Peace Prayer at CVUMC

[Jeanne]

"Pope Francis on Sunday invited people of all faiths to join him and the world's Catholics in a day of prayer and fasting on September 7 to end the conflict in Syria.

Addressing tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square, he issued a long, impassioned appeal for peace in Syria and across the Middle East, saying God and history would be the judge of those who promoted violence or prevented peace."

That is a quote from Reuters.

This is an invitation from CVUMC:


Some of us at CVUMC are going to participate in this worldwide spiritual action. We will be having a prayer service for peace in the Sanctuary of CVUMC Saturday afternoon from 3-3:30 pm. We will be singing some Taize meditative prayer/songs led by our music director, Barb Catlin.

We hope that for one day people can rise above political, cultural, and religious differences to focus on and express hope for peaceful resolutions to the deepening conflicts in the Middle East. We invite you to join us at 3 on Saturday or to fast or pray on your own.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Peace,

Jeanne

[Brian]

Anni and I thank Jeanne for inviting us to this Saturday's music and prayer service for peace at Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church. It was exactly what we needed: therapeutic and spiritual at the same time.

Barb led four singalongs on her keyboard with Jeanne accompanying on acoustic guitar, each one a repeated verse that's easy to remember, so we could relax into harmonizing together as ourselves. And I must say that Pastor Steve is absolutely wonderful. Roberta was there too, and I also enjoyed meeting some CVUMC members for the first time.

I'm such a political animal that I don't feel the depth of hurt that Anni has felt in this talk of committing war and killing people in Syria, whether they wear uniforms or accidentally do not. It's good to experience a peaceful place within myself, even for half an hour -- or at least find it within handshaking distance.

[Jeanne]

It was great to have you at the service. MPV does more than stand for peace. We can sit and sing, too.

We signed 13 letters to Schiff and two to Sherman this morning urging them to say "no" to bombing and to find nonviolent solutions.

[Barb]

It was great to have you all at the prayer service. It symbolized the community spirit of peace that seemed to be present across the world yesterday. Today we sang a tune called, "For one Great Peace." I thought of our service yesterday (and all the people who participated across the world), as the tune ends with the line, "one small part, in one small place, for one great peace." Thank you for working for peace in our community. See you on the corner!

[anni]

Hey Barb...great to see you here, too. I loved the prayer for peace service. And the songs as meditation...how uplifting. When I finally gave up on the words and let the music flow through my little humming voice, joining with the rest of our group. Looks like we did a good job. Yes...love is the answer.

[Jeanne]

Good Morning Peaceniks,

Next Sunday, 12/15, the choir at CVUMC will be singing a collection of songs that are in the "Peace on Earth" theme. From Alaska to Africa, we will be exploring some songs new to us and weaving in some familiar ones. We will have some help from a few ringers from CV HIgh.

You are all invited to come listen and soak in some joy and hope for peace. Worship begins at 10 am. Upstairs from where we have soup. : )