Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice -

Multifaith Peace Walk & Picnic

Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016
1:30 Gathering (Snacks, music, stroller/wagon/tricycle decorating & more)
2:00 Program and Walk begin

Gather, Opening Program & Begin Walk: Congregation Etz Chayim Synagogue and Spark Church, 4161 Alma St., Palo Alto

Stops & Programs: University AME Zion Church, 3549 MiddlefieldRd., and Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, 3233 Cowper Street.

Concluding Program & Picnic: American Muslim Voice hosted picnic at Mitchell Park, 600 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, beginning at 4:30pm. Program includes release of peace doves! Simple food provided, including plenty of vegetarian options.

Walk length: 2.5 mile

Walk Handout: Click here to download the Walk Handout with detailed route, walk guidelines and shuttle information for end of walk.

We invite people from all walks of life, from diverse faiths or no particular faith, all colors of the rainbow, children, youth and adults, left, right, and center, to walk united in our diversity, in solidarity as one human family. We walk to show our community and our world that we say "No" to fear and division and "YES" to friendship and peace.

Click on the Register button above to let us know you are coming!
Registration is helpful for planning but not required.
You can use this registration for both the walk and/or the picnic.

Volunteer: Click here to volunteer to be a walk monitor (help keep the walkers safe).

Share on Facebook: Please visit and share our Facebook page for this event.

Sponsoring Communities: All Saints Episcopal Church PA; American Muslim Voice; Baha'i Community of Palo Alto; Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice; Berkeley Masjid; Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale; Congregation Beth Am; Congregation Emek Beracha; Congregation Etz Chayim; Congregation Kol Emeth; Council on American Islamic Relations (San Francisco Bay Area Chapter); First Baptist Church PA; First Congregational Church PA; First Lutheran Church PA; First Presbyterian Church PA; First United Methodist Church PA; Grace Lutheran Church PA; Islamic Networks Group; Keddem Congregation; Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice; Muslim American Society of Bay Area; MVPA Musalla Muslim Worship Place; Oshman Family Jewish Community Center; Palo Alto Friends Meeting (Quakers); Palo Alto Human Relations Commission; Rebuilding Alliance; Region 7, Sathya Sai International Organization USA; South Bay Islamic Association; Spark Church; St. Andrews United Methodist Church; St. Mark's Episcopal Church PA; St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Community of Palo Alto; Stanford University - Office for Religious Life; Unitarian Universalist Church PA Social Action Council; Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Los Gatos; Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sunnyvale Social Justice Team; University AME Zion Church; University Lutheran Church.

Refreshment and water stands will be located throughout the walk. PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN WATER BOTTLES!

There will be short programs and refreshments at faith communities along the way, and a picnic at the end sponsored by American Muslim Voice.

Shuttle Information: Shuttles from 1-1:50pm will take those who park at the Unitarian Universalist Church (505 E. Charleston) from there to Congregation Etz Chayim for start of walk. Shuttles will also be provided at end of event, taking walkers from the picnic at Mitchell Park to Congregation Etz Chayim, running from 5-6:25pm every 15-20 minutes. These shuttles will leave from the Unitarian Universalist parking lot just behind the picnic area. (Signs and people with directions to the shuttle pick-up will be at the park.) All shuttles are free.

Make a day of it! The Oshman Family Jewish Community Center will be hosting a Day of Service for all ages the morning of Sept. 11, 10:30am-12:30pm. Click here for details!

Click "Read More" to download our newest fliers and more details.

Sept. 11 Multifaith Peace Walk & Picnic

Join our Multifaith Peace Walk and Picnic on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 1:30pm. Together with sisters and brothers of many backgrounds and spiritual traditions we will say "no" to fear and "yes" to friendship by walking together to show the way to peace. After about a 2.5 mile walk with stops and refreshments, we will conclude at Mitchell Park with a Peace Picnic.

Click here for more information.

Salaam ~ Shalom ~ Peace ~ Shanti ~ Salaam ~ Shalom

Joint Statement from United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Not Terrorists; Not Tourists: Refugees are Human Beings

I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” ⁴⁰And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,^* you did it to me.”—Matthew 25:36-40

In the past few days, we have shared in the public and global outpouring of sympathy and support for the victims, their families, and the people of France, Lebanon, and Russia. We reiterate that expression of solidarity, and our condemnation of these acts of violence, all of which have been claimed by the “Islamic State.”

Unitarian Universalist Prayer

The Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), shares this pastoral message:

The horrific terrorist attacks in France fill all good people with the deepest sadness. May we all rededicate ourselves to waging peace based on compassion and respect. Hatred must not triumph.

I share the following prayer written by the Rev. Eric Cherry, director of the UUA’s International Office:

Holy One, our hearts are torn, broken, and battered.
Even across an ocean
from the City of Light;
Such pain, such violence, such suffering.

MVPJ Responds to Paris Attacks

As in 9/11, the terrorists responsible for the tragic events in Paris are succeeding far beyond their wildest dreams of sowing fear and hatred among all the nations in the West. The various responses – such French President François Hollande calling the attacks an "an act of war" to which France will respond without pity – are understandable, but play directly into the terrorists' hands.

What is really hard to understand are the calls to block the entry of Syrian refugees – particularly Muslim refugees. What better way could be imagined to demonstrate that terrorists claim that the West is waging a "War on Islam", thereby recruiting an even larger number of disaffected Muslim youth?

Even worse, if we succumb to Islamophobia to the extent that we actually close our doors and our hearts to people at a time of great need, we will be betraying the love of mercy and justice that is at the core of our country's Judeo-Christian tradition. From time to time, every nation faces a test to see if it can live up to its ideals. This is one such test. We call upon everyone to resist the xenophobic fear-mongering and stand for the principle that our country proclaims so solemnly that all people are created equal.

A Prayer for this Week

Holy One,

We pray for all people and places that have experienced the terror of violence this week as the aftershocks of fear and grief reverberate through bodies and buildings:

For the 43 people in Beirut and the 129 in Paris who were killed by Daesh;

For the people who survived and are now grieving the loss of people they love—parents, children, lovers, spouses, friends, siblings;

For the untold number of Syrians who have died in retaliation attacks;

For Muslims around the world who are targets of renewed and vicious Islamaphobia;

We want peace for these people and places, but we do not know how to achieve it. Help us to see with clarity how our own country’s actions have contributed to the violence we see and mourn in the world this week. Let our collective mourning and sense of solidarity drive us deeper into the work for peace in our own country, and let us not feel angry only at Daesh, but also at the political policies and realities that engender extremism.

by Emily Brewer of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Campaign Nonviolence Pledge

I solemnly swear to take a stand against violence and
help build a culture of active nonviolence.
I will strive to:
practice nonviolence toward myself;
practice nonviolence toward all others;
practice nonviolence by joining the global movement to
abolish war,
end poverty,
stop the destruction of the earth and
foster a just and peaceful world for all.

Click here to sign the Campaign Nonviolence pledge, and join the movement to build a peaceful world for all!

Start today! Plan an event or just a small gathering with your friends or faith community during Campaign Nonviolence 2015 Week of Action, September 20-27. Contact Diana Gibson at diana@multifaithpeace.org to post your action and invite others if you wish.

The Charter of Compassion

Starting as a wish at a TED Conference, spreading across the world, learn about The Charter of Compassion through this video. And, watch this space for news about World Interfaith Harmony Week coming in February 2015.

Senate Intelligence Committee Releases Report on CIA's Use of Torture

Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice has long worked for public access to the Senate Intelligence Committee's Report on the CIA's detention and interrogation program. On Tuesday, December 9, the eve of the United Nation's Human Rights Day, a 500 page summary of that six year investigation was released.

Please call or email Senator Dianne Feinstein and thank her for her courageous leadership on the investigation and the release of the report! (Click here for her contact information and an easy email form.)

To read more about the report and further discussion go to the National Religious Campaign Against Torture's page on this issue. NRCAT has been a strong partner with MVPJ in keeping us up to date and educated about this issue.

Pope Francis Supports Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

On December 8, at a conference in Vienna, Pope Francis issued a new statement on nuclear weapons titled "Nuclear Disarmament: Time for Abolition" that indicates a major change in Roman Catholic policy. "Nuclear deterrence and the threat of nuclear assured destruction cannot be the basis for an ethics of fraternity and peaceful coexistence among peoples and states," the Pope said. While the Roman Catholic Church has long declared the use of nuclear weapons to be immoral, it has, up until now, articulated a "conditional acceptance" of nuclear deterrence as a necessary evil. This changes with the Pope's message, which was read on the first day of the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons conference in Austria.

The Vatican's statement declares, "The youth of today and tomorrow deserve far more.... Peace must be built on justice, socio-economic development, freedom, respect for fundamental human rights, ... and the building of trust between people."

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