Euphrates Chapters celebrate the International Day of Peace

Are you interested in building peace in your own community and becoming more informed, inspired, and transformed on the issues of the Middle East which are so critical to the world? Join a Euphrates Chapter!We are pleased to share with you the Chapters' wonderful work and dedication. With weekly correspondence, monthly video calls, and monthly campaigns, they are well on their way to bringing peace to their local and global communities.The Principia College Chapter celebrated the International Day of Peace with several creative projects: a Prayer Wall, a Peace Day video which they filmed and played throughout the week in the student center, posters of change-makers, and campus wide quiet time dedicated to praying for peace. (See photo above: College Chapter Leaders, Tim Steckler and Brie Burns (right) share smiles with Ian Tennison; EI Visionary of the year, Zuhal Sultan; Euphrates Director of Operations, Hillary Brownell; and John Challenger!)International Day of Peace events at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City included a moving flag ceremony sponsored by the United Religions Initiative (URI). The ceremony, which sent messages of peace to each of the 193 United Nations member states,  took place in the beautiful Tillman Chapel at the UN Church Center. The URI made it possible for several Euphrates staff members to attend UN IDP events! Thank you, URI!St. Louis Chapter leaders, Pamela Moulton, Terese Messman, and Michaele Hymes, came together for a pre-International Day of Peace meeting to discuss and promote the Euphrates #prepareforpeace campaign!How and when did the International Day of Peace begin? You can read more about it on this Euphrates blog post!From Principia College Chapter Leader, Brie Burns: "The Principia Chapter had the privilege of meeting with Janessa Gans Wilder when she came to the college in August. Janessa spoke at our weekly Tuesday meeting, inspiring us all with her passion and dedication to global peace building. We hope she can Skype into some of our campus meetings to inspire the rest of the student body." Other Chapter members were also able to join Janessa during her visit to the Principia College campus during a lunch time gathering, including members from St. Louis, MO and Redding, CA!Pamela Moulton, Chapter Leader in St. Louis, MO, attended the annual Festival of Nations in August! She made several new friends as she shared Euphrates bookmarks and business cards, which were hand-crafted by the St. Louis chapter leaders! The Festival of Nations is an annual event sponsored by the International Institute of St. Louis, an organization which provides services to refugees and immigrants to the St. Louis region.Redding, CA chapter leader PJ Gans gives this update: "The Redding Euphrates chapter has had several meetings to introduce interested people to the issues behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to plan for the Visionary of the Year Zuhal Sultan's speaking event. We have plans for visits to local mosques and synagogues and on books we can read to "inform, inspire, and transform."  The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan was recommended by everyone who had read it. Some members have also read Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell.We have an interesting group of people in our chapter. One member was forced to leave Egypt following the Arab Spring unrest.  Through inter-faith groups, this individual is well connected with the local Jewish and Muslim communities.  We also have a young man from South Africa and another from Egypt. As yet we have no Jewish members, but we hope to rectify that soon."Take a peek at the practical and comprehensive resources available to Chapters: the Oct. - Dec. campaigns focus on Middle Eastern cuisine, diversity through film, and advancing human rights.Upcoming Dates:October 11: International Day of the Girl ChildOctober 17: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty