Intnl Day of Peace

On Tuesday, September 21, the Kulshan Chorus will join the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center for its seventh annual International Day of Peace at 6:30pm at Assumption Catholic Church, 2116 Cornwall Avenue.  The United Nations established this day in 1982 as a worldwide 24-hour ceasefire to envision a world without violence and war. 

 “Peace is one of humanity’s most precious needs,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  “It is also the United Nations’ highest calling.”  International Day of Peace is not solely a global endeavor.  On July 8, Mayor Dan Pike signed a Proclamation declaring September 21st ‘International Day of Peace’ in the City of Bellingham.  Six-hundred people, in solidarity with people around the world, gather each year in Bellingham for the Northwest’s largest annual peace gathering.  It is generously co-sponsored by 35 businesses, non-profits, schools, and congregations.

 This year’s Keynote Speaker is lifelong peacemaker Rev. Robert Hughes, who worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks in Alabama, 1954-1960.  He will share stories of hope and resistance from the Civil Rights Movement and his vision for peace today.  The event, which will be emceed by KGMI radio personality Joe Teehan, will feature the presentation of the Howard Harris Lifetime Peacemaker Award and will be preceded by a half-mile peace march that leaves Maritime Heritage Park at 5:45pm.  Artwork created by 3rd and 5th grade students from Happy Valley, Roosevelt, and Assumption schools will be displayed at the church.

 All people of goodwill are invited.  Donations will be requested.  For more information, contact the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center at (360) 734-0217, or visit www.WhatcomPJC.org.