VIRTUAL PROGRAM!
Annual MLK, Jr Day of Service and Celebration
Monday, January 17, 10am-1:30pm
JOIN VIRTUALLY!

On Monday, January 17, 2022 Youth Community Service (YCS) will partner with the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto OFJCC to co-host The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and Mitzvah Day. Service projects are available to be completed at home or at a number of locations across the Mid-Peninsula region. The celebration will take place VIRTUALLY from 12noon-1:30 pm. MVPJ is pleased to be a sponsor of this event!

Click here for UPDATED details and registration link -- required for the celebration.

Schedule:
10am-12noon - Service Opportunities for All Ages - Click here 
12noon-1:30pm -Community celebration of the Life and Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (virtual; registration required)

The community celebration will include Supervisor Joe Simitian, East Palo Alto and Palo Alto Mayors, Rev. Dr. Debra Murray of First United Methodist Church, and youth speakers and performances.

EYEWITNESS

to the COP 26 Climate Conference
Tuesday, January 11, 7-8:15pm
Online following our monthly Peaceful Presence
FEATURING Pastor Danielle Parish
Official COP26 Observer

Pastor Danielle Parish of Spark Church was an official United Nations Conference Observer at last year's COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. Following our monthly Peaceful Presence, she will share a report on her experience, key moments and decisions, and discuss how faith communities can continue to pursue justice in our current climate crisis.

Join our Peaceful Presence at 7pm, followed by the EYEWITNESS report at 7:30-8:15pm.

Click here for Peaceful Presence description and Zoom information.

January 6, 2021 was the day of a violent and deadly attack against all Americans – against our country, our democracy, and our freedom as voters to choose the leaders that represent us so that we have a government of, by, and for the people.

So this January 6, exactly one year later, Americans across race, religion, place, party, and background are holding candlelight vigils to say: In America, the voters decide the outcome of elections.

The promise of democracy is not a partisan issue but a calling that unites us as Americans.

Vigils and actions, virtual and in-person are planned across the nation. Click here for a details and a map of vigils.

NOTE that the Sunnyvale vigil actually takes place on WEDNESDAY, January 5 (one day early), with featured speaker Ro Khanna. The listing on the national website page is incorrect, but as you read down, you will see that it says January 5.

Solidarity Gathering: "Surround the City with Light and Love"
Sunday, August 29, 1-1:30pm
Surrounding First United Methodist Church
625 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301

Palo Alto clergy and faith leaders from diverse traditions invite all members of the Palo Alto and neighboring communities to stand against hate and aggression, and join in prayer that we can be a community devoted to respect, dignity and safety for all people.

On Sunday, August 15, the Rev. Dr. Debra Murray, an African-American woman and the Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto, experienced an escalating series of hateful incidents in which she was threatened because of her Black Lives Matter sign and her leadership in the community. This was among a list of incidents directed at BLM and African-American religious leaders, community members, and houses of worship in the Palo Alto area.

Will you join us in surrounding Pastor Debra with love and
praying for our communities to be places of love and light
in this simple, quiet, physically distanced and masked prayer gathering?

Participants are invited to find a place, staying safely distanced from other individuals or groups, on the sidewalks or parking lot surrounding First United Methodist Church at 625 Hamilton Ave. between Byron and Webster. You are welcome to bring signs of support that are positive and not polarizing. This is not a protest but a prayer gathering for light and love. Click here to download the logo if you wish to use it to make your own sign.

Click here to see and share the Facebook page for this event.
Click here to download a PDF flyer to share.
Please help spread the word and invite others to join this gathering of light and love!

You are welcome to stand, kneel or bring a chair or cushion for sitting, meditating, or praying. PLEASE DO NOT FULLY BLOCK THE SIDEWALK, but leave space for pedestrians to get by. After some time of quiet prayer in place, participants will be invited if able to walk around the church, again, staying physically distanced. You may pick up stickers to wear (of the above graphic) at the front door of the church. 

PRAYERS: Click here to download an inclusive prayer handout. If possible, please bring this with you to the gathering.
SIGNS: You are encouraged to bring posterboard signs with words of support that are positive and not polarizing.
This is not a protest but a prayer gathering for light and love.
Click here to download the logo if you wish to use it to make your own sign.
HASHTAGS:
#surroundpaloaltolightlove
#peaceinpaloalto

Friday, August 6, 12Noon - 1pm
Corner of El Camino & Embarcadero in Palo Alto

Peaceful commemoration of the 76th anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and opportunity to renew our committment to peace and nuclear disarmament. 

We will be distributing paper cranes from our 75th anniversary installation of 2080 paper cranes made by local residents and many sent by peace activists in Ehime, Japan.  We will be displaying paper peace cranes on the crossing poles and there will be an assortment of signs to hold. We also encourage  you to make a sign, if you wish, to express your hope for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. 

Stand in peaceful vigil to mark these solemn annversaries of August 6th and 9th and bear witness for peace and nuclear disarmament. No speeches or music. 

Sponsored by the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom. MVPJ is pleased to co-sponsor and encourage your participation!

Join 100 Community Conversations on Race and the Lived Experience in Palo Alto

These conversations are for people who live, work, worship, shop or study in Palo Alto.

These intentional conversations are aimed at growing Palo Alto into a community characterized by belonging, vested in diversity, inclusion and equity, and committed to putting words into actions. We will be discussing race and belonging with honesty, transparency and vulnerability.

The goal is to host 100 conversations between May 25 and Juneteenth, 2021.

Click here for more information.

The Religious News Service posted this article March 24, 2021:

"Muslim organizations are mourning and raising money for the 10 people killed in the mass shooting on Monday (March 22)...
The Colorado Muslim Leadership Council on Tuesday released a statement in solidarity with the survivors and victims."

Read the full RNS article here.

Read the Colorado Muslim Leadership Council statement on their Facebook page here.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021 via web streaming
10:30am Pacific Time

Sharing Sorrow, Bringing Hope

Join hundreds of thousands of people from around the world in what is being called the biggest Israeli-Palestinian peace event in history. The Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony is hosted by Combatants for Peace and Parents Circle-Families Forum and we are proud that Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice is an official sponsor this year.

Together we declare that War is Not an Act of Fate - but a Human Choice!

Last year 200,000 people participated in the live broadcast event and over one million people streamed it afterwards. This year the Ceremony will take place virtually, broadcast live from Tel Aviv and Ramallah.

Click here to register for the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Day Ceremony, April 13, 2021, 10:30am-12:30pm Pacific Time.

Interfaith Worship and Witness
Friday, April 2nd, 2021
Opening music 7:45am
Worship 8:00am

Virtual Event: Click here for more information and Zoom link.

Rev. Michale Yoshii preaching
Reports from Marylia Kelley and Jackie Cabasso
Music by Betsy Rose
Liturgical Dance based on Isaiah 2:4 by Carla DeSola