New Rendition of Popular Hymn "Prayer of St. Francis" to be Featured
Contact: Mary Dickey, Communications Director, 212-870-1046, Mdickey@odysseynetworks.org; Desiree Frieson, Communications Manager, 212-870-1053, DFrieson@odysseynetworks.org; both with Odyssey Networks
NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /Christian Newswire/ -- Praying for peace is a practice that should not be limited to just one day of the year. So believes Odyssey Networks, the multi-faith media coalition that created the unique International Day of Peace observance: A Million Minutes for Peace. This year, on September 21, Odyssey will welcome visitors to www.AMillionMinutesforPeace.org for Take Ten, a special event that will conclude with an invitation to pray for peace for one minute each day of the year.
Take Ten begins at 11:55 a.m. ET on September 21. During this time, people from countries and time zones worldwide -- some as far away as the Middle East -- are expected to gather in a virtual ecumenical prayer group as they offer their one minute of prayer at noon. Many of these will be honoring the online pledge they made during Odyssey’s summer-long campaign to pause at noon to pray on Peace Day. The one-minute noon prayer will be preceded and followed by a just-released rendition of the beloved hymn Prayer of St. Francis, set against visual imagery and performed by Jenny Burton, a double gold album artist. The hymn was chosen for its universal appeal to a wide diversity of faith traditions including Jews, Christians and Muslims. Take Ten will conclude with an invitation to continue the daily prayer minute through September 2010, when Odyssey will observe both the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 and the International Day of Peace.
Over 350 organizations including schools, colleges, faith groups, non-profits and media outlets are partnering with Odyssey in circulating news of A Million Minutes for Peace to their constituents. These include 20,000 Dialogues, Religions for Peace, Council for a Parliament of World Religions, United Religions Initiative, Global Tolerance, Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, Interfaith Meditation Center and the Global Peace Initiative of Women.
For more information, please visit www.AMillionMinutesforPeace.org. The site includes the online pledge form along with The Prayer Wall, a special page presenting video prayers by notable faith leaders from different traditions. Among them are Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, Jim Wallis, Rev. Otis Moss III, Martin Marty, Father Edward Beck, Rabbi Ted Falcon, Annutama Dasa, Guo Cheen, Sohaib Sultan, and Imam Muhammad Ashafa. Authors Angela Hunt (“The Note) and Mitch Albom ("Tuesdays with Morrie") also offer original peace prayers.
About Odyssey Networks:
Odyssey Networks is the nation's largest multi-faith coalition dedicated to producing and distributing media that builds bridges of understanding and promotes peace, tolerance and issues of social justice. Established in 1987, Odyssey Networks is a service of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition, Inc. Visit www.odysseynetworks.org.
