Day of Prayer Ventures on 'Building a Peaceful Caribbean'

People of faith around the world will be praying on Monday, Sept. 21 for peace in the Caribbean as a part of the International Day of Prayer for Peace and the World Council of Churches' (WCC) Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) campaign.

Proposed at a 2004 meeting between WCC general secretary Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia and United Nations' (UN) secretary general Kofi Annan, the International Day of Prayer for Peace coincides with the UN's International Day of Peace, first established in 1981 to, "encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence." This year's theme for the Day of Prayer for Peace is "One Love: Building a Peaceful Caribbean."

Loretta E. Horton, co-chair of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's (ELCA) Task Force for a Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence stated, "The International Day of Prayer for Peace is a global call for cease-fire and nonviolence. The Caribbean is a place of extreme beauty, and it
is a place of extreme poverty, HIV and AIDS, poor housing and environmental degradation. We join hands with our sisters and brothers in the Caribbean region and around the world as we pray for peace and justice for all."

The WCC's DOV campaign highlights and networks efforts by churches, ecumenical organizations, and civil society movements to prevent and overcome different types of violence. It seeks to establish points of contact with the relevant aims, programs, and initiatives within the United Nations Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).

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