Flint Township View

Give Peace a chance

You're invited to rally around a peace pole




The public is invited to the dedication Sunday of a Peace Pole and meditation garden installed outside of the Life Enrichment Center.

The public is invited to the dedication Sunday of a Peace Pole and meditation garden installed outside of the Life Enrichment Center.

FLINT TWP. — Peace in our homes, community and around the world is the message conveyed by a peace pole to be dedicated alongside a meditation garden outside the Life Enrichment Center (LEC), 2512 S Dye Rd, after the regular service Sept. 15 at 12:45 p.m.

The public is invited along with local officials and other interfaith leaders.

“The Peace Pole is significant to the Life Enrichment Center because we believe, as many people do around the world, that peace begins with each individual practicing peace and tolerance in his or her own life,” said Rev. Stephanie Sorenson of LEC.

Each year for the past 20 years, the church has hosted an Interfaith World Peace Meditation at 7 a.m. on Jan. 31 (noon Greenwich Mean time) in conjunction with people around the world who join in a meditation for world peace, Sorenson said.

Peace Poles are handcrafted “monuments” erected globally as international symbols of peace. Their purpose is to spread the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in the languages of the world, Sorenson said.

The Peace Pole Project is an official Project of The World Peace Prayer Society started in Japan in 1955 by Masahisa Goi, who dedicated his life to spreading the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” in response to the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

Crafting of Peace Poles began in 1985. LEC purchased its Peace Pole from Dave Moffat in Leelanau County who has carried on the legacy of making Peace Poles since 2001.

LEC purchased the pole last autumn but waited until after spring thaw to “plant it,” Sorenson said.

“Our Peace and Memorial Garden was designed around the centralized Peace Pole by two members of our congregation who are Master Gardeners – Judy Freiheit and Paul Ross – and the garden was completed by LEC volunteers,” Sorenson said.

The four-sided pole in inscribed with a message on each side that read: May Peace Prevail on Earth, in English and in Spanish (Que Lapaz Prevalezca en La Tierra), May Peace be in our Communities, and May Peace be in our Homes.

“We wanted to offer a message of peace to our community, as well as a monument for “World Peace.” This helps us to keep in mind that World Peace begins with each individual, and in our own homes, and in our shared community,” Sorenson said.

The pole is surrounded by flowers, a bench, chairs and a table and will be open to the public at all times.


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