Today: Children of Abraham Peace Walk

The Sixth Annual Children of Abraham Peace Walk is today. This uniquely Brooklyn event begins at the Al-Noor School at 4 p.m. and continues on to the Church of the Gethsemane/Kolot Chayeinu, Congregation Beth Elohim and concludes at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture.

Organized by Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, Rev. Tom Martinez (OTBKB's Witness Photographer) and Adem Carroll, the Children of Abraham Peace Walk brings together Jews, Christians, Muslims and those of other faiths and all ages, who walk together and learn about each other’s traditions and houses of worship.

In past years the Peace Walk has explored Brooklyn Heights, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge over to Ground Zero; and has visited many congregations, including an Albanian mosque. This year, the Ethical Culture Society on Prospect Park West in Park Slope is the final venue.

The 2009 Peace Walk begins at 4 p.m. at the Al-Noor School (675 4th Ave. near 21st St.), where participants will view the film "Cities of Light" and learn more about the school. "Cities of Light" is part of the “Many Religions One Community” initiative.

The group will then begin the Peace Walk around 5:15. The first stop is the Church of Gethsemane/Kolot Chayeinu) at 1012 8th Ave. between 10th and 11th streets. It is the home of both a Presbyterian congregation formed as an “intentional community” of and for prisoners and their families and loved ones; and the progressive synagogue Congregation Kolot Chayeinu (which means Voices of Our Lives).

The Peace Walk will then progress to Congregation Beth Elohim/Garfield Temple, (Reform branch) at 8th Ave. and Garfield Place. The Walk concludes at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West (between 1st and 2nd streets), where participants will eat, talk, hear poet Osagyefoo and see a repeat viewing of Cities of Light.

Sponsoring congregations include, as of press time: Al-Mahdi Islamic Foundation; Al-Noor School; All Souls Bethlehem Church; the Arab Muslim American Federation; the Arab American Association of New York; Beit El Maqdis Islamic Center; Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, New York chapter (Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace); the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture; Brooklyn Congregations United; Church of Gethsemane; Congregation Beth Elohim; Council of Peoples Organization (COPO); Fellowship of Reconciliation; Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives; the Muslim Consultative Network; the Park Slope Jewish Center; Temple Beth Emeth v’Ohr Progressive Shaarei Zedek; and the Islamic Mission of America.