ATLANTA—With a flame from a Peace Candle, Jewish and Muslim leaders together lit 12 candles to commemorate the dead, sharing a desire for peace as war rages in Gaza and Ukraine 

Under a large crucifix of Christ, Rabbi Lydia Medwin, of The Temple, Atlanta, recited the Jewish prayer for the dead and prayer for peace. Rabbi Medwin said she carried “deep grief” for all people taken too soon in violence.  

Rabbi Lydia Medwin of The Temple, left, and Soumaya Khalifa, executive director of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta, right, light candles during an Ecumenical and Interreligious Service to pray for peace Dec. 13. Photo by Johnathon Kelso

“We ask God to take the soul of the deceased under God’s wing to care for it for eternity,” she said.  

She was one of six religious leaders from throughout the Atlanta region who gathered in the sanctuary of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church for the Dec. 13 ecumenical and interfaith prayer service. 

Representatives from the three faith traditions recited heartfelt prayers and pleadings to remember those killed around the world, particularly those killed and suffering in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. 

“God, we reach you and ask for your help, as we feel helpless,” said Soumaya Khalifa, executive director and founder of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta. The 30-minute service drew some 60 people.  

“We pray that justice prevails. We pray for a ceasefire. We pray for all to be able to live together and live as brothers and sisters in peace, and justice and harmony. God, we ask you to take out the hatred from our hearts and fill them with love,” said Khalifa. 

As prayers for the dead and for peace were recited in Jewish, Muslim and Christian faith traditions, Atlanta Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., invoked the “the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi” together with all men and women of goodwill, “to ask the Almighty to bring peace to our world.”  

“We pray that as people of faith we might be the artisans of peace. And let us pray for our beloved dead that they may rest in peace and that their memories be eternal. And to all here present, I pray that the Lord grant you his peace,” he said.  

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., prays for peace at an interfaith service Dec. 13. Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders from across Atlanta joined the service. Photo by Johnathon Kelso

The archbishop, in his remarks, urged the congregation to “commit ourselves to being instruments of peace.”  

Others in attendance were: Father Bohdan Maruszak, of St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Cumming; Father Volodymyr Petrytsya, of Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church, Conyers; Reverend Justin Eller, assistant to Bishop Kevin Strickland of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; joining Rabbi Medwin and Soumaya Khalifa. 

Sam Halpern, of the American Jewish Committee, said the service was a sign of hope.  

“I’m leaving here today with a sense of solidarity in this moment. It is powerful for so many denominations to be able to come together and have an interfaith service. It’s important for the community to see, and it’s a powerful statement,” he said.  

Brendan Murphy, whose family attends Mary Our Queen Church in Peachtree Corners, sits on the archdiocesan committee for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. 

“It’s very hopeful,” he said. “It’s so important that we take time to come together, sit together, talk together, listen to each other and pray. It’s just essential.”