Sunday, March 18, 2007: the Third Annual
International Ecumenical Prayer for Peace Day
February 5, 2007
Brother John Mary Lugemwa:
Congratulations, Brother John Mary. You have been selected as a finalist for the First Annual Peace Award-07 by the International Prayer for Peace Day Steering Committee in Washington, D.C. As you know this award will be given March 18 to people who Pray for Peace, Act in Peace and Live with Peace – Together.
From my perspective, your entire life has been a witness to the Power of God’s Love and Action; your family survived the nightmare of Uganda’s reign of terror brought on by of Dictator Idi Amin Dada. Oftentimes out of great oppression and grief God plants a seed of hope. Hope is what I see as the headline of your life: you did not bow to injustice but set your mind on helping others to find hope through education and creating opportunities for the many orphans of HIV/AIDS parents and the continuing conflict in Northern Uganda.
You are only 27 and yet your passion for social justice has produced educational opportunities for the people of Kenya, the Uganda Rural Fund, USA and the Hope Integrated Academy for the orphans of Uganda, as well as the orphans of genocide in neighboring Rwanda. And you are actively sponsoring AIDS awareness in the United States and globally, working with the World AIDS Day, Catholic Relief and National Catholic AIDS Network.
But I would like to know how you feel about your life. Please send us a short paragraph to my personal email (ejoneswdc@comcast.net) – perhaps 50 words or so – the best way to describe what you would like to pass on to the generations who follow. What do you see as your hope for tomorrow? Then we will include that in the press release that we are sending out to the press on the 18th when the Awards are announced.
Also if you have a CD or DVD which can further underscore your mission or calling, please bring it or send it with you to the Award Ceremony. Your film will be shown during the afternoon of the Prayer for Peace Award March 18, 2007. The 2nd attachment will tell you more about the event. You can log on to www.praying4peace.org for more information.
I hope you will be able to come here to accept this award. Thank you so much for teaching me and so many others about the heart of peace,
Elizabeth F. Jones, Obl. S. B., Chair
International Prayer for Peace Day Steering Committee
Mail: 1025 Connecticut Ave. N. W., Suite 1012
Washington, D.C. 20036
202-857-9795. jonesmef@aol.com
www.praying4peace.org
The Sanctuary of Peace on Capitol Hill
326 North Carolina Ave. S.E. Ground Level
Washington, D.C. 20003
202-543-4944; ejoneswdc@comcast.net
Sunday, March 18, 2007: the Third Annual
International Ecumenical Prayer for Peace Day
The International Prayer for Peace Day Steering Committee 2007
Chair: Elizabeth F. Jones, Obl. S. B.
Mail: 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1012, Washington, DC 20036
Personal e-mail: ejoneswdc@comcast.net.
Dear Peace Award Winners -07. Please know how grateful we are for your acceptance of the first International Peace Awards; your work was celebrated Sunday, March 18, 2007 at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Rev. James Wiseman OSB, presented the Awards but did not give them out yet. We should all give him a large round of applause for his efforts Sunday. Benedictines are known for their stability and endurance, and he did not disappoint. Of course this is our first year to do this, a dry run for next year when we will have a better idea about how these rallies are done.
There were many rallies March 18, but Oblate Adam Kline from St. Anselm’s said it best: “We were standing up for peace” and celebrating Peacemakers. It is our hope that the Prayer for Peace harkens back to a young Jewish teacher standing on a hillside in Galilee telling us to pray for our enemies. I will stand on His Side any day. And I am honored to be in your company, all the Faith Traditions which were there, because through your work you bring peace.
As for the Awards they come to you with our sincere apologies for being late. I am sending you a copy by e-mail to make certain that we have the right name, spelling and designation. Please make any changes you deem necessary. We don’t have much help here yet so our attention to detail is not what we would like but we tried to capture your information so that you may be proud of the Award. Please return it by e-mail to ejoneswdc@comcast.net, and we will have it printed and have our seal affixed. You will receive the final print by regular mail.
I am so sorry I heard so little of your program, but I heard marvelous reviews of your presentations. The important thing is that more people will become aware of you and your work through press releases and our website.
Thank all of you for your concern and telephone calls. I will be good as new before long.
Love in Christ,
Elizabeth F. Jones, Obl. S. B.
Chair, International Prayer for Peace Steering Committee
The winners are: for National Prayer, Fr. Damir Stojic, SDB, Bosnia-Herzegovina/Croatia and Dr. Emenike Ukazim of Nigeria Prays. Praying for Peace: Adrian Wright, Downham Market, Norfolk, UK; Acting in Peace: Mama Maggie Gobran, the Mother Teresa of Cairo, and Br. John Mary Lugemwa, OSB, Uganda, and for Living in Peace, Rev. LaKotahasie Frazier, Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia, and Sister Antoinette Traeger, OSB, Mt. Angel, Oregon. For Media, Pat Gaffney, Pax Christi, London. Honorable Mention: Dr. Pricilla Benner for her work in Central and South America, Mrs. Clare Kalkwarf, South Africa and Benedictines for Peace in the United States