Wickded Local Sherborn

Peace Abbey shareholders top 300, book planned

By staff reports
Apr 30, 2009

SHERBORN -

When the Peace Abbey was put on the real estate market in March of 2007, it was hoped that a wealthy buyer would purchase the property and then lease it back, thus relieving the Abbey of its $400,000 mortgage debt.

However, a single buyer could not be found, leaving some uncertainty surrounding the future of the Abbey. That is until a unique solution was devised: divide the debt by 400 people, and accept a $1,000 loan from each person.

Now, more than two years later, the Sherborn facility known worldwide for promoting peace and social justice, is well on its way to more stable ground. To date, the Peace Abbey has received 320 loans for a total of $320,000, and it was all done without asking for a single handout.

“We do not fundraise and we do not actively solicit money for this program,” said Peace Abbey director Lewis Randa. “One thing we’ve been clear about is that no one should ask anyone to loan $1,000 to the Peace Abbey. People can arrive at that on their own. If they don’t, then they’ll have more money to give other charities.”

For Randa, the efforts of the countless non-profit groups in existence are the heart and soul of the Peace Abbey. The last thing he, or anyone else at the Abbey wants to do is take away from the humanitarian work done by these groups, Randa said.

“When people decide on their own that the Peace Abbey is an organization that they’d like to give to then we’re filled with gratitude,” said Randa. “For not only the gift, but that they arrived at that without being asked. That’s really key to the way the Peace Abbey operates, allowing people to decide for themselves.”

“That’s what is so incredible about this is that 320 people, without ever being asked, have done this,” Randa added.

David Svendsen has been going to the Peace Abbey for years and enjoys the quiet, almost sacred area. For Svendsen, a retired public school administrator, it’s the perfect environment for reading, meditating or just watching the animals.

“I’ve been involved in the Peace Abbey, my wife and I, for a number of years,” said Svendsen. “I thought that it deserved to continue and continue in its current location in Sherborn so I did what I could to help out.”

The promotion of peace is something Svendsen cares about deeply and is what inspired the 66-year-old Newton resident to make an investment in the Peace Abbey.

“People invest in just about everything else,” said Svendsen. “We invest in the military which is O.K., but I think we should also invest in promoting the concept of peace as well and nobody does it any better than the Peace Abbey.”

When the magic number of 400 is finally reached, Randa hopes to publish a book of writings from the 400 donors titled “In the Interest of Peace.” The book will be the culmination or years of hard work put in to keeping the Abbey alive.

“I look forward to the day when we reach 400 and we can publish that book,” said Randa. “The 400 people who have supported us will be able to tell the world, on one page in this book, what it is that they are thinking about as it relates to peace and justice.”

Randa admits that the number of people investing in the Abbey has slowed since the start of the recession, but after receiving three more loans in the last week, he remains optimistic that the Abbey can make the 400 loan mark over the next two years.

“I think the people of Dover-Sherborn in the past 37 years have noticed that they never get anything in the mail from our organization,” said Randa. “That doesn’t mean we don’t need support, it means we’re allowing them to decide for themselves. And if in fact they feel that we’re the most worthy then we’d love for them to make those contributions.”

For more information about the Peace Abbey, or to contribute a loan, go to www.peaceabbey.org.