On the eve of hosting an annual regional conference for about 150 representatives from Mennonite churches throughout Colorado and New Mexico, Beth-El Mennonite Church in Colorado Springs prepared for the tail-end of a local plea for a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

“This is not about Israel, it is about anti-destruction, killing and war,” said Amy Linfield, a member of Beth-El Mennonite, an Anabaptist church that adheres to pacifism by opposing war and promoting peace.

“We are not against Israel but the methods of the warfare he (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) has released on the Palestinians,” she said. “We (the U.S. government) are not supplying weapons to Hamas; our tax dollars are supplying weapons to Israel.”

As Netanyahu met on Friday with former President Donald Trump on at his estate in Florida, Linfield and her husband, the Rev. Dr. Ken Linfield, a retired United Methodist Church pastor and professor, spruced up a large display of colorful pennant flags that were installed about four months ago near the Mennonite church building.

The red, yellow, purple, green and blue fabric flags are visible to motorists whizzing by on Union Boulevard north of Austin Bluffs Parkway, who no doubt have wondered what they are.

Each of 360 flags represents 100 people who have died in the war since the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Linfield said.

More flags are needed now to symbolize the deaths, she said.

At least 39,175 Palestinians have been killed during the conflict, according to figures the Gaza Health Ministry released this week.

More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed over the eight months of the war, according to the American Jewish Committee. And dozens of Israelis are believed to remain in Hamas captivity.

The Linfields straightened the flags that have been scuttled about by wind, added more where spaces have appeared in the lineup and pounded wooden signs into the ground that say “Peace,” “Stop Bombing,” “Start Building” and “Recovery.”

A 20-minute public remembrance and reflection ceremony will be held Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 6:50 p.m., at Beth-El Mennonite Church, 4625 Ranch Drive, before a blues concert begins at 7 p.m.

The memorial will remain up for the coming week and is being offered for display at other Mennonite churches and first then churches of other denominations.

At Beth-El, the flags are placed in front of a prayer labyrinth the church created in the shade of trees, where people can walk in the circular design fashioned out of dirt on the ground and pray, reflect and rest on benches.

Signs encourage people to pray for peace, hope, justice, forgiveness, the release of hostages, an end to the war, food and medical supplies, a just solution for all involved, wisdom for leaders and “that children will no longer have to fear U.S. bombs.”

Over the past four months, the exhibit has been well received, Linfield said.

“It’s an invisible grief that our country is experiencing,” she said.

“The point,” said Ken Linfield, “is not that Hamas is a great group but that Palestinian women and children are being slaughtered, and we are calling for an end.”

Amy Linfield added, “We are against all killing, but right now the vast danger is to the Palestinians.”

Netanyahu told reporters on Friday after meeting with Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, that Israel was eager to wrap up a U.S.-mediated deal for a cease-fire and release of hostages, according to the Associated Press.

He said Israel would be sending a team to negotiations in Rome, probably at the start of this coming week.

During Netanyahu’s five-day visit to the U.S., thousands of war protesters swarmed Washington, D.C. and condemned Netanyahu, chanting “Free, free Palestine” as they marched toward the Capitol.

Mennonite churches have been represented en masse nationally in calling for a permanent cease-fire since December, Amy Linfield said.

“Violence is tempting, but it doesn’t work,” Ken Linfield said. “We want to work for peace.”

Police deployed pepper spray on some protesters last week who became violent and refused police orders, the AP reported.

Outside Washington’s Union Station, protesters removed American flags and hoisted Palestinian ones in their place, according to the AP.

Some protesters burned an effigy of Netanyahu. Others spray painted the words, “Hamas is coming,” and wrote, “Free Gaza,” on a monument to Christopher Columbus.