Metrowest Daily News

Steps toward peace: Peace Abbey celebration to support worldwide march
by David Riley/Daily News staff
Oct 2, 2009

A local peace celebration and a march from Sherborn to Natick will help begin an international effort to renounce war and promote nonviolence.

The World March for Peace, organized by a group called World Without Wars, begins today, which is Mohandas Gandhi's birthday.

A small team of marchers will set out from New Zealand to crisscross 95 countries over the next three months to highlight the cause. Supporters are planning an array of related events and initiatives across the globe, including in MetroWest.

It's not your typical march, said Jan Krause Greene, a Marlborough resident and state coordinator for the movement.
Instead of bringing many people together in one place, organizers of this event are inviting supporters to participate in whatever way is meaningful to them, she said.

"It's become a real grassroots movement of people across the world," she said.

The Peace Abbey on Rte. 27 in Sherborn will host a program with music, dance and readings tonight at 7 p.m., called "Go Out in Joy, Led Forth in Peace." A candle-lighting ceremony is planned afterward. The program includes a reading by Yana Serry, an 11-year-old girl from Sierra Leone who is a student at the Fay School in Southborough.

Also expected to join in readings is Sister Juvenal of the Benebikira Order in Rwanda, a nun who worked in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide there. After a candlelighting ceremony, it is hoped participants bring the spirit of nonviolence back to their communities, Krause Greene said.

"You can bring it back in whatever way you are most comfortable bringing it back," she said.

Tomorrow, supporters will set out at 9 a.m. on a procession from the Peace Abbey to Natick Common. Marchers will move a two-ton memorial stone along the route.

"The whole idea of it is to commemorate the civilians who have been lost in violent conflict and war throughout the years and who go unnamed and sometimes even unnoticed," said Krause Greene.

Other march events are in the works in Massachusetts. Religious and community leaders will announce the event's kickoff at 2 p.m. today at Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, said Andre Sheldon, an organizer.

The main speaker will be Mark Johnson, national director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, an interfaith peace group, Sheldon said.

Sheldon also is working with a group called Peace Games to teach children about nonviolent conflict resolution. He said a talk by Arun Gandhi, Mohandas Gandhi's grandson, is also slated for Nov. 7. Beyond that, Sheldon said he's working on a global strategy for nonviolence.

"Most important to me is the follow-up," Sheldon said.

"What's next?" Organizers are highlighting endorsements of the event by celebrities from the Dalai Lama to Jimmy Carter and Yoko Ono.

Krause Green called it a rare moment for people from all over the world to share their desire to live in peace.

"It's been an amazing experience of connection to people all over the world," she said.