A Call To Peace

Fumi Johns-Stewart of the World Peace Prayer Society has generously offered to provide transportation from Woodstock to Amenia & back, to attendees of this year’s Woodstock International Walk for World Peace, to the World Peace Prayer Society’s “A Call To Peace”, on September 25th, 2011. We will have sign-up sheets on site, and invite you to attend.

We thank the World Peace Prayer Society for their generosity, and for their participation in all of our Walks for Peace, and for all the Peace Poles they plant—I’ve counted three in Woodstock; one at Family, one at Comeau Field, and the Peace Pole on the village green.

But it isn’t just their material generosity we have to be thankful for, but their generosity of spirit, as well. Just the idea of “May Peace Prevail On Earth” may be more valuable to humanity than we know, and we are thankful that Masahisa Goi started this valuable work in 1955, and pray that the seeds of his idea continue to grow fruit.

Establishing a Department of Peace

Change.org announced today the top ten ideas for change in America, and I’m pleased to see that “Establish a U.S. Department of Peacebuilding” is number five, though I’d be more pleased if it were number one (that honor was dubiously given to legalizing the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana; I’d say that peace and love are more important).

Please read my earlier post on a Department of Peace, and write your senators and congresspeople asking that this be made a reality. The world can no longer afford wars; they have become economically unsustainable—our energies are better focused on ensuring access to clean water, and on providing food, housing, health care, and education for all of humanity. Let’s make it happen!

Vote for Peace

Click here to register your vote to establish a U.S. Department of Peace, and send your message to Congress here. The bill to establish a Department of Peace is now before the House of Representatives, and, among other things, would provide funding to establish a U.S. Peace Academy which would act as a counterpart to the U.S. Military Academy, teach violence prevention and mediation to America’s school children, and provide complimentary support to our military by engaging in parallel peace-building activities.

The Woodstock Council for World Peace has already sent a letter of support for the Department of Peace to Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who first introduced this bill in July 2001, shortly before the attacks of 9/11. Unfortunately, our country’s reaction to those attacks, and George W. Bush’s mistaken policy of GWOT (Global War on Terror) has allowed this bill to languish. Make your voices heard, and tell Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and your representatives that you want the United States Department of Peace to become a reality.

We are living in a world that is witnessing the threats of habitat and biodiversity loss, fisheries depletion, global economic stress and world hunger; in such a world, war is unsustainable.

The above views are my own, and do not necessarily represent the views of The Woodstock Council for World Peace.

The invisible war

Photo from Stop Conflict: DR Congo—stopconflict.wordpress.com

Nicholas D. Kristof’s column today concerns the continuing war in the Congo, which, he points out, has claimed 30 times more lives than the Haitian disaster, and is the most devastating conflict the world has seen since World War II. The war has claimed more than 5.4 million lives to date, with no end in sight.

Mr. Kristof notes the pathetic international response to this tragedy, and I thank him for his continuing dedication to the causes of peace and justice. The unspeakable atrocities being committed in the Congo must be stopped; please write your representatives asking that they devote resources to putting an end to this.

You might also write to media outlets, expressing outrage at the lack of media coverage.

Disclaimer: The above views are my own, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Woodstock Council for World Peace.

A letter from the White House

President Barack Obama

We received a letter from President Barack Obama two days ago, in response to our letter of July 22nd, 2009. While the President did not grant our wish, he did at least reply personally; that gives us hope that we can make the weekend nearest Universal Peace Day (commemorating the dead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) a worldwide weekend of peace; we want all nations to agree to stand down from any offensive actions on this weekend; this year, and every year.

The reply from our President has encouraged us to renew our efforts toward this end, and we will be composing and sending similar letters to the Head of State of every nation on earth in the very near future; we will post the text here.

And we will be holding LivePeace© this summer on August 7th and 8th, a worldwide series of concerts and prayerful gatherings, in Woodstock, NY, and in many other towns and cities around the world  to further the cause of peace. Save the dates!

2010: The Year of Peace

The African Union has declared 2010 as The Year of Peace and Security. While many improvements have been achieved over the past year, there are still intense regional conflicts that remain to be settled. The Heads of State and Government of the African Union have agreed to devote resources to improve these conditions, and we applaud their efforts. For the full story, click here. Thanks to Lena Sage for the photo.

Happy New Year

This is somewhat belated, but we wish everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful new year. We expect the world to make huge steps towards peace in 2010, and we expect it to come from the people of the world; this is the year we will lead the leaders. Happy New Year! And thanks to all who joined us at Harmony to ring in the new year!

Rooted in Peace

“For a long time people thought you have to have a big organization to do anything, but I’m now convinced its going to be millions of small organizations that will actually do the job of bringing the world together.”
—Pete Seeger, from Greg Reitman’s upcoming film, Rooted in Peace

Rooted in Peace is a film currently in production written and directed by Greg Reitman, a wonderful person who works hard to further the causes of peace and understanding. He braved the cold and rain to walk with us over the Brooklyn Bridge this past Monday, November 30th, 2009. He participated in Universal Peace Day with Phil Sauers, Su Zen, Gloria Waslyn and all the other wonderful people who were involved. His contributions help to make the world a better place. We eagerly await this movie’s release, and extend our thanks to Greg for all that he’s done, and continues to do.

Peace vigil in Central Park

A reminder to all that The Vigil for International Peace is being held tomorrow, September 19, from 9AM to 6PM at the Naumberg Bandshell in Central Park. (The World Peace Prayer Society will be holding an event all day tomorrow, too; theirs is in Amenia, NY. For more information, see the posting below.)

From the All About Jazz website:

The Vigil for International Peace is a transformational, grassroots effort dedicated to promulgate peace through participation in art, song, dance, music, prayer and ceremony. The purpose of this Vigil is to awaken humanity to harmony and peace through the power of intent and celebration. Our vision is to heal and bridge our lives and communities to achieve divinity alignment and recognize the oneness in all.

Susana Bastarrica, founder organizer, has been instrumental in expanding the vision of the Peace Vigil each year, this being reflected in the sheer number of international artists participating to make each event unique and vibrant.

In its 7th year, The Vigil for International Peace was inspired by The United Nations 2001 resolution 55/282 designating September 21st of each year as an “International Day of Peace” and to have the entire World observe a full day of “global ceasefire and nonviolence.”

In 1981 the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 36/67 declaring an International Day of Peace.

Through the efforts of Jeremy Gilley of UK, in 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new resolution 55/282 stating that starting in 2002, the International Day of Peace should be observed on 21 September each year.

United Nations Resolution 55/282 was sponsored in the UN by the UK Government and seconded by the Government of Costa Rica.

Resolution 55/282: “Declares that the International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day. The Assembly invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, regional and non-governmental organizations and individuals to commemorate the Day in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in establishing a global ceasefire.

International Day of Peace

Fumi Johns-Stewart, Executive Director of The World Peace Prayer Society has extended an invitation to everyone to join them on Saturday, September 19, 2009 in A Call to Peace, at The World Peace Sanctuary in the Sacred Grove, in Amenia, NY.

The World Peace Prayer Society was instrumental in making our first walk for peace a rousing success; they provided the flags for our walk, and Fumi conducted the wonderful flag ceremony at Comeau Field. May Peace Prevail on Earth!