by Erin Maguire, The Bulletin
Monday, March 23, 2009

The Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia is planning an inter-religious effort to combat the city’s violence by naming areas around their places of worship as “Zones for Peace.”

Final plans are not solidified, but some congregations have already started to say a peace prayer during services and the picking of pilot religious groups to declare zones of peace is under way. Some ideas include emulating the “Drug Free Zone” concept, creating a universal symbol to display in peace zones and bolstering peace awareness in neighborhoods through community activities.

Currently, 20 religious organizations belong to the Religious Leaders Council. Four co-conveners are overseeing the Zones for Peace project, and an administrative group representing the co-conveners supervises a planning committee that brainstorms how to implement the ideas.

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[Rev. Nicole Diroff, who is quoted in this story, is coordinator for the Religious Leaders Council at the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia and represents the United Church of Christ on the National Council of Churches of Christ Interfaith Relations Commission.]