Presiding bishop, interfaith leaders lead prayer vigil for peace in the Middle East
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on March 9, 2026. The United States and Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, with attacks later spreading throughout the Persian Gulf region. Photo: Bilal Hussein/AP
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and other faith leaders led a virtual interfaith vigil on March 10 to pray for peace in the Middle East as armed conflict continues throughout the region.
Six hundred thirty people joined the vigil, which was held in response to the United States and Israel launching a series of attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Iran responded by launching counterattacks throughout the Middle East.
“United by our hope for peace and our love for God’s people who are suffering in the midst of war in the Middle East, we gather to pray for those who have died and for the vulnerable ones who are bearing the greatest share of suffering. …We pray for those serving in the militaries of all the countries now at war. We pray especially for the children,” Rowe said during the vigil. “Let us pray, eternal God … spread abroad your spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace as children of one father, to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever.”
The vigil also featured reflections and prayers from faith leaders representing Muslim, Jewish, Bahá’í, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Methodist, Disciples of Christ, Sikh, Buddhist and other traditions.
“We all believe it is powerful to pray and work together for peace. We do not all agree with one another on each point that each of us is about to make in this time of prayer, but we do agree with enough of it for us to decide to take a stand together in this moment, and we think that matters,” said the Rev. Kirsten Guidero, The Episcopal Church’s ecumenical and interrreligious officer.
The vigil served as an opportunity for participants to collectively mourn the violence and loss of life. As of March 10, seven U.S. service members, 13 Israelis, including two soldiers, and at least 1,230 Iranians have been killed since the armed conflict began, according to government reports. Additionally, nearly 500 people have been killed in Lebanon, and other fatalities have occurred throughout the Middle East.
“We are in a particularly hard time when the evil around us keeps manifesting itself in death, destruction, violence, greed as the first response for those who want power and control of God’s world,” Dianna Wright, director of ecumenical and interreligious relations for the Presbyterian Church USA, said. “What is God calling us to do to participate in God’s work of healing and compassion? How is God calling us to respond to the devastating acts of violence against God’s people in Iran, Palestine, Ukraine, Haiti, Venezuela? Who will we prove to be at this hour? How will we act?”
The attacks coincide with Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of fasting.
“During this month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world are fasting and praying, seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness,” Imam Naeem Baig, director of Interfaith Alliances, board member of the National Board of the Islamic Circle and director and imam of Outreach and Interfaith Programs at Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, said. “I pray to God Almighty for the healing of the hearts and quick and speedy recovery of the injured. I ask God to guide the leaders of the world toward peace and that they understand that we are all children of Adam and are brothers and sisters in humanity.”
The attacks also followed two months after protests erupted in Iran, the largest reported uprising since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, which replaced Iran’s monarchy with a Shiite Muslim theocracy – the Islamic Republic. This year, Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan, falls on March 20, the same day as Nowruz, the Persian New Year and Iran’s largest holiday. Nowruz is also a holy day for Zoroastrians, Báhai’ís and Ismaili Shia Muslims.
During the vigil, Moji Saberin, a board member of Interfaith Philadelphia in Pennsylvania who is Báhai’í, called for prayers for the Báhai’í community in Iran. The Báhai’í faith was founded in the 19th century in Persia (modern-day Iran) by Baháʼu’lláh, a religious leader from Tehran. Báhai’ís have been persecuted in Iran since its founding.
“[Báhai’ís are] being severely persecuted, and especially in times of crisis, they’re being made the scapegoats very frequently, as there are reports right now of increased incarceration and forced statements,” Saberin said.
In addition to the prayer vigil, The Episcopal Church has responded to the attacks in various ways. Hours after the conflict began, Rowe sent a letter calling on Episcopalians to pray for all Iranians and for the Diocese of Iran, a diocese in the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East that has four churches. That same day, the church’s Office of Government Relations’ Episcopal Public Policy Network issued an action alert calling on Episcopalians to contact their members of Congress and tell them to “do all they can to stop escalating violence.”
As the conflict continues, The Episcopal Church is supporting its military service members, including chaplains, as some of them who are stationed in the Middle East prepare to serve during wartime and others prepare to deploy to the region.
“There are those who recognize that military might is surely not the remedy for most global conflict but feel there are times when war is necessary and believe a case can be made that this is such a time, even while having serious doubts about the lead-up to the fighting and the chances for it to succeed. All these things can be true,” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said. “We pray for a day when the swords are beaten into plowshares – when the children of Tehran, Tel Aviv … need not fear the sky above.”
During the vigil, participants offered their own prayers and reflections via Zoom’s chat function:
“In repentance of our disregard of the sanctity and dignity of all human life, we ask, O Lord, you to make the path clear for forgiveness and reconciliation,” Clay Berkley wrote.
“May God turn the hearts of the world’s leaders toward peace and protect the children of Abraham wherever they are found in this broken world,” Susan Bolen wrote.
“Lord God, thank you for this human family here, assembled,” Valerie Curry wrote. “We ask you to continue blessing us with strength and courage and wisdom to embody light and salt, to sow peace where there is conflict, to love where there is hatred. In Christ, I pray.”
Every Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern, the Office of Government hosts a weekly network call to share the latest issues the church’s ministry is tracking, including conflict in the Middle East. The next call is scheduled for March 12 via Zoom. Click here to register.
The Rev. Doyeon Park, a kyomunim, or ordained minister in the Won Buddhist tradition, is a minister of the Manhattan Won Buddhist Temple and a representative of Won Buddhism to the United Nations. During the vigil, she said that war “begins in the human mind” as fear, anger and the “illusion that we are separated from one another,” and that peace “must begin in the human mind.”
“Peace begins when compassion becomes stronger than fear, and wisdom guides our words and actions,” she said. “Our gathering is more than a moment of prayer; it is a moment of responsibility. …Let us work together, faith by faith, heart by heart, to cultivate not only the absence of war, but the presence of justice, dignity and lasting peace. May all beings be free from fear; may all beings live in safety; and may all beings live in peace.”