NEW
YORK
USA
(2005
World Peace Prayer Society Report)
Amenia,
New York, USA
Charles Gibbs, Exec. Director, The United Religions Initiative
The
Imagine Peace Festival:
September
17 and 18 I was in Amenia, NY for a wonderful peace festival hosted
by the World Peace Prayer Society under the leadership of their director,
Deborah Moldow, who is also a URI Global Council Trustee and convener
of the URI UN CC. The festival was a powerful experience that supported
people’s deep yearning for peace that rises from within each of us
and is manifested through our lives and our communities.
One
highlight was an interfaith ceremony offering prayers for peace from
many different traditions. The ceremony was all the more meaningful
because it was organized by Betsy Stang, an extraordinary activist
who served on URI’s Interim Global Council and is a leader in the
Mid-Hudson Valley CC. Betsy continues her struggle with cancer, buoyed
by the prayers and meditation of the URI community around the world.
I find that these days whenever I am asked to offer a
prayer or to speak I begin, as I have for years, by extending greetings
of love and peace from the URI community around the world. Then I
ask people to be mindful of the gift of life and to experience a deep
gratitude for the miracle and mystery of each breath we take, which
connects us with all live on this Earth. I ask people to experience
gratitude that we are able to gather in safety in a world where so
many live each day in fear; to gather in the midst of abundance when
so many live each day hungry. And I ask people to invite into our
midst our sisters and brothers all over the world who may live in
fear or hunger that they may join us in a time of rest and renewal
and that we may join them in a deeper commitment to work for a world
where all can live lives free from fear about their survival and free
from hunger.
The other highlight of the day was the World Peace Prayer
Ceremony, which began with a stirring message by Masami Saionji, Chair
of the World Peace Prayer Society, who invited all present to live
into the fullness of their divine nature as lights of peace. Following
her inspiring remarks, the flags of 191 nations and of communities
of identity, such as Tibet and Palestine and the native peoples of
North America, which are not formally recognized as nations, were
paraded as those gathered prayed that the people of each nation live
in peace and that peace prevail on Earth. The ceremony was deeply
moving and is, I believe, a critically important tool in helping to
create a global consciousness for peace.
New York, New York, USA
The Bowne Street Community Church
(UCC)
錫安基督教會
143-11 Roosevelt Ave. Flushing, NY 11354
http://www.thebscc.org/html/English-New/e-home-WORKING.HTM
The
BSCC PEACE POLE
LD
Clepper
"May peace prevail on earth" in numerous languages
and are finding homes near places of worship, schools, hospitals and
universities. Presently, over 250,000 peace poles in 180 countries
have been planted as visual reminders to pray for peace.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Bowne Street Community Church planted a peace pole in observance of
the 23rd International Day of Peace on September 21, 2005.
Our
pole was a gift from the English Language Women's Fellowship and was
placed in the front of our church yard in a location easily seen and
read by passersby. Reflecting many of the languages of our neighborhood,
it has six sides that proclaim "May Peace Prevail on Earth"
in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic.
The
United Nations International Day of Peace provides an opportunity
for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts
of peace on a shared date and now highlights the Decade for a Culture
of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, 2001 to 2010.
Peace
poles are a tradition that began 50 years ago and have spread to every
country on earth. More than 200,000 peace poles have been planted.
Dedication ceremonies have been conducted by everyone from President
Jimmy Carter to Mother Theresa.
The
World Peace Prayer Society, a non-profit, non-denominational organization
founded in 1955, started the Peace Pole Project in Japan. The project
was launched with a dedication to uplift humankind toward harmony
and cooperation rather than disagreements and conflict. The Peace
Pole reminds us to keep peace ever-present in our thoughts.
