Pilsen churches kick off '40 Days of Peace' campaign on Ash Wednesday, offer ashes at CTA stations

ByEvelyn Holmes and ABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Thursday, March 3, 2022
Pilsen churches kick off '40 Days of Peace' campaign
On this Ash Wednesday, some faith leaders took to the streets of Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood to once again call for there to be peace.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- On this Ash Wednesday, some faith leaders took to the streets of Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood to once again call for there to be peace.



It's all a part of an effort by more than a half dozen churches in the Southwest Side neighborhood to launch their 40 days of peace campaign. Father Brendan Curran, an organizer with The Resurrection Project, supports the endeavor.



"Everyone's got a role this. Everyone in," Curran said. "So what we are doing is, everyone in from today: 40 days of peace in Pilsen."



Seven area churches of different faiths, including United Lincoln Methodist Church, make up the coalition known as the Pilsen Faith Table Initiative.



The months-old group is calling on all churches, businesses and residents to resist all forms of violence and be peacemakers in the neighborhood.



"There's a hope and a need right now for there to be peace and harmony," said Pastor Emma Lozano, United Lincoln Methodist Church. "We've been through a pandemic. We've lost a lot of lives. We've seen a lot of loss of life from violence in the community."



The undertaking began on Ash Wednesday, which is the start of the Lenten season, a 40-day period dedicated to reflection, prayer and fasting before Easter.



The ashes of burned palms are placed in the shape of a cross on the foreheads of believers, a symbol of repentance.



Faith leaders said they plan on heading to CTA train stations to encourage communities to choose peace.

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