Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership

Communities and individuals of all faith traditions and spiritualities who are committed to ending the war in Iraq are planning an interfaith witness in Washington D.C. on March 7, 2008 to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the sacredness of human life. The world cries out for a common voice for peace from across religious traditions and paths.

Together we can end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. Together we can stand against fear and violence, and live into a longing for wholeness that unites us across all boundaries. Together we can offer a path toward reconciliation. Together we can learn to build security through right relationships.

This is the moment in which we must show the greatest possible resolve in rescuing the fundamental values of respect for life and dignity from those who offer empty promises leading to a downward spiral of militarism and domination. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “A time comes when silence is betrayal, and that time has come for us.”
Design:
On Friday, March 7th, 2008, we will gather at noon in temples, mosques, synagogues, and churches near the Capitol Mall for worship in each of our different traditions. Following worship, participants will process to a jointly planned, interfaith event on the Mall at 2:30 p.m. The interfaith event will include a speaker of national or international reputation, an expression of our common commitment, and a nonviolent public action with the potential for participants to risk arrest in acts of civil disobedience as they feel led to do so.

We are also planning workshops and nonviolence trainings on Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Invitation:
Communities and individuals of all religious traditions and spiritualities are invited to participate, so long as they share a common commitment to nonviolence, a positive vision of peace through justice, and a desire to witness through both worship and public action. Our five common commitments are below. Planning has already begun, and we need assistance from volunteers from each participating tradition.

There are planning phone calls each Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern time, and all are welcome. Please contact us for more information.

Rabia Harris (Muslim Peace Fellowship)
Mark Harrison (United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society)
David Hart (Network of Spiritual Progressives)
Mark Johnson (Fellowship of Reconciliation)
Rob Keithan (Unitarian Universalist Association)
Ibrahim Ramey Muslim American Society - Freedom Foundation)
Jean Stokan (Pax Christi )
Samina Faheem Sundas (American Muslim Voice)
Rick Ufford-Chase (Presbyterian Peace Fellowship)
Arthur Waskow (Shalom Center)

Christian Peace Witness or Iraq is a key organizing partner in the 2008 Witness for Peace. A compete list of CPWI partner organization is available on their website .

CPWI website: http://christianpeacewitness.org

List of partners: http://christianpeacewitness.org/partners