Student
Observance of the International Day of Peace
UN
Headquarters, New York, NY, USA
21 September 2005
United Nations, New York
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Videoconference in Conference Room 3
Webcast by UN Television & Web Services Section
Organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information
in association with
Pathways to Peace, United Religions Initiative & the
World Peace Prayer Society
Introductory
remarks by Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General, DPI
Welcome
by Mrs. Nane Annan,
Lawyer,
painter and wife of Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Introduction
by Mr. Shashi Tharoor of the United Nations Messengers of Peace
Remarks
by Mr. Michael Douglas, Mr. Elie Wiesel, Ms. Jane Goodall, and
Ms Anna Cataldi, United Nations Messengers of Peace
Music
interlude by Aliza Hava
Presentation
by Mr. Alex Butchart, World Health Organization Coordinator
of Violence Prevention on Youth Violence: Global Prevention Priority
Introduction
of video sites and youth representatives by Kymberli Stewart,
Manager, Media Products, MTV Network, Nickelodeon & Viacom
Video
presentation by Israeli and Palestinian students attending Bridge
Over Wadi in Kfar Kara, Israel
Video
presentation by Irish students attending Hazelwood College in Belfast,
Ireland
Presentation
by youth representatives from seven youth organizations:
Zainab Nejati, Roots and Shoots,
Robert Allsbrook, Miracle Corners of the World,
Yaakov (Koby) Sadan and Ahmad Mamdouh Medhat,
Seeds of Peace,
Neteria Augcomfar, iEARN,
Christian Kuhn, Roots of Peace Penny Campaign,
Jessica Remington, One World Youth Project
Elizabeth Mooney, Children of the Earth and the Peace
Alliance
World Peace Flag Ceremony led by Deborah Moldow of the World
Peace Prayer Society
Closing
remarks by Mr. Raymond Sommereyns, Director, Outreach Division,
DPI
New York, NY, USA
Charles Gibbs,
Executive Director, The United Religions Initiative
International
Day of Peace at the UN
On September 21st,
I joined Monica Willard, URI's UN representative, many members of
the URI UN CC, the Secretary General, Kofi Annan, and Mrs. Annan,
several UN Ambassadors for Peace, including Elie Wiesel and Jane Goodall,
and 500 young people to observe the International Day of Peace at
the UN. The URI is blessed with Monica's leadership, and the UN has
been blessed by all the work she has done over the years to build
a powerful observance of the IDP within the UN.
Rev. Charles Gibbs,
Mrs. Nane Annan
As he prepared
to ring the Peace Bell, which was cast from coins donated by children
all over the world, the Secretary General reflected that this day
is intended to grow into a day of global ceasefire where all people
all over the Earth step back from violence and reflect on the practice
of peace. He commented that people often say that 24 hours is not
a very long time to devote to the practice of peace, but 24 hours
is, he said, a long enough time for people to look across the barbed
wire that separates them and ask what they might do to remove the
need for the barbed wire. Having stood recently with URI's Global
Council and staff and many Korean colleagues looking across the barbed
wire of the Demilitarized Zone in Korea, I have a heightened understanding of
what Mr. Annan was talking about.
Following the ceremonial ringing of the bell in the UN's peace garden,
the action shifted to Conference Room 3 where 500 young people and
a few selected adults (I was privileged to be among that number representing
URI), gathered to hear UN Undersecretary General, Shashi Tharoor,
Mrs. Nane Annan and several of the Ambassadors for Peace. The first
two speakers read from entries about peace that had been submitted
to the UN by young people from all over the world and can be found
at http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/.
Elie Wiesel asked why we celebrate war and not peace. He said there
is nothing beautiful or glorious about war. It is ugly and grotesque.
Both sides suffer in war. It is time we found the words and the will
to make peace seem more glorious than war, he said. Then he offered
a gentle but clear challenge to the young people, It's up to you to
make sure that my past does not become your future.
A highlight of the program was the link, by internet video streaming,
with young people in the Middle East and in Northern Ireland. The
young people from Israel attend the Bridge Over
the Wadi School where Jewish and Arab children study side by side.
