About 70 people gathered Monday at Unity Church on Diamond Head for an evening of prayer for the victims of violence throughout the world. This coming together, organized by Saleem Ahmed, founder of the All Believers Network, represented persons of many faith traditions: Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Muslim, Jewish, Christian and others.

Prayers were offered through song, dance, word and silence. A child did a devotional Hindu dance; a young woman offered a dance for peace in the Hawaiian tradition.

Focus was on victims of violence, whether that violence is within the home or caused by the evils of war. Two people spoke briefly about places in the world where violence has recently destroyed lives, torn apart families and created fear and reactions to fear that cause more violence. One place lifted for prayer by Harendra Panalal was Mumbai, India, scene of recent terrorist bombings.

I was asked to speak about the second place, Gaza, where as of this writing 12 Israeli soldiers have died—three by the oxymoron “;friendly fire”;—and more than 1,000 Palestinian children, women and men, mostly civilians, have died.

Although those present came from many faith traditions, we acknowledged the shared desire for all to live in a just peace, a peace that honors the human right of persons to be able to earn a living; to educate their children; to have adequate shelter, food and clean water; to have access to medical care.

Each day I remember the faces of those I met in Israel and in Bethlehem, Hebron, Aboud, Susiya and other parts of the Palestinian territories. Time after time I heard the same words: “;Please remember us.”; “;Please tell the people in your places of worship about us.”;

These people included Sarah, a Palestinian Muslim woman, raising her family in a donated tent after her home had been bombed. And Suhaila, a Palestinian Christian woman, principal of an elementary school in her town that includes a kindergarten that Muslim and Christian children attend together.

The faces include those of Risa, Gila and Anna, just a few of the many Jewish people who are actively working for a just peace. And I can never forget Azis and Alec, one Palestinian and one Jew, once enemies committed to vengeance after family members were killed by the violence, and who now work together in a group called Parents Circle Family Forum. This group of Palestinians and Jews who have lost an immediate family member to the violence use the pain and suffering they have experienced to teach others that retribution and violence must be overcome by peace and reconciliation.

I receive hope in our own community from groups such as the All Believers Network, the Interfaith Alliance Hawaii and Open Table, among others, who strive through nonviolent means such as prayer, dialogue and working together, to advocate for a just peace in our community and throughout the world.