'AINA HAINA — When the people attending last night's prayer service at Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church paused to offer one another a sign of peace, they did so with an unusual fervor.

It was, after all, a service to mark both the annual World Day of Prayer and the (almost) fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

No one missed the point.

The gathering, like most war vigils and protests around the country, was small; fewer than two dozen people took time out of their Friday night activities to attend. The war seemed far away from the tranquil seaside sanctuary.

But those attending said it was important nonetheless to continue praying for peace — in America, in Iraq and around the world.

"When we gathered last year at this time, we prayed we wouldn't have to do it again in a year," said Pastor Tim Mason. "Now, I pray we won't have to have another service like this one in one year's time."

Although the Iraq war started in mid-March 2003, Mason said this year's vigil was timed to coincide with the World Day of Prayer, a global ecumenical movement of informed prayer and calls to action held annually on the first Friday of March.

"The church is called to be a peacemaker, and this is one way we try to do that," Mason said.

The hourlong service mixed hymns, readings from the Bible and the words of Woodrow Wilson and Abraham Lincoln, among others. There was no political rhetoric or politician bashing, but the message of peace, not war, was clear.

"War is one of the points," said University of Hawai'i astronomy professor Bob Joseph. "Budgets are moral documents, too."

Elsewhere around the nation and the world, many of those participating in the day's observances prayed for peace in the South American nation of Guyana, a nation said to be on the verge of civil chaos.

Since 1924, sponsors of the prayer day have chosen one country to focus on, having the women of that nation write many of the prayers that are said worldwide.

In 'Aina Haina, there were no limits. Participants lit candles on a cross and sang. In addition to praying for peace in Iraq, prayers were said for the nations of the world, the American nation, its enemies, and all victims of war.

And they shook hands, hugged and said quietly, with unusual earnestness: "Peace be with you."

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.