On the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the third annual Better Together 9/11 Interfaith Peace Walk aims to unite people in a common commitment to peace.
Sept. 11 hurt the image of religious diversity because of the intolerance and violence motivated by religious belief, but this walk wants to change that, said Evan Young, campus minister for United Campus Ministry.
“Our intent is to offer a different vision,” he said. “We want to share a vision of how faith communities and non-faith communities embody a common commitment and action to a common goal of peace.”
Although the march is part of United Campus Ministry’s Better Together campaign, various faith communities in Athens, including Hillel at Ohio University and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens, also sponsor it.
The walk will start at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 64 University Terrace, and end at the Islamic Center, 13 Stewart St., and will pass many of the faith buildings whose groups are sponsoring the event.
Although 9/11 is a somber anniversary, the walk allows for people to participate in service for a greater good, said Melissa Wales, executive director of United Campus Ministry.
“It helps by lifting up the value of peace and non-violence that we represent,” she said. “It’s a powerful expression of the diversity that we are so lucky to have here in Athens.”
A few speakers are planned for the event, including a representative from the Church of the Good Shepherd to begin the walk and a representative from the Muslim Students Association to end the walk.
Participants will also stop at Hillel to hear the Mourner’s Kaddish, a traditional Jewish prayer to honor God in times of grief and to pray for peace, and then they hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Islamic Center.
Having different representatives from the various faith communities on campus is an important part of remembering Sept. 11, said Omar Kurdi, communications chair for the Muslim Student Association and a junior studying political science and global studies.
“ ‘Patriot Day,’ I think that’s what it’s called now, is becoming an important day in the U.S. that symbolizes unity and community,” he said. “It is that same unity and community that the faith-based community is trying to simulate.”
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