THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410130178
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIRSTEN SORTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
More than 100 congregations of many denominations will join together this weekend to celebrate the third annual national observance of the Children's Sabbath.
Sponsored by the Children's Defense Fund, the sabbath is designed to bring attention to programs and activities for children and adults. The focus this year is on violence against children.
Each day an average of 12 children die from gunfire and 30 others are wounded, according to the Children's Defense Fund. Many other children lose parents, relatives and friends from guns. The religious community wants to put a stop to the violence and is asking for a ``cease fire in the war against children.''
``The violence in America is so rampant in playgrounds, schools and homes it terrorizes children from the start,'' said Anke Wolf, local chairperson of the Children's Sabbath. ``The three-day observance is meant to bring awareness and make ourselves take a stand and do something.''
In addition to activities planned by each participating Virginia Beach congregation, the city will hold an Interfaith Outdoor Service at 3 p.m. Sunday at Mount Trashmore.
The outdoor service will begin with a processional of religious leaders and children from the community. The service also will include a speech from Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, Hebrew and Christian Scripture readings, musical performances by children, and a sermon by the Rev. Andrew MacBeth, rector of the Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church. To conclude the service, everyone will be asked to join hands and sing ``We Are the World.''
A ``Commitment Wall'' also will be erected at Mount Trashmore to display the activities and programs that participating churches, synagogues and mosques are doing. Memorial United Methodist, for example, plans to display a prayer booklet written and created by children in the congregation. The church also offers ongoing community services, including a mother's day out program, a reading program and children's worship.
Other religious organizations plan to collect winter coats for children or have workshops about keeping neighborhoods safe through crime prevention.
Besides participating in the Interfaith Outdoor Service on Sunday, congregations are planning their own activities to observe the Children's Sabbath.
St. Nicholas Catholic Church will hold a prayer vigil today through Sunday in which members can sign up to pray for one-hour periods. Eastern Shore Chapel plans to have the youth help conduct worship on Sunday. The chapel also will offer a car pool from the church to the Interfaith Outdoor Service.
While the commitment may seem small to some, Wolf doesn't see it that way.
``We have many small commitments, but small commitments over time make one big commitment to our goal,'' said Wolf. MEMO: For more information about the Children's Sabbath and the Interfaith
Outdoor Service, call Anke Wolf at 481-5237. If you want to find out if
your church is involved, call your church office.
by CNB