Parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland in the city of Baltimore are partnering with people of other denominations and faith in a program that hopes to stop the rising count of murders in the city. Baptists, Muslims, Jews and others are planning on creating programs for children that will teach peace as a response to the violence they are learning on the streets.
Organizers of the program, called “Fifth Sunday: Violence to Virtue,” are asking the more than 1,200 churches, mosques and synagogues in Baltimore to take up an offering every fifth weekend and donate the money to a local nonprofit, which in turn would disburse the funds to individuals or organizations that work with kids.
It is the first major program under the newly organized Baltimore Interfaith Coalition, which formed last spring after several religious leaders met with police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, who called upon the faith-based community to help curb violence.
[…] “We call on the community to oppose what is a culture of violence in Baltimore,” said the Very Rev. Hal Hayak, of the Episcopal Diocese of Baltimore. “No culture can be sustained without our participation of allowing it at least by being indifferent. We want to change to a culture of reconciliation and respect.”
The good news is that already this year the 71 murders since January represent a nearly 30% decrease from the number of murders in 2009. Hopefully this new program will accelerate the rate of the decline.
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