Peace Pole Dedication

In the morning of September 11, at 8 o’clock in the morning, some 40 members of the Bethel community gathered on the church lawn, taking a break from their ministry fair set-up activities.   We gathered to solemnly remember those who died in New York City, Arlington, VA, and Shanksville, PA; we gathered to find comfort in listening to God’s voice; and we gathered to strengthen one another in our hope and trust in God’s promises.  

This peace prayer was sponsored by Bethel’s Mission Outreach Committee, and members of the committee took turns in reading scripture passages and prayer petitions.  The peace prayer ended with the dedication of the peace pole that now greets church-goes and passers-by from the rose bed outside the welcome zone with the phrase, “May Peace Prevail on Earth" in four languages (English, Classical Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew). 

One member of our congregation commented a few days after the peace prayer at a meeting (I am paraphrasing her comment), “I wish that events like this won’t be just one-time occasions that are forgotten soon after, but that we will keep referring to the peace pole in worship, in prayers, and in sermons.” 

The real significance of this event is, at least in my mind, that we did not just dedicate an otherwise life-less object, in this case an new ten-foot tall cedar beam, but that we dedicated ourselves to not only wish for peace, but to pray for it, and to actively pursue it with our own actions.”

Let me quote with some words from former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt which sums up well my thoughts about our peace prayer and peace pole dedication: “It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it” (Voice of America broadcast, 11 November 1951).