Five years ago, I became very involved with the faith subcommittee of the Lewiston/Auburn Community Forum on Violence.

Most of the churches in the area at that time signed a declaration concerning violence and pledged to work diligently to wage a campaign of peace. This was to be done by educating ourselves in ways of peace and to work at eliminating the many causes of violence by asking their membership, individually and collectively, to select annually one or two causes for research and action.

Since the signing of that document by the clergy who represented multiple denominations, there have been many random acts of violence that have manifested in our community and have destroyed many lives. My question is: What have we as a faith community done to bring peace to our neighborhoods?

The faith community must work together to create an atmosphere of love and support for all those touched by violence. The month of October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This is an excellent opportunity for the church to recommit itself in working toward a violence-free society.

Together we must reshape our families, our places of worship, work, schooling and recreation into more loving environments. This would prove to be the ultimate gift to ourselves, our children and future generations.

Rev. Douglas Taylor, director of The Jesus Party, Lewiston

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