Thursday, August 28, 2008

The United Nations International Day of Peace – September 21, 2008

In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Peace and in 2001 adopted a resolution designating September 21st as the annual date of the International Day of Peace.

The resolution: "Declares that the International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day . . . Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, and non-governmental organizations and individuals to commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the International Day of Peace, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire.”

An ever-expanding number of people worldwide, representing a wide variety of religious and spiritual traditions, have committed to the task of working with other like-minded individuals and groups for an International Day of Peace Vigil with the following objective:

“To encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, 21 September in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world."



This year, Princeton Friends Meeting (Quakers) is celebrating our first annual Day of Peace. We invite each congregation and organization to plan an event to commemorate the Day of Peace. Everyone is also invited to join with us in our celebration.

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