150mile Peace Pilgrimage
Donation protected
We are the Kent Christian Peace Activists and we are walking 150miles to raise awareness of our Christian concern for peace, and raise some money for some excellent peace-promoting causes.
Over eight days at the end of August we are
making our way from Canterbury to Kettering where we are going to Greenbelt festival. Violence takes shape in all kinds of different places - internationally, environmentally, in local communities, in places of faith, in homes, even in our own minds. Our pilgrimage gives space to imagine peace in those places, to pray for peace, to speak out about peace, to advocate peace.
Each of our eight days of walking will focus on a different cause. We’d like to raise £100 a day for each of these causes which are listed below, including incredible Kent based charity Rising Sun, working to provide services and support to people affected by Domestic Violence. All the money raised on this page will be divided equally between our eight causes.
The concept of peace often feels like merely an act of the imagination; it’s hard to believe that peace will ever be a reality. I think of John Lennon’s famous lyrics… ‘Imagine all the people living life in peace… you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one’. Our peace walk is about living out that act of imagining peace. In the act of imagining it can become a reality, in dreaming of peace we help others, too, to dream of peace. We advocate peace as something that, as Christians, we are called to imagine, and also to live out in our daily lives as peacemakers. Too often we people of faith have betrayed the cause of peace, sometimes in extreme ways, other times in small ways in our daily lives. Our walk is our personal commitment to peace, to Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace, and also an attempt to not only imagine peace, but enable it through the funds we raise.
Our daily causes are as follows:
Day 1. Peace for those fleeing violence
On day 1 we will be thinking and praying for refugees and asylum seekers who are forced to leave their homes because of violence. Our chosen charity for this cause is Samphire, a charity with both a national remit and a local one. Nationally, they provides support and advice to ex-detainees as well as emergency support service for the most vulnerable. Locally, in Dover, Samphire runs a community engagement project working with migrant and British communities to improve social cohesion, and also runs a project raising awareness amongst schools pupils on issues surrounding migration. The charity plays a pivotal role in Dover raising awareness around migration and making the town a more welcoming place. Find out more
about Samphire here .
Day 2. Peace between people of different faiths.
On day 2 we will be thinking and praying for relationship between people of different faiths. This is a cause close to our heart having spent some time in prayer and worship with the Muslim community at Greenbelt festival 2017 and understanding first hand the transformative and powerful connections that can be made across faith differences. Our chosen charity for this cause is Near Neighbours, an initiative that brings people together in communities that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust, and collaborate together to improve the local community they live in. In 2017 the Near Neighbours programme brought more than 92,000 people together from across different religious and ethnic groups through community-run projects. 93% of participants said they understand people in their community who are from different religions or ethnic groups better because of the project. To find out more about Near Neighbours, click here.
Day 3. Peace of mind
When we use the word violence we often think only of physical violence, but for many of us a much more familiar fight will be one playing out in our minds. For those people who struggle with mental illness, imagining peace of mind can feel utterly impossible. Statistics show that 16m people in the UK experience mental illness, and in reality it’s likely to be many more than that. The charity Mind is well known for providing services around the UK that promote better mental health and well being. Mind believes that without mental health there can be no health. Likewise, we believe that without mental peace, there can be no peace. We are supporting our local branch of Mind in Folkestone and you can find out more about their amazing work here .
Day 4. Peace means nuclear disarmament
The UK Government is estimated to spend at least £205 billion replacing Trident, it’s nuclear weapons programme, money that could instead be invested in the NHS, our education system, sustainable energy, etc etc. In terms of national security, the UK government’s own National Security Strategy identifies the real security threats we face today as terrorism, cyber-attacks and the consequences of climate change. Nuclear weapons are useless in dealing with these threats. Using nuclear weapons would be illegal under almost every conceivable circumstance, as huge numbers of civilian casualties are unavoidable. We want to see a world without nuclear weapons, and so our chosen cause for day 4 is Christian CND, a specialist section of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. CCND provides a focus for Christians who want to witness on the basis of their faith against nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction – and for peace. Find out more about CCND here .
Day 5. Peace means ending the arms trade
On day 5 we will be thinking and praying about UK complicity and hypocrisy when it comes to trading in arms. The UK is one of the top-five leading arms exporters in the world. The UK Government's 2014-15 Human Rights and Democracy Report identified 28 countries of concern with regimes that violate human rights. The UK has approved arms export licences to 18 of these countries including Israel, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Despite its well documented repression and human rights abuses, Saudi Arabia has been a ‘priority market’ for UK arms sales for over 30 years. The UK government chooses to sell arms to countries it knows will use those arms against innocent civilians, including children. Our cause for day 5 is Campaign Against Arms Trade UK. To find out more about CAAT UK click here .
