Naperville congregation prays for peace

More than one hundred people flocked to the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Naperville Thursday for a New Year's Day prayer of peace.

Members of the area's Bahai, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim communities spent the afternoon reflecting on the theme with song, prayer and readings from religious passages.

"I'm so glad this is a facility where people can come together and pray for peace, which is desperately needed," said Greg Skiba, pastor of the church.

Bernie Newman, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom in Naperville, recalled the ongoing conflict in Israel and the recent terror attacks in Mumbai in urging those in attendance to commit themselves to peace.

"Images of war, pandemic and disease hit us seemingly every time we turn on the television or open up a newspaper," Newman said. "There are so many conflicts with a religious component that many people believe that religion is part of the problem. But in human history, it was peace that had to be taught, and it was first taught as a religious principle. Peace is the ideal situation and it's worth striving for."