The Peterborough Peace Council will host the ninth anniversary of its monthly peace vigil at noon on Monday (March 25) in downtown Peterborough.
Founded by nine people from diverse faith groups to foster compassionate non-violent direct action and conflict resolution through information sharing, the Peterborough Peace Council began holding a vigil for peace at the corner of George and MacDonnel streets the last Monday of every month starting on March 30, 2015.
Since then, the group has never missed holding a monthly vigil, even during the pandemic.
“For nine years, one hour per month has held a call for peace,” the Peterborough Peace Council states in a media release. “We bring signs about the peace issues on our hearts, we walk, we hand out peace doves. In a circle, we share concerns for peace in our community, Canada, and the world.”
“As we mark the beginning of our 10th year, the issues remain urgent, especially with the carnage in ongoing wars. We will hold space for the suffering in Gaza and in Israel, in Ukraine and in Russia, in the Sudan, with the Wet’suwet’en, Indigenous Rights, our local housing crisis, the global climate crisis, drug deaths, and resulting conflicts in our own homes and in our streets.”
According to the media release, the monthly peace vigil grew from two separate vigils.
One peace vigil was called by the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough to respond to the fatal shootings on Parliament Hill on October 22, 2014 when a mentally ill man killed a Canadian soldier on ceremonial sentry duty at the National War Memorial and was subsequently killed by RCMP officers inside the Parliament Buildings. The other peace vigil was hosted by the Abraham Festival in 2015 in response to violence and suffering in the Middle East.
Recently, the Peterborough Peace Council has on occasion combined its monthly vigil with the weekly Monday vigil outside Peterborough City Hall calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war.
“The vigil’s ongoing message is the challenge to move to a world without war, that violence never resolves conflict but makes it worse, and that the human species can find better ways to settle our differences,” reads the media release.
The peace vigil will begin its 10th year on March 25 from noon to 1 p.m. at the corner of George and MacDonnel streets.
After the peace vigil, participants will be invited to attend a potluck at one member’s home to reflect on the past nine years, after which they will attend the Israel-Gaza ceasefire vigil outside Peterborough’s City Hall at 4:30 p.m.
For more information about the Peterborough Peace Council, visit facebook.com/groups/PtboPeaceCouncil/.
