Actions in the Last Year

In the fall 2023 and winter 2024, we organized two retreats, primarily to discern the future of our group. Because of tragic events that were just occurring in Israel – Palestine,  participants also expressed their profound grief about the war and its impact upon many of our own Peace Walk members, including some with close relationships to these countries.
We co-sponsored and assisted in planning a Silent Procession led by the Philadelphia Chapter of Combatants for Peace (https://www.afcfp.org) on February 25, 2024.
Peace Walk individuals also participated in the opening and ending sections of a national pilgrimage for a Ceasefire in Gaza with the Fellowship of Reconciliation ( https://forusa.org ) and Rabbis for Ceasefire (https://rabbis4ceasefire.com).  This pilgrimage began in Philadelphia and processed to Washington, D.C.
We joined a local pilgrimage from the Liberty Bell to Lockheed Martin organized by Prayer for Peace Alliance (https://prayersforpeacealliance.org/).
In addition to the op-ed we posted on our website about the Gaza war, individual members also have continued to actively reach out to our local and national politicians with demands for a ceasefire and long-term peace with justice to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
We have also continued our monthly online planning meetings.

Ongoing and Upcoming Actions

As the war continues to create enormous suffering, we are planning a Listening Circle for Peace Walk members in November 2024 to express the ongoing impact and trauma in our lives and hearts, U.S. accountability, and additional actions we can take toward a ceasefire and permanent peace with equality for all people in Israel-Palestine.
Locally, Peace Walk individuals have been active in a number of groups seeking to end gun violence and heal racism in our city and nation, and we have provided information and support to each other and the Peace Walk community in these efforts. 
We continue to maintain relationships with a large number of Philadelphia groups on the forefront of addressing problems of local gun violence and racism, including Heeding God’s Call, Mothers in Charge, New Core Dialogues, Zones of Peace, The Jewels of Masjidullah, White Men for Racial Justice, Quaker Pro-democracy initiatives, Men Who Care About Germantown, and other grassroots organizations.  We hope to facilitate an additional interfaith / intercultural sharing opportunity for these groups in the coming year.

Communication
We welcome the views of people in the Philadelphia Peace Walk community and visitors to this website.  If you would like to be on our e-mail list for future meeting notices and interfaith events, or to share your thoughts, please contact: Vic Compher (viccompher@comcast.net); Lance Laver (llaver4@comcast.net); or Linda Toia (linda.toia@verizon.net).