Wednesday,
September 21, 2005 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Winston Square Park
(Marshall between 4th and 2nd)
Downtown Winston-Salem
September 21st marked an historic event for
Winston-Salem's community as nearly 150 people
joined eleven different spiritual leaders who
shared their unique way of praying for the
betterment of the world, and the beings within
it.
Surely peace beings within each of us. The
attendees at Radiate Peace Festival 2005
created community based on this knowing, and
seemed to delight in the myriad of ways and
spiritual paths through which we pray: spoken
prayer, silent meditation; chakra expression;
song; dance; drumming; guided ritual; and joint
prayer for species and nations across our
planet. Together, we created oneness out of the
inumerable ways one chooses to pray for peace,
and a new vision for this planet.
It is with deep gratitude that I thank those
who sponsored the festival and all of those who
participated and helped to create a revitalized
vision for our planet: a oneness of family
across the globe, of man and beast, fish and
fowl, insects and reptiles, earth, water, fire,
air and sky, moon and sun. Together we created
a greater awareness for this day, and hope to
gather continued awareness in the years to
come.
(Thank you Erin for helping write this
synopsis)
In light of the crescendo of current world
situations, many of us are being called to
gather and empower ourselves, to accept
responsible participation in our
interconnectedness with all things - humans,
animals, plants, the earth and sky, the wind
and water. This is the motivation for Radiate
Peace Festival 2005.
As Masami Saionji, Chairperson of the Goi Peace
Foundation and the World Peace Prayer Society,
has said, "We are all citizens of the earth --
equally responsible for the care of our planet.
If each and every one of us can awaken to
universal love, it is then that we will see
true peace and harmony on earth... Step by
step, as each individual returns to the spirit
of harmony, we shall bring harmony to the
world."
The purpose of Radiate Peace Festival 2005 is
to create a joyful experience of unity that
serves to awaken to our higher, global
consciousness, and fill our hearts with love,
harmony and gratitude, so that as we walk our
own way, we do so as radiant expressions of
Peace and Love, so that we may all be inspired
to respect life, live in harmony and honor the
Earth.
The main message of Radiate Peace 2005 is that
peace will be established when we live in a
rich harmony woven with the threads of
diversity on the loom of spiritual vision where
we embrace each other on a spiritual level,
stripped of all material designations of
species, race, religion, gender and age,
allowing us to celebrate, respect and honor the
diversity which is naturally created as a
result of our material differences and tastes.
Radiate Peace 2005 will be a gathering of
elders from different spiritual paths who will
share with the participants their paths prayer
for peace. Some will sing, some will dance,
some will chant, some will recite - all will
offer prayers of peace. There will be a
participatory dance of universal peace, as well
as a world peace prayer ceremony, and a candle
vigil for 191 countries.
Radiate Peace will be held on September 21, a
day designated by the United Nations as
International Day of Peace, from 6:30 - 9:30 PM
at Winston Square Park, a beautiful green space
surrounded by trees, waterfalls and fountains.
We will be joining thousands world-wide to
create a grid of loving peace and light,
simultaneously anchoring peaceful energy in
Winston-Salem as well as sending it back out
again.
The strongest transforming energies are peace,
love and joy. Join us in the conscious
transformation of our selves and our world.
Bring peace into your heart and radiate peace
back into the world. The festival cannot be the
same without you so please take this
opportunity to be the change you wish to see in
the world.