POWERFUL CALL TO PEACE
STARTS THE NEW YEAR RIGHT AT THE PEACE SCHOOL
Creating peace, one person at a time
CHICAGO (Jan. 1, 2007) â Uniting people across every gap of race, creed, color, age and gender, a moving and powerful exhortation for peace in all the worldâs nations ushered in the New Year in the annual Call to Peace Celebration, held this morning at the Peace School, 3121 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.
Even the hour of the celebration made a statement. Starting at 9 a.m. on the morning after New Yearâs Eve, the time was sure to draw those who are serious about peace.
And every chair was filled. More than 60 members and guests of The Peace School joined in building a palpable positive energy by chanting an invocation for peace in each nation, naming the country individually and asking that peace be in that country. Each of the worldâs regions and the world itself also were named in the wishes for peace during the hour-long celebration, led by The Peace Schoolâs president Charles Kim with a driving yet meditative force that revitalized all present.
âI canât think of a better way to bring in the New Year,â said Nora Bendfeldt, a Chicago registered nurse who has studied yoga at The Peace School since her 19-year-old son was a preschooler.
âThe first year I came,â Bendfeldt recalled, laughing, âI was out partying till 4 a.m. the night before! But I was determined to come and see what itâs like, and Iâve come every year since. To focus on peace, putting aside your self and any selfishness, to consider what the whole world needs â it makes you very connected with all things.â
âNew Yearâs Day is an institution among people who have taken classes with us,â says head instructor and education coordinator Jennifer Kim. âWeâll see people on New Yearâs Day when theyâve been away from classes for months. The Call to Peace Celebration really brings everyone back to whatâs important.â
Attending their first Call to Peace Celebration were Chicago technician Clifford Rowland, a native of Nigeria who has lived in the United States for 27 years, with his sons Ralph, 15, and Lance, 11. Rowland enrolled himself and his sons in yoga classes at The Peace School about eight months ago.
âIâve seen a lot of improvement in my energy since we began taking yoga classes,â Rowland said, âand I know what to do now when Iâm tired. Iâm able to recover better, I think.â
âSince Iâve been taking yoga,â 11-year-old Lance added, âI can do things I could never do before!â He and his brother are looking forward to studying tae kwon do at The Peace School as soon as their dad thinks theyâre ready, Lance said.
The next Call to Peace ceremony will be held as part of Peace Day in Chicago, to be held Sept. 21, 2007, at Daley Center Plaza downtown. Originated in 1978 by The Peace School, Chicagoâs Peace Day is a model nationwide and worldwide and led to the schoolâs designation by the United Nations as an official Peace Messenger, one of just a few U.S. institutions initially honored.