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Young people begin worldwide chain of prayer for peace first posted 26 September 2001


WELWYN GARDEN CITY - first posted 26 September 2001 - 282 words

Many thousands of young people from more than 70 countries, took part in an international telephone link-up on Sunday, to start a worldwide chain of prayer for peace.

Organised by Youth for a United World (Y4UW), for the start of United World Week, young people at the Focolare centre in Welwyn Garden City linked up with interfaith gatherings in Liverpool and Leeds, and connected to young people in El Salvador, Camaroon, Moscow, Korea, New York, Australia, Tanzania and many more countries.

There was a real buzz of excitement as one by one, young people came on line and this planet of ours suddenly seemed very small.

It was particularly poignant to hear from the young people of New York, who felt encouraged by the strong sense of community they had witnessed in their city in the aftermath of the recent destruction. They said: "We have experienced that love is stronger that hate: love is breaking down the barriers of indifference."

The link-up ended with a prayer together - spoken in many different languages around the world, at the same time for the same intention: peace in our world.

As one young person said: "What must it have been like for God to look down on our planet and see those thousands of hearts united in that moment? "

The Y4UW have committed themselves to pray for peace each morning. And so a prayer chain has been created - a continual prayer for peace journeying around the world every day.

Later that day, an ecumenical peace vigil was held. Young people from the Focolare movement were joined by members of local churches and several Muslim friends.


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