Prayer, Peace Songs and Puppets

Where will you be on March 18th? We sure hope you'll be with us, singing, praying, and hanging out with puppets!

Join us at 11:00am on Saturday the 18th at All Saints' Episcopal Church, 555 Waverley (corner of Hamilton and Waverley) in Palo Alto for this intergenerational and interfaith gathering. We will mark the anniversary of the Iraq war with prayers for peace, songs, stories, puppets and an offering of 1,000 origami peace cranes!

This is an event for young and old alike, where we will recharge our spirits with a positive energy, remembering that prayer and making a joyful noise mixed with action CAN and DOES make a difference. After our calls to prayers from diverse faith traditions, we'll join in singing led by Chris Lundin, get a lesson on peace from Clarence the Camel puppet, hear a story written and performed by Stanford students, and raise our voices and recommit our lives for peace and justice. Our offering will be a collection of 1,000 origami peace cranes. You are invited to fold some cranes yourself, as a family or in small groups, and bring them to add to the offering. (First United Methodist is donating 1,000 cranes - so we know we'll have enough!) We will also be able to view beautiful photos of Iraqi children and families, taken by a member of the Christian Peacemaking Team in Baghdad.

After our brief service, we'll take the cranes we have offered and songs we've learned and the feisty spirit inspired by the puppets and march together to the peace rally at Palo Alto City Hall Plaza (which starts at noon). We will hand out the cranes to all at the rally, spreading the spirit of life and peace which they symbolize.

The event is co-sponsored by American Muslim Voice (www.amuslimvoice.org) and the Santa Clara County Council of Churches (www.councilofchurches-scc.org).