On August 15, 2014 the Archdiocese of Washington (ADW) with the help of the Inter-Faith Conference (IFC) held an Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace at the St. John Paul II National Shrine located 3900 Harewood Rd. NE, Washington, DC 20017.  

The IFC worked closely with the ADW’s Office of Ecumenism and Interfaith Affairs to bring together eleven faith leaders from the local community to pray for peace at a time when the whole world is witnessing with incredulity a heightened state of conflict and inter-religious intolerance.  

His Eminence, Donald Cardinal Wuerl and the faith leaders read or chanted from each one’s own sacred scriptures. The excerpts from the holy texts highlighted the love of neighbor and peaceful coexistence that is at the heart of each religious tradition. The event included some exceptional music from the St. Camillus Multicultural Choir.  

The faith leaders present were the following:  

• Michael Turner (Baha’i)
• Rev. Maynard Moore (Methodist Christian)
• Rabbi Charles Feinberg (Jewish)
• Richard Cizik (Evangelical Christian)
• Rizwan Jaka (Muslim)
• Dr. Siva  Subramanian (Hindu/Jain)
• Dr. Kari O’Grady (Mormon)
• Most  Venerable  Uparatana  Mahathera (Sri Lanka – Buddhism)
• Most  Venerable  Taweepong  Mahathera (Thai  Buddhism)
• Dr. B.N. Hebbar (Buddhism)
• Very Reverend Fr. Issac Crow (Orthodox Christian)