Come Walk With Us...

Come Walk With Us.....

Fifteen years ago, a horrific act of violence changed the world for all of us. This year on September 11, the sixth annual 9/11 Interfaith Peace Walk will remind us again that the world is still changing, and we can all take steps to ensure that it changes for the better.

The walk will begin at 7pm on Sunday, September 11, in front of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd on University Terrace, and will end with a candlelight vigil and song at the Islamic Center on Stewart Street. In between, it will thread through the OU campus and uptown Athens, passing many of the faith communities that co-sponsor the walk. As in past years, co-sponsoring faith communities and organizations are bringing some candles to share at the end of the walk, but participants are encouraged to bring candles to the vigil if they have them. People with mobility concerns who wish to participate in the walk should contact UCM.

This year, for the first time, the Peace Walk will be preceded by an interfaith prayer service at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. The service will begin at 6:15 p.m. in the church, and will end before the start time of the Peace Walk. The Reverend Deborah Woolsey, priest-in-charge at Good Shepherd, hopes the service will offer people of all faiths an opportunity to worship together and reflect on the shared value of peace. “We’re inviting faith communities to share with us a prayer from their tradition, to participate in the service by leading their prayer, and we’re inviting singers to come together in an interfaith choir for the event,” she said. (To participate in the prayer service and/or the choir, contact Rev. Woolsey at the church, 740-593-6877.)

Co-sponsors of this year's Peace Walk include Better Together at Ohio University, a student movement to engage people of all faith traditions and philosophical and ethical orientations in action for the common good as a means of building community and trust across religious divisions. “Especially during this election year, with all the inflamed rhetoric and fear, we need to create opportunities for people to gather, meet one another, and act on beliefs they share,” said Better Together Campaign co-coordinator Kelsey Gerard, an OU junior.

Gerard says the march also marks the start of this year's Better Together campaign at Ohio University. This year's Better Together campaign will also include a watershed cleanup on October 23 and other program and fundraising efforts currently in the planning stages. Students interested in working on the campaign should "like" the Better Together at Ohio University Facebook page, or email ucm@midohio.twcbc.com to get connected.

Other cosponsors include the Muslim Student Association, First United Methodist Church, International Student Union, Hillel at Ohio University, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens, Multicultural Leadership Ambassadors, Christ Lutheran Church, Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Ohio University LGBT Center, and Athens First Presbyterian Church.


For more information on the Peace Walk and other upcoming interfaith events, email Rev. Evan Young, Campus Minister at United Campus Ministry, at evan@ucmathens.org.
UCM sent five Ohio University students to the Interfaith Youth Core Leadership Institute in August 2016! Look for Kentisha, Aleksandra, Kelsey, Robin and Kaitlan (not pictured) to do important interfaith work on campus this fall - starting with our Annual 9-11 Interfaith Peace Walk, Sunday, 9/11, 7pm at the Church of the Good Shepherd (54 University Terrace).


BETTER TOGETHER AT OU WINS 2ND 
CAMPUS IMPACT AWARD
FROM INTERFAITH YOUTH CORE!

This award goes to a student group that has left a substantial mark on their campus and community this year and best demonstrates the power of interfaith partnerships. 

Ohio University made a major impact this year by working hard to recognize and meet the needs of both their campus and their community. They brought the diverse experiences of students of various religious backgrounds to the forefront of campus life through holding a “Campus Conversation” that introduced the concept of speedfaithing to their campus. Then they took those conversations one step further by offering a similar speedfaithing program to train campus staff on how to incorporate interfaith into their professional development as advisors and allies. The Campus Conversation is now a regular event series that creates a space for students and staff to continue to engage in interfaith dialogue on campus.
Better Together at OU has also played a major role in organizing events such as an annual 9/11 Interfaith Peace Walk, which brings faculty, staff, students and the greater community together for a time of unity across lines of difference. By focusing on the shared values of service and community found in so many religious and philosophical traditions, Better Together at OU also works to create an environment that emphasizes the importance of engagement with their community.
For the last several years they have focused a number of events surrounding issues of water pollution and food security for lower-income people in their area, and their interfaith volunteers hauled thousands of pounds of garbage from streams in Wayne National Forest this past fall. They also sponsor regular community service and outreach events like stream cleanups and Saturday lunches, engaging over 800 students throughout the county in their interfaith service work.
BETTER TOGETHER AT OU PRESENTS 

STORIES OF INTERFAITH BRIDGE BUILDING
WITH PEGGY FAW GISH
TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 7PM - 9PM
WALTER HALL ROTUNDA



Peggy's stories from Iraq, West Bank, and Nigeria of courageous interfaith collaborating, difussion tensions, working for peace and reconciliation, advocating for and helping others of differing religious or ethnic groups, can inspire us with ideas of how we might work at interfaith relationships and cooperation right here!

We'll also be accepting cash donations for Athens Books for Prisoners at the event.

Find out how you can get involved with interfaith education and community building right here with Better Together at Ohio University! bettertogetherou@gmail.com

Sponsored by Better Together, SAC and UCM.