The school was founded in the midst of so much despair and violence
by parents who believed it was their duty to give their children the
opportunity to grow up differently, to create an experiential foundation
upon which to build a better world. Based on the comments from the
students, this noble experiment is working.
The young people
from Northern Ireland
attended the Hazelwood College (a high school) in Belfast where Protestant
and Catholic young people study side by side. I was deeply impressed
by the leadership of these young people, especially the young women,
as they spoke of the power for transformation that comes with this
sort of schooling. One person commented, "I'm a Protestant and
I had never met a Catholic before coming here. Now I know many Catholics
and I love them all very much. They're my best friends." Another
remarked, "We're not going to do what our fathers and uncles
did before us, we're going to break out of the mold."
After an internet facilitated interaction with students from these
schools, we heard from several young activists who are committed to
inspiring and practical projects of transformation. One of the most
stirring moments came when a young Israeli Jew, Yaakov of¯ Sadan,
spoke of his experience in Seeds of Peace, a program that brings Jewish
and Arab young people together to live and learn with and from each
other in the US. Kofy spoke of how he hadn't
known that he would have to work so closely with Arab young people
and sleep in the same room with them. He was terrified when, having
grown up with the warning to never turn your back on an Arab or you'll
be stabbed in the back, he suddenly realized that he was to sleep
with a Jordanian on one side of him and a Palestinian on the other
side. "I didn't sleep much that night because I was so afraid,"
he said. But his fear passed as he came to realize that the 'other
side' are just human beings. He acknowledged that the conflict is
complex, that peace is hard work and will take a long time, but he
was clear that peace was much more possible because the seeds of peace
were planted, a conviction shared by his Palestinian colleague, Ahmad
Mamdouh Medhat.
Following these presentations, we participated in the World Peace
Prayer Ceremony, led by Deborah Moldow. The ceremony began with the
ringing of a peace bell forged from metal reclaimed from weapons.
Nane Annan was invited to ring the bell on behalf of the nations of
the world. I was honored to join her, on behalf of URI, representing
the world's religions. As it had two days before, this ceremony created
a powerful field of prayer and global consciousness for peace.
Our next stop was across the street from the UN at the Isaiah Wall,
so named because it bears the famous quotation from the prophet Isaiah,
'They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither
shall they learn war any more.' Joining with Heidi Kuhn, founder of
Roots of Peace, we participated in a ceremonial planting of a grapevine,
celebrating her organization's removal of 100,000 landmines in Afghanistan and the harvesting of 80,000 tons of table
grapes from the newly freed fields.
Finally,
we journeyed to the lower end of Manhattan near the site of the World
Trade Center to St. Peter's Catholic Church, which, with St. Paul's
Episcopal Chapel, served as centers of spiritual support in the horrifying
and yet hopeful
days following the September 11 attacks.
The
Youth Peace Walk began in upstate Grafton, NY and walked
first to the World Peace Prayer Society's Imagine Peace Festival
on September 18. They continued their International Day
of Peace observance by walking their prayers and hopes for peace
to the UN and then onto the event, Courage to Forgive, held at
St. Peter's Church near the former World Trade Center.
Fr. Lyndon Harris,
who led the ministry of St. Paul's Chapel, urged those gathered to
focus not on September 11, but on September 12, which marked an extraordinary
coming together of countless people from all cultures, races, religions
and walks of life to begin to build a new tomorrow out of the smoldering
ashes of yesterday. He spoke compellingly of the need to plant gardens
of forgiveness all over the world, not to excuse the evil that has
been done, but to create visible expressions of our need to move from
the experience of that evil into a different life based not on retribution
but on transformation.
Marianne Williamson
spoke eloquently about the human connection with the divine. She challenged
all present to commit ourselves to the spiritual practices that will
allow us increasingly to manifest the divine qualities of love, compassion
and peace within ourselves and through our actions in the world for
the good of all.
Following Marianne's remarks, Deborah Moldow, for the second time
that day, led a World Peace Prayer Ceremony. It was thrilling, in
this church whose roof had been pierced by a piece of metal during
the collapse of the Trade Towers, to see the flags of all the world's
nations waving, each distinct and beautiful, and together creating
an inspiring whole that celebrated our distinctness and uplifted our
underlying unity.
Having been given the honor, on behalf of URI, to offer the closing
prayer, I noted that members of URI all over the world were joining
with us in observing the International Day of Peace, and I commented
that our prayers for all the nations of the world had filled the church
with over 6 billion people in that moment we were one. One not only
with those we loved easily, but with those we didn't like and may
have found it excruciatingly hard to love. I prayed that we be guided
in our work to see divine love manifest within us and through us as
we lived into our call to be light to the world.
New York, New York, USA
Monica Willard, URI Representative to the United Nations
September 21, 2005: The International Day of Peace
Youth Observance
at the United Nations
The
International Day of Peace was filled with activities. As a member
of the planning committee for the Youth Observance at the UN, I work
throughout the year on this program. Since 1997 there have been two
parts of the program that have remained unchanged. The first
is having Mrs. Nane Annan welcome the youth to the UN. The second
is that a World Peace Flag Ceremony closes this annual event. After
hearing a morning full of exciting presentations from Messengers of
Peace and also from youth activists, the Flag Ceremony gave each student
the opportunity to actively participate in a UN program. More importantly,
this activity links the entire room into praying for World Peace. It
also allows every Member State, the United Nations itself and “All
the other regions in the world” to be acknowledged and to be a part
of the International Day of Peace.
Planting the Roots of Peace
There were two additional
events in New York City that I helped to organize for the
International Day of Peace. The first was a special ceremony across
the street from the UN is a garden planted by the organization Roots
and Shoots and maintained by the City of NY Parks Department. This
organization removes land mines and reclaims the land for local production.
This year, 800 tons of grapes were harvested in Afghanistan on ground
that once held 100,000 landmines. To honor this transformation,
a grape vine and Redwood Tree were planted in this Roots and Shoot
Garden. The Peace Pole can be seen in the background along with
the Culture of Peace banner and flags from various nations as Rev.
Charles Gibbs gave his “Blessing for a New Tomorrow.”
Courage to Forgive
September 21
The United Nations International Day of Peace
St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Lower Manhattan
New York, NY
The opening day of the General Assembly was observed
as The International Day of Peace from 1982- 2001. September 11, 2001
was the opening day of the General Assembly, so it was also the International
Day of Peace. Holding an IDP event so near the site of the former
World Trade Center held a great deal of meaning.
“Courage to Forgive” was the theme of the evening. The event began
with Peace Walkers who walked to the World Peace Festival in Amenia
and concluded their walk in New York City at Ground Zero for this
event. Father Kevin Madigan, Pastor of St. Peter’s Church, welcomed
us. He shared how his church had been damaged on 9/11 and was used
by the Red Cross in the recovery operation. He worked closely with
Fr. Lyndon Harris, who organized the relief operation for all the
workers at Ground Zero at St. Paul’s Chapel a block away. For nine
months following 9/11, workers received meals and a place to rest
at St. Paul’s.
Fr. Harris talked about how the grief and horror of 9/11 were met
with such an outpouring of dedication, service and love from rescue
workers, volunteers and people everywhere who wanted to show that
they cared. This sacred spirit needs to be incorporated into the rebuilding
of the former World Trade Center site. With this in mind, Fr. Harris
and Fred Luskin began embracing a Garden of Forgiveness as a way to
heal wounds, build hope and recognize peace.
The keynote address was presented by Marianne Williamson, author of
many books including Return to Love, Healing of America
and The Gift of Change. Marianne’s inspirational message on
peace, forgiveness and personal change was felt even more powerfully
because we were sitting in the pews of St. Peter’s in Lower Manhattan.
