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As world leaders grapple with how to achieve peace in a conflicted world, a Catholic in Ballston Spa has a one-word suggestion: Pray.

As a result, thousands of Rosaries are being offered there -- and in places as distant as Florida and Indiana.

Josie Uhlinger, a member of St. Mary's parish in Ballston Spa, said the idea came to her while she was -- what else? -- praying at her kitchen table.

"The idea kept nagging at me for a week or so: 'We have to pray for peace,'" she recalled.

Mrs. Uhlinger contacted people in her prayer group, who also engage in charitable efforts such as supporting a food pantry and Birthright. They urged her to "go for it," so she approached Rev. Thomas Kelly, pastor. He said, "We can do this."

The prayer effort became a Lenten project, dubbed the "Rosary Challenge for World Peace."

News about the project was placed in the parish bulletin and flyers were posted.

A pamphlet the group passed out quoted St. Padre Pio, who referred to the Rosary as "the weapon of choice for Christians engaged in spiritual combat," and reminded people that when Mary appeared in 1917 to three children in Fatima, Portugal, she said to recite the Rosary "every day to obtain peace for our world."

In addition to the flyers, "we passed it along by word of mouth," Mrs. Uhlinger said of the challenge. Some members of the Our Lady Queen of Peace prayer group "went to different parishes to put it in their bulletins. We even put it in the Pennysaver."

The prayer project expanded beyond the Albany Diocese. "A friend in Syracuse is doing it with her prayer group," Mrs. Uhlinger said. Parishioners at St. Mary's have recruited relatives in Indiana, South Carolina and Florida. One parishioner's son, who is a seminarian in Maryland, posted a flyer there.

Mrs. Uhlinger hopes that people of all faiths will also join in the effort. "We're all God's children," she said. "All religions do good. We need peace, and anyone can pray for it."

Cheryl Smith, a member of the prayer group who teaches math at two area community colleges, considers the prayer effort "a very good cause. The world morally has a lot of problems and is in desperate need of spiritual guidance. Prayer can help us to find the right direction."

She's helping by praying personally, by teaching the children in her religious education class how to pray the Rosary and by answering calls from people interested in learning more about the Rosary challenge.

St. Mary's parishioners of all ages are involved in the prayer effort. Agnes Higgins, 12, was taught by her mother how to pray the Rosary, and she has said at least one Rosary a day with her family since Lent started -- adding "some extras on my own."

During the Rosary challenge, Agnes, who has several rosaries of her own, is using a set of beads she found in a basket in the back of the church. They were placed there by the prayer group to encourage people to pray along with fellow parishioners.

The seventh-grader remembered reading, in a manual about praying the Rosary, that it's like "holding Mary's hand and she's leading you to Jesus.

"I feel good" after reciting the Rosary, she said, because "I'm helping people and the count" of prayers toward the challenge goal.

Looking toward the Easter Sunday conclusion of the effort, Mrs. Smith expects no miracles. But, she added, "I'm sure it's going to help in some way. God has His own agenda. Hopefully, He and the Blessed Virgin will help people to change their ways."

As for reaching those 33,000 Rosaries by Easter, Mrs. Uhlinger admitted that she has no idea why she chose that figure: The number "just came out," she said.

A tally in mid-Lent showed that the pray-ers were more than a tenth of their way toward that goal.

"People call me to tell me how many Rosaries, Our Fathers and Hail Marys" they have recited, Mrs. Uhlinger said, and the results are posted at St. Mary's each weekend as an incentive. "I'm very pleased this is happening."

As she reflects on the hundreds of prayers for peace she has inspired, Mrs. Uhlinger said, "We need to get back to basics and start praying. Without the power of prayer, where are we?"

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