Peace Pole Dedication Ceremony

A Peace Pole dedication ceremony is an exciting event, whether it is planned for a public place where hundreds of people will attend or a private backyard. Every dedication ceremony is a unique outcome of the shared experience of those who plan the program, as well as those who attend.

Some Peace Poles are already placed in the ground prior to the ceremony and unveiled during the dedication. Or you may choose to have a group planting, where everyone gets to heave a shovel full of dirt.

Various items may be planted along with your Peace Pole.   Plan a re-dedication ceremony for the following year.

Remember that your Peace Pole dedication or re-dedication can include any elements you bring to it. Whatever you do, the important part is to hold your intentions for world peace in your heart and send it around the world. You will make it special, you will be a bringer of peace. You cannot go wrong if you plan your Peace Pole dedication with lots of love!

Videos are a great way to visualize the various ways you can dedicate your Peace Pole.  Go  to www.youtube.com and search for "PeacePoleDedicationCeremonies" to find ideas that you might consider in planning your own ceremony.  These short videos are very inspiring.  You too could make a video for YouTube or FaceBook use.  Your project could be seen all over the world, for years to come!

Dedication ceremonies are unique events that offer an opportunity for the community to come together and express their thoughts on peace and non-violence.  The words spoken should be from the heart and may be given by the youths working on the project, local or other officials, teachers, parents, or whoever is interested in participating.  Here are a couple of examples of thoughts expressed at other ceremonies.  Make yours an event that you feel comfortable with.  Peace.

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Compose a Peace Poem to be read at a Dedication Ceremony.  Send it to PaxChristi18@gmail.com.  If appropriate, we 

will post it here and/or on our FaceBook Page (Long Island Peace Pole Project) for others to consider.  And thanks!

Examples:

Thoughts of a Peace Pole

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• Peace Prayer

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• May the earth have but one side and all feet stand upon

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• May a wave ripple through space creating a wave in return

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• May a song travel to even the most hidden heart

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• May seeing eye to eye begin with direct line of sight

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• May the twinkle of an eye light a night’s sky

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• May a smile lift heavy weight and reveal happiness beneath 

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• May pealing back layers of happiness uncover a core of peace

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• May a trace from end to start and shore to shore find peace prevailing in every heart 

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Peace Pole Hopes

“May Peace Prevail on Earth”

May this Peace Pole lead to thoughts

 May these thoughts lead to understanding

 May this understanding lead to actions

 May these actions lead to more attention to the needs of others

May this attention to needs lead to better health

 May this better health lead to happiness

 May happiness lead to the growth of spirit 

 May this spirit lead to making a difference

May this difference lead to making a better world 

May this better world benefit all plants, animals, life and humans

May we humans use our knowledge, wisdom, energy, time and spirit wisely

May we find ways to preserve our planet earth for generations to come

“May Peace on Prevail on  Earth”, so that these Hopes will become  reality

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Scripts                 

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PEACE POLE DEDICATION SCRIPT on September 13 in Hiddenbrook

WELCOME SPEECH: UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL-- BASED ON THE NATURE OF THE EVENT. 

MISSION OF WPPS AND PEACE POLE PROJECT:  

THE MISSION OF THE WORLD PEACE PRAYER SOCIETY IS TO TEACH THE MESSAGE OF PEACE. THE SOCIETY WAS FOUNDED BY JAPANESE TEACHER, POET AND PHILOSOPHER MASAHISA GOI (1916 –1980). FOLLOWING THE DEVASTATION OF WORLD WAR II, MR. GOI CRIED OUT FOR A WAY TO BRING PEACE TO ALL PEOPLE, AND THE WORDS MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH CAME TO HIM IN A MOMENT OF GREAT INSPIRATION. 

MR. GOI EXPLAINED THAT WORDS AND THOUGHTS ARE ALIVE WITH ENERGY!! THEREFORE THEY HAVE THE POWER TO SHAPE OUR WORLD, BRINGING PEACE AND HARMONY TO OUR PERSONAL LIVES AND TO OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANET. HE BELIEVED THAT WAR BEGINS WITH THOUGHTS OF WAR….PEACