KINGMAN, Ariz. – International Peace Day (IPD) was established in 1981 by the United Nations (UN). It was intended to strengthen the ideals of peace, commit to non-violence, and to observe a 24-hour ceasefire. The organizers of the celebration in Kingman echoed that Monday at Locomotive Park.
Director for International Peace Day Sharon Weber stated to those attending that, “Peace begins at home, in relationships, and in the way we treat others. The UN stresses that peace is more than the absence of war. The closer we come to the goals, the closer we are to peace.”
Former director of IPD Kingman, Chris Meisenheimer, said she was a community organizer to promote peace in Wisconsin and when she and her family moved to Kingman in 2009-2010, she carried it forward. She recently bowed out due to health problems.
“The theme, established by NATO is Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day,” Meisenheimer said. “Symbolically, we’re giving a hug to the universe at noon. Everyone around the world will ring a bell at noon.”
Sparrow Hawk, of California, stopped by to help celebrate International Peace Day.
“Together we are one with the earth,” Sparrow Hawk said. “What you exhale, I inhale. Neither can live without the other.”
Karen Furr of Our Lady of the Angel Inclusive Catholic Church said love, not hate is the greatest power in the universe. “There’s no room for hate or name calling. When we see that, it changes everything,” Furr said, “and the first one it changes is us. “We have a spark of the Creator within us … that changes everything.”
