On Saturday, September 6th, the parish of St. Martin de Porres will hold an Interfaith Service for Peace and Reconciliation following the tragic events of the last several weeks in Staten Island and Missouri. The initiative, lead by Monsignor Paul Jervis, aims to bring the Holy Father’s message for Peace and Reconciliation to our local communities. It will take place at 3 p.m. at St. Peter Claver Church, 29 Claver Place, in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The service comes during the Feast of Saint Peter Claver, who dedicated his life to work in defending the rights of the African people and sought for the abolition of the slave trade.

“We have to stand up against violence and yet at the same time be for the brotherhood and the solidarity of all people. We have to be proactive for interracial love and understanding. That was what Saint Peter Claver was all about,” said Father Jervis, pastor of St. Martin de Porres.

The Interfaith Service is an open invitation for people of all religions and races to denounce violence. “It is a call for peace and brotherhood,” he said.

Founded in 1922, St. Peter Claver Church was the first African American Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Brooklyn. It was established by Monsignor Bernard Quinn, a champion of racial equality, at a time when discrimination against Africans was ubiquitous in America.