06/08/2026
Our clergy said we were going to build a peace movement in Upper Merion. On Saturday night we had our first gathering.
Picture a room full of people who, a week ago, were strangers living a few streets apart. Jewish, Presbyterian, and Lutheran neighbors, every table full, every face lit by candlelight. That was Love Thy Neighbor, our very first gathering, and it was everything we hoped it would be.
We began with story, because you cannot love a neighbor you do not know. A member from each congregation shared what called them deeper into their faith and into service. Then we sat together in small groups across every tradition and talked honestly about our hopes for this town and for one another.
And then we passed the light. One candle became a roomful of flames, and as each person kindled the candle beside them they spoke a prayer aloud for the community we are building.
This is how peace actually gets built. Not in a crisis, not in an argument, but in a room full of neighbors who chose to find each other now.
We are just getting started. If you want to be part of what comes next, stay close. The light is spreading.