Day 6. Peace in personal relationships
On day 6 we will be thinking and praying for all individuals caught up in violent personal relationships. Domestic abuse affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in their lifetime and leads to, on average, two women being murdered each week and 30 men per year. Although it accounts for 16% of all violent crime it is still the violent crime least likely to be reported to the police. (Source: LWA). Our chosen charity for this cause is Rising Sun, a Kent-based organisation doing amazing work addressing domestic violence and providing services, for adults, children and families. Their work challenges attitudes that perpetuate domestic violence and promote healthy and non-abusive relationships. To find out more about Rising Sun click here .
Day 7. Peace with our world
It is now an undeniable fact that we have abused our world and it’s environment and betrayed the living things entrusted to our care upon it. The state of the oceans, of the atmosphere, of the soil, even of outer-space is testament to the environmental-genocide the human race is enacting. The decline of so many species of wildlife, widespread deforestation and wilderness destruction, unethical and exploitative industrial farming methods are just a few signs and symptoms of the violence we are inflicting on our planet. We desperately need to seek more peaceful ways to live with the world around us. Our charity for day 7 is A Rocha UK, a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world through practical involvement in nature conservation projects and ecological research, campaigning on biodiversity issues and engaging with churches, schools, communities and individuals. A Rocha UK is committed to conservation action as an expression of Christian mission and you can find out more about them here .
Day 8. Peace between nations
On our last day of walking we will be praying for peace between nations. Human beings have a right to live with dignity and security, and an obligation to help each other when that security is threatened. All human life is of equal worth, and so it is not acceptable that so often the international answer to protecting human security is through war. In war human lives become cheap and, conversely, security and dignity is impossible. This hope for a global end to war and violence almost feels like the most outrageous act of the imagination of all our prayers for peace. Our cause for day 8 is the Peace Pledge Union, the oldest secular pacifist organisation in Britain. Since 1934 it has been campaigning for a warless world. Today PPU challenges aspects of society that contribute to the view that war and armed force are effective agents of social change; such belief impedes the emergence of non violent approaches to conflicts. Their work challenges beliefs, values and institutions that make war inevitable, and presents alternative views of security without violence. You can find out more about PPU here .
Those are our eight causes for our Peace Pilgrimage. We believe that peace is possible, and so do these eight organisations. We believe that no matter how outrageous it feels to imagine peace or to pray for peace or to hope for peace, peace is possible and it starts with us as individuals.
If our our walk has inspired you, please do donate as the money raised will make an amazing difference in all kinds of ways. During our walk we will be tweeting using the KCPA twitter handle (@KCPeaceA) and also blogging to keep you up to date with our progress (link to blog to follow).
Over eight days at the end of August we are
making our way from Canterbury to Kettering where we are going to Greenbelt festival. Violence takes shape in all kinds of different places - internationally, environmentally, in local communities, in places of faith, in homes, even in our own minds. Our pilgrimage gives space to imagine peace in those places, to pray for peace, to speak out about peace, to advocate peace.
Each of our eight days of walking will focus on a different cause. We’d like to raise £100 a day for each of these causes which are listed below, including incredible Kent based charity Rising Sun, working to provide services and support to people affected by Domestic Violence. All the money raised on this page will be divided equally between our eight causes.
The concept of peace often feels like merely an act of the imagination; it’s hard to believe that peace will ever be a reality. I think of John Lennon’s famous lyrics… ‘Imagine all the people living life in peace… you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one’. Our peace walk is about living out that act of imagining peace. In the act of imagining it can become a reality, in dreaming of peace we help others, too, to dream of peace. We advocate peace as something that, as Christians, we are called to imagine, and also to live out in our daily lives as peacemakers. Too often we people of faith have betrayed the cause of peace, sometimes in extreme ways, other times in small ways in our daily lives. Our walk is our personal commitment to peace, to Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace, and also an attempt to not only imagine peace, but enable it through the funds we raise.
Our daily causes are as follows:
Day 1. Peace for those fleeing violence
On day 1 we will be thinking and praying for refugees and asylum seekers who are forced to leave their homes because of violence. Our chosen charity for this cause is Samphire, a charity with both a national remit and a local one. Nationally, they provides support and advice to ex-detainees as well as emergency support service for the most vulnerable. Locally, in Dover, Samphire runs a community engagement project working with migrant and British communities to improve social cohesion, and also runs a project raising awareness amongst schools pupils on issues surrounding migration. The charity plays a pivotal role in Dover raising awareness around migration and making the town a more welcoming place. Find out more
about Samphire here .
Day 2. Peace between people of different faiths.
On day 2 we will be thinking and praying for relationship between people of different faiths. This is a cause close to our heart having spent some time in prayer and worship with the Muslim community at Greenbelt festival 2017 and understanding first hand the transformative and powerful connections that can be made across faith differences. Our chosen charity for this cause is Near Neighbours, an initiative that brings people together in communities that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust, and collaborate together to improve the local community they live in. In 2017 the Near Neighbours programme brought more than 92,000 people together from across different religious and ethnic groups through community-run projects. 93% of participants said they understand people in their community who are from different religions or ethnic groups better because of the project. To find out more about Near Neighbours, click here.
