Sadako Sasaki was 2 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. When she was 11, she came down with Leukemia, most likely caused by the bomb of almost 10 years earlier. In her strong desire to get well, Sadako took up interest in origami and started to make cranes. Based on an old Japanese legend, it was believed that if you made a thousand paper cranes your wish would come true. She continued until her death making over 1,000 paper cranes. Over the years the paper origami crane became a symbol of peace and the making of the paper crane became a common expression of our longing for peace. Since Sadako’s death, thousands and thousands of paper cranes have been made and many sent to the Sadako memorial in the Hiroshima peace park wishing and hoping for peace throughout the world. To learn more about the history of the peace crane, go to prezi.com/a_docsexyxvu/origami-peace-crane. Peace. Isn’t this what we all strive for in our lives and that of our families? Peace — isn’t peace what we dream of and pray for in our communities and ultimately the world? So is the wish of all peoples and religious traditions across the world. It is the wish of the Portneuf Valley Interfaith Fellowship. We are a diverse group of faith communities working together to better the community for the common good, both locally and globally. We are a group composed of many religious traditions striving for peace both at home and across the world. The activities and events in which we are active are numerous throughout the year. Some activities or events are: blankets for the homeless, stand down, aid for friends fellowship fund and winter encampment, alternative gift market, Bridges to assist refugees, Martin Luther King annual service, Feeding the 5000, World Day of Prayer, City Cleanup, community picnic, reaching out to ISU students. As the word “interfaith” implies, the PVIF is made of many faith traditions that come together to learn from each other and work as a group to serve many of the local needs that are more easily met through many churches working together. We are made up of representatives from the Portneuf Sangha (Buddhist), Temple Emanuel (Jewish), Islamic Society of Southeastern Idaho (Muslim), Pocatello Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Baha’i and several Christian churches including Central Christian, Seventh Day Adventists, United Methodists, Good Shepard Lutheran, First Presbyterian, Trinity Episcopal, and First Congregational United Church of Christ. Blazing Grace, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others. To learn more, go to facebook.com/PortneufInterfaith. Robert Gehrke is a representative of Pocatello Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Sadako Sasaki was 2 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. When she was 11, she came down with Leukemia, most likely caused by the bomb of almost 10 years earlier. In her strong desire to get well, Sadako took up interest in origami and started to make cranes. Based on an old Japanese legend, it was believed that if you made a thousand paper cranes your wish would come true. She continued until her death making over 1,000 paper cranes. Over the years the paper origami crane became a symbol of peace and the making of the paper crane became a common expression of our longing for peace. Since Sadako’s death, thousands and thousands of paper cranes have been made and many sent to the Sadako memorial in the Hiroshima peace park wishing and hoping for peace throughout the world. To learn more about the history of the peace crane, go to prezi.com/a_docsexyxvu/origami-peace-crane.

Peace. Isn’t this what we all strive for in our lives and that of our families? Peace — isn’t peace what we dream of and pray for in our communities and ultimately the world? So is the wish of all peoples and religious traditions across the world. It is the wish of the Portneuf Valley Interfaith Fellowship. We are a diverse group of faith communities working together to better the community for the common good, both locally and globally. We are a group composed of many religious traditions striving for peace both at home and across the world. The activities and events in which we are active are numerous throughout the year. Some activities or events are: blankets for the homeless, stand down, aid for friends fellowship fund and winter encampment, alternative gift market, Bridges to assist refugees, Martin Luther King annual service, Feeding the 5000, World Day of Prayer, City Cleanup, community picnic, reaching out to ISU students.

As the word “interfaith” implies, the PVIF is made of many faith traditions that come together to learn from each other and work as a group to serve many of the local needs that are more easily met through many churches working together. We are made up of representatives from the Portneuf Sangha (Buddhist), Temple Emanuel (Jewish), Islamic Society of Southeastern Idaho (Muslim), Pocatello Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Baha’i and several Christian churches including Central Christian, Seventh Day Adventists, United Methodists, Good Shepard Lutheran, First Presbyterian, Trinity Episcopal, and First Congregational United Church of Christ. Blazing Grace, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others. To learn more, go to facebook.com/PortneufInterfaith.

Robert Gehrke is a representative of Pocatello Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.