by The Rev. Nancy Turner Jones
In 2010, while serving as Dean’s Canon at Christ Church Cathedral, I had the opportunity to lead a group of 30 members to St. George’s College Jerusalem. It was here in this Anglican community of education, hospitality, and reconciliation we were immersed in the land that Jesus walked and experienced the beauty and turmoil of the land. Every day, as we traveled to religious sites our prayers and songs ended with praying for the peace of Jerusalem. We saw first -hand both the passion and conflict of these sites.
Our last night there, we were introduced to a representative of an organization called Kids4Peace, which began at St. George’s College. As violence spread through the Holy Land in 2001, educators at St. George’s College in Jerusalem created a safe place where twelve brave kids and families from Jerusalem’s three faiths could meet face to face, cross social divides, and share stories of their lives. This was the beginning of an active, global movement to bring younger children together in an open camp environment focusing on peace and highlighting their common heritage as Children of Abraham, committed to equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and relationships to build – together – a new culture of peace.
Now there are camps in Jerusalem, the US, and Canada. A very passionate group of folks from our trip also brought it to Cincinnati. We at St. Barnabas are proud to be a part of the 4th annual camp again this summer from July 29–August 2. The youth will learn about the traditions and practices of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith traditions as campers meet at the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, Adath Israel congregation, and St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. We are proud to be a part of this effort to learn understanding, tolerance, and respect between religious faiths. If you know a Muslim, Jewish or Christian rising 6th, 7th or 8th grader who would be interested in the camp, register them at https://www.k4p.org/summer2019/ .
Help is needed at St. Barnabas on Tuesday, July 30, our day as host of the camp. If you can assist with organization, food prep, or activities on our day, please contact Pastor Jason at assistant@st-barnabas.org and pray for peace!
Salaam, Shalom, Peace
Pastor Nancy+
Read Jack Fechter's personal experience with Kids4Peace
