By Rosemary Lewallen
St. Irenaeus’ Bridge of Light Ministry will “turn the light on” human trafficking to honor those who have suffered and survived this heinous crime on Tuesday, February 6th from 6:55 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The evening will start with Taize Prayer in St. Irenaeus Catholic Church located at 5201 Evergreen Ave., Cypress, CA 90630.
This will be followed by an on-site candlelight procession and prayer vigil. Then walkers will return to the church for a brief educational program to raise awareness about human trafficking in our midst. We will discuss how human trafficking affects every community via the commercial exploitation of adults and children, the online vulnerability of our youth, and how human trafficking is connected to child marriage, which is legal in 40 states in the U.S., including California.
We are honored to have Rima Nashashibi, the Founder and President of Global Hope 365, as our featured presenter. Global Hope 365 is a local nonprofit dedicated to ending child marriage, human trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence. Rima is an internationally recognized speaker, political and community leader and activist. She was listed in the Orange County Register Newspaper OC’s top 125 most influential people in Orange County and was the winner of the Los Angeles Times B2B Publishing Inspirational Woman of the year in the nonprofit executive category.
Join in fighting human trafficking by participating in Bridge of Light Ministry’s Solidarity Walk and Prayer Vigil, uniting with others to honor victims and survivors. If you have any questions, please contact Monica Kovach, Bridge of Light Ministry Chair (part of Health Ministry) at 310-490-6113.