By Dorothy K. LaMantia | Correspondent

Nearly 150 women, men and children of all ages meditated upon love, forgiveness and community and prayed for healing for victims of violence during a service for peace in St. Joseph Church, Toms River, Sept. 20.  

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Intended to be an observance of the eve of the International Day of Peace, the service included Scripture readings, prayer both spoken and sung, and personal witness to the power of forgiveness and the need for hope.

The service  took on a sense of urgency in the face of  the previous weekend’s events — the bombings in New York City and Seaside Park and the attempted bombing in Elizabeth, all of which brought terrorism too close to home.

“We have been planning this service for about five weeks,” said Father Scott Shaffer, pastor of St. Joseph Parish.  “We wanted it to coincide with the opening of school and to prepare an evening when people would come out.  Then the need was heightened by the events of this weekend.”

During the service, students from the parish elementary school led in a visual meditation using five placards, each bearing letters spelling out the word “PEACE.”  Another five students read a reflection on each of the letters, expressing prayers for community action to attain peace. Each of five easels received a placard as a candle was lit before it.

 “Did you notice every one of the children’s prayers involved us?” Father Shaffer said. “We can’t make our lives about just God and me. There is no peace, because we’ve forgotten we belong to each other. Do not curse the darkness – let your light shine. Let your life and love make a difference.”

Parishioner Janice Hozzella gave a personal testimony on how the ability to forgive saved her physically and spiritually after her divorce. Logan Johnston, a student from the parish Religious Education program, proclaimed a Scripture reading from St. John.

A meditation to pray for the victims of violent attacks drew tears from the congregation. As “Pie Jesu” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Requiem” played, more than a dozen familiar names appeared on overhead screens, Columbine, the World Trade Center, Sandy Hook Elementary, Paris, Orlando, and finally Seaside Heights, Chelsea, N.Y., and Elizabeth among them.

The voices of the congregation filled the church as they sang “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”

Parishioner Barbara Schellato commented, “Tears bring healing. I feel healing coming through the Lord. Father did such a beautiful job. We need peace, and it needs to begin with me and each other.”

Parishioner Michilina Scala said God brought her to the evening prayer service. 

“I hadn’t been planning to come, but 20 minutes before it started, I felt an urge, compelled,” Scala said. “My daughter was at that spot in Seaside Park the night before [where the bomb was found in the backpack], and it hit home. Then she heard from her best friend in New York who was upset that one of the bombs was left outside her dorm. I tell my kids every day to live like today is their last day and to love, forgive and be kind. I needed to be here.  Tonight, after this, I feel at peace.”

Joann D’Anton, a media arts teacher in Donovan Catholic, Toms River, commented, “We need to be more hopeful and to believe that Christ is our Light. Terror and fear will not change. It’ll be there, but with Christ, you’re never alone. We have to live with joy, hope, and love.”