Day 3. Peace of mind
When we use the word violence we often think only of physical violence, but for many of us a much more familiar fight will be one playing out in our minds. For those people who struggle with mental illness, imagining peace of mind can feel utterly impossible. Statistics show that 16m people in the UK experience mental illness, and in reality it’s likely to be many more than that. The charity Mind is well known for providing services around the UK that promote better mental health and well being. Mind believes that without mental health there can be no health. Likewise, we believe that without mental peace, there can be no peace. We are supporting our local branch of Mind in Folkestone and you can find out more about their amazing work here .
Day 4. Peace means nuclear disarmament
The UK Government is estimated to spend at least £205 billion replacing Trident, it’s nuclear weapons programme, money that could instead be invested in the NHS, our education system, sustainable energy, etc etc. In terms of national security, the UK government’s own National Security Strategy identifies the real security threats we face today as terrorism, cyber-attacks and the consequences of climate change. Nuclear weapons are useless in dealing with these threats. Using nuclear weapons would be illegal under almost every conceivable circumstance, as huge numbers of civilian casualties are unavoidable. We want to see a world without nuclear weapons, and so our chosen cause for day 4 is Christian CND, a specialist section of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. CCND provides a focus for Christians who want to witness on the basis of their faith against nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction – and for peace. Find out more about CCND here .
Day 5. Peace means ending the arms trade
On day 5 we will be thinking and praying about UK complicity and hypocrisy when it comes to trading in arms. The UK is one of the top-five leading arms exporters in the world. The UK Government's 2014-15 Human Rights and Democracy Report identified 28 countries of concern with regimes that violate human rights. The UK has approved arms export licences to 18 of these countries including Israel, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Despite its well documented repression and human rights abuses, Saudi Arabia has been a ‘priority market’ for UK arms sales for over 30 years. The UK government chooses to sell arms to countries it knows will use those arms against innocent civilians, including children. Our cause for day 5 is Campaign Against Arms Trade UK. To find out more about CAAT UK click here .
Day 6. Peace in personal relationships
On day 6 we will be thinking and praying for all individuals caught up in violent personal relationships. Domestic abuse affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in their lifetime and leads to, on average, two women being murdered each week and 30 men per year. Although it accounts for 16% of all violent crime it is still the violent crime least likely to be reported to the police. (Source: LWA). Our chosen charity for this cause is Rising Sun, a Kent-based organisation doing amazing work addressing domestic violence and providing services, for adults, children and families. Their work challenges attitudes that perpetuate domestic violence and promote healthy and non-abusive relationships. To find out more about Rising Sun click here .
Day 7. Peace with our world
It is now an undeniable fact that we have abused our world and it’s environment and betrayed the living things entrusted to our care upon it. The state of the oceans, of the atmosphere, of the soil, even of outer-space is testament to the environmental-genocide the human race is enacting. The decline of so many species of wildlife, widespread deforestation and wilderness destruction, unethical and exploitative industrial farming methods are just a few signs and symptoms of the violence we are inflicting on our planet. We desperately need to seek more peaceful ways to live with the world around us. Our charity for day 7 is A Rocha UK, a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world through practical involvement in nature conservation projects and ecological research, campaigning on biodiversity issues and engaging with churches, schools, communities and individuals. A Rocha UK is committed to conservation action as an expression of Christian mission and you can find out more about them here .
Day 8. Peace between nations
On our last day of walking we will be praying for peace between nations. Human beings have a right to live with dignity and security, and an obligation to help each other when that security is threatened. All human life is of equal worth, and so it is not acceptable that so often the international answer to protecting human security is through war. In war human lives become cheap and, conversely, security and dignity is impossible. This hope for a global end to war and violence almost feels like the most outrageous act of the imagination of all our prayers for peace. Our cause for day 8 is the Peace Pledge Union, the oldest secular pacifist organisation in Britain. Since 1934 it has been campaigning for a warless world. Today PPU challenges aspects of society that contribute to the view that war and armed force are effective agents of social change; such belief impedes the emergence of non violent approaches to conflicts. Their work challenges beliefs, values and institutions that make war inevitable, and presents alternative views of security without violence. You can find out more about PPU here .
Those are our eight causes for our Peace Pilgrimage. We believe that peace is possible, and so do these eight organisations. We believe that no matter how outrageous it feels to imagine peace or to pray for peace or to hope for peace, peace is possible and it starts with us as individuals.
If our our walk has inspired you, please do donate as the money raised will make an amazing difference in all kinds of ways. During our walk we will be tweeting using the KCPA twitter handle (@KCPeaceA) and also blogging to keep you up to date with our progress (link to blog to follow).
Fundraising team (2)
Holly Adams
Organizer
Raised £611 from 21 donations
Richard Barnard
Team member
Raised £50 from 1 donation
