Interfaith Candlelight Vigil

20th Anniversary Covenant House

Vigil for Homeless Youth

Tuesday, 16 November
6:00-7:00 pm
Times Square (44th and Broadway)

A powerful evening of solidarity and advocacy sponsored by

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children and Covenant House

bringing together NY Homeless Teens, UNICEF, NGOs, Multi-Faith Religious Leaders and Broadway Stars in an expression of hope and action for children.

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children, together with Religions for Peace and UNICEF, is joining with Covenant House to present this Interfaith Candlelight Vigil to mark the 2010 World Day of Prayer and Action for Children.The vision of the World Day is that, in places of worship all over the world, people will place children at the center of their prayers and devotions, and follow up these services with commitments to action for the survival, development and protection of children.

The Vigil is an urgent call to action on behalf of all the children and youth who suffer from abuse and exploitation worldwide. It is a day when leaders of all faiths will join together to highlight the importance of global partnerships in coping with the worldwide, needless suffering of children.

We will be committing our reflections and action to, among so many others:

• the 8.1 million children worldwide who died before their 5th birthday in 2009;
• the 3.3  million newborns worldwide who die in the first month of life each year;
• the estimated 158 million children, ages 5-14, who are engaged in child labor;
• the 358,000 women who died from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth in 2008;
• the 2 million U.S. youth who experience homelessness every year, according to Covenant House.

The service will take place in Times Square, corner of 44th St. and Broadway, and will include:

• Welcome by Kevin Ryan, President of Covenant House International
• Speech by Liz Murray in the context of her book “Homeless to Harvard”
• Performances by Broadway stars Jacob Clemente (Billy Elliot), Rita Harvey (Phantom of the Opera and Fiddler on the Roof) and Hugh Panaro (Phantom of the Opera)
• Prayers and reflections led by religious leaders from various traditions
• Keynote address by UNICEF leadership

YOUR participation would send a powerful message on this important day of advocacy, prayer and action.  Please join us!

Visit Covenant House’s website on the Canglelight Vigil