The World Peace Flag Ceremony offered a meaningful and beautiful way
to express our personal love and connection to people in all the nations
of the world. Rev. Charles Gibbs closed the evening by reminding us
that St. Peter’s Church had just held the 6 Billion people of the
world as we joined together to pray, “May Peace Prevail on Earth.”
New York, New York, USA
Caroline Uchima, WPPS Scotland
Vigil
for International Peace
NYC
Central Park
18th
September, 2005
It was
with great pleasure that I was invited by my friend and colleague
Reiko Kamozawa, to come over from Scotland and help with a World Peace
Flag Ceremony at the ‘Vigil for International Peace’ in Central Park
in New York. The vigil was organised by Ms. Susana Bastarrica, the
President of the United Nations S.R.C. Fengshui Group. This was the
4th annual vigil, and it coincided with the ‘Imagine Peace
Festival’ being held by our colleagues at Amenia Sanctuary, Upstate
New York. It seemed very appropriate
to
be doing two ceremonies simultaneously to pray with all our hearts
for peace to prevail in every country in the world just at the time
when the Heads of State of 180 countries were visiting the United
Nations in New York to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of
the UN.
Peace
loving Americans from all over the USA, and tourists from all over
the world gathered at the Bandshell, a popular and busy event area
in Central Park, to offer their contributions to creating a culture
of peace in this new era, through all kinds of world music, dance,
beautiful works of art, poetry, heartfelt pleas for peace, and profound
meditations. Hundreds of people enjoying a day of recreation in the
park, were drawn to support and listen to the performers.
At 4.00pm,
the World Peace Flag Ceremony was held, accompanied by the uplifting
and stirring music of Vangelis. The flags of each country of our
Earth were presented and we prayed that every person on this planet
find peace in their hearts. It was very moving to see the true desire
for peace and harmony shining in the faces of all the participants
and staff.
We
were encouraged that indeed, with the cooperation of all the wonderful
organizations and individuals around the world working for the peace,
the betterment and the happiness of all humanity in harmony with the
Living Earth, that we can transcend all challenges and obstacles.
I
would like to thank all the friends that came from great distances,
especially those from overseas and as far away as Japan, to help and
support this great event, and once again Reiko and Susana who worked
so hard and with such great dedication to make this day a reality.
May
Peace Prevail on Earth
Caroline
Uchima
The
World Peace Prayer Society
Allanton
Sanctuary, Scotland
New York, New York, USA
Diane Williams, UN Committee on Spirituality, Values
and Global Concerns
Yesterday
[the International Day of Peace] it really struck me what a difference
we all are making as a group of committed spiritual change agents.
Thanks to Monica Willard, I was invited to talk to the UN International
School about International Day of Peace yesterday to two middle school
assemblies. How fun....but not only that... I saw the kids that attended
the UN IDP event dancing before the assembly and singing “May Peace
Prevail on Earth” and teaching it across the hall to the other kids
in their in-between class time... they then taught it to the whole
assembly at the end of the meeting! It was fun and they really got
into the groove!
The kids spoke of how moved they were to be at IDP at the UN, and
especially to hear what the other kids were doing. They mentioned many
things including Miracle Corners of the World and the Vermont Peace
Academy, which Nina Meyerhof helped begin a few years ago.
Audrey
Kitagawa sent her colleague, the sweet Todd, to do the filming of
Happy 60th Birthday UN and the kids said it with such spirit something
moved in the room.
Thanks to three other divine ladies for always reminding us of the
inner peace aspect, so during my speech I put a special emphasis at
the end on this dimension and the kids seemed to really agree. Carl
Murrell will be following up with the kids from the UN International
School to create something wonderful for our UN 60th event so......
.team....let us just reveal in who we are and what we bring to people
we might not even realize...especially the youth. You are all so extraordinary
and I am proud to have you as my friends!
Lots of love and gratitude!
Diane Williams, Chair
UN
Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns
2005
World Peace Prayer Society Compilation
PICTORAL
ARCHIVE OF PREVIOUS PEACE DAY EVENTS
May
Peace Prevail
On Earth
