit to the campaign.
If you are ready to join the campaign, go to the registration page for families.
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FAMILY PARTICIPATION – Suggested Fee: $20 (about the cost of one DVD or 5 coffee drinks)
You Choose: ROOTS and/or BRANCHES |
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Focus |
Prayerful focus within your family on local, national or international violence |
Prayerful focus that connects your family with others about local, national or international violence |
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Commitment |
On September 21:
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Resources |
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For Faith & Community Groups
Registering as a faith or community group might be right for you if:
- You're representing your group and getting other people in your group involved.
- Your group wants to deepen its spiritual commitment to Christian peacemaking.
- Your group is ready for another step in engaging the community around issues of violence.
The chart below provides details about group participation. While the activities are designed to complement each other, you will know best what commitment makes sense for your group. Think of this as a menu - what looks most delicious?
If you are ready to join the campaign, go to the registration page for groups.
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GROUP PARTICIPATION – Suggested Fee: $35-$50 (about the cost of one tank of gas) or pay what you can
You Choose: ROOTS and/or BRANCHES |
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Focus |
Prayerful focus mainly within your group or faith community on local, national or international violence |
Prayerful focus that connects beyond your group or faith community about local, national or international violence |
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Commitment |
Pre-September 21:
On September 21:
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Pre-September 21: Organize a Public Vigil or Listening Initiative On September 21:
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Resources |
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Go to Group Registration page.
Your First Decision
Your first task is to decide what kind of event you'll have.
Observance - Vigil - Listening Initiative.
Consider:
- What is the size of your group?
- Are you urban or rural?
- Is your group more ready to reach out beyond itself, or deepen its roots and commitment to Christian peacemaking?
- How much experience do you have with outreach and organizing?
- How committed are you to engaging your community?
The choices are an Observance, a Public Vigil, or a Listening Initiative.
OBSERVANCE
A set-aside time for your regularly gathered group of people, focused on praying about violence and peace. On or near Sept 21. During your worship service, in a special prayer meeting, potluck, or other gathering!
VIGIL
A public prayer meeting, vigil, rally planned with 2-3 other faith or community groups. On or near Sept 21.
LISTENING INITIATIVE
A focused effort to reach out and gather up stories from people in your community. This 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.
If you choose an Observance, you have access to the resources on the internet for activity and worship/liturgy ideas. If you choose a Public Vigil or Listening Initiative, an organizing manual is available to download that will help you through the organizing process. In addition, several training conference calls are planned to help you with initial steps, conducting a Listening Initiative, and relating to your local and regional media.
Any of the event types may be used with Change for Peace as a way of deeping your faith community's spiritual involvement with and commitment to peacemaking.
If you would like to talk about which option is best for you, email idopp@onearthpeace.org or call Michael Colvin at 530-844-3838. We would also be happy to "attend" your planning meeting by conference call.
For Observances, consider:
Pros:
- Can be held in all kinds of communities, and in all sizes of congregations and groups.
- Are a good beginning point for faith communities and groups to explore peace and social justice.
- Easy to organize with minimal lead time.
- Can be easily combined with other peace-related spiritual formation activities like peace poles, prayer walks, etc.
Cons:
- Little public outreach or community visibility
- A church setting is less inviting to "outsiders" who have no connection with church.
- Can result in nothing more than everyone feeling good about their commitment to peace and not making actuall connections with other groups or community needs.
For Public Vigils, consider:
What is the natural "reach" or scope you can expect for your vigil? If you are located in a large city, it is often easier to organize and get good participation for an event the reaches an identifiable part of your city, such as a neighborhood, rather than the whole city. City-wide events are best organized by organizations with a city-wide membership or reach. So, defining your community is important for public vigils.
Pros:
- Community-wide visibility for your event.
- Good next step for groups familiar with how to plan and carry out observances.
- Good for involving other individuals and faith & community groups in a more broad-based experience of IDPP.
- Much more media interest can be generated because more than one group is involved.
- Provides leadership development for a broader group of people.
Cons:
- Requires more planning time and coordination with other groups.
- Requires a public venue that is preferably "neutral territory" (like a public amphitheater or park, for example) with the capacity to handle expected attendance.
For Listening Initiatives, consider what's listed above, and:
If your faith or community group interested in stimulating a longer-term process of addressing community issues? Are you ready to reach beyond your walls a little bit more - connecting & building relationships that might lead to action?
Pros:
- Potential for creating community-wide involvement with and action on a given issue.
- Good next step for groups great engagement with their communities to address local violence issues.
- Potential for fostering a local movement that extends beyond the scope of IDPP.
- Even greater media interest can be generated if the issue that is lifted up is one that is currently newsworthy.
- Follow up training opportunities from On Earth Peace will be available for local leaders.
Cons:
- Requires a higher level of commitment to the organizing process than the other event types above.
- Several meetings of different groups of people may be needed in the preparation for a Listening Initiative.
The Details: An Observance
What is an observance?
A set-aside time for your regularly gathered group of people, focused on praying about violence and peace. On or near Sept 21. During your worship service, in a special prayer meeting, potluck, or other gathering!
This might be the type of IDPP event to have if...
- This is your first time.
- You and the members of your congregation have a limited amount of time & focus for outreach.
- You are still building support for and interpreting Christian peacemaking in your congregation.
Things to think about...
- While a congregational observance is simple to organize, it has less impact beyond the local congregation.
- Depending on your plan, you should allow at least 2-6 weeks to organize the observance.
- Some possible options for your IDPP observance include:
- inviting members of your congregation to participate in Change for Peace.
- erecting a peace pole, either purchased or made locally, as a key component of your observance, or using the Kids as Peacemakers mural project as a way of involving children and youth.
- holding a Prayer Walk in your community.
Here's how we can help you...
- Access to the online resources & links of this web site
- Access to online news and updates about the campaign.
- Listing in the online Participants List.
- We will ask you to complete an optional online report on your observance at its completion giving the highlights of your experience for use in post-event publicity in the Messenger and other denominational religious news sources.
Yes, we're ready to participate!
Wait! We'd like to know about the Vigil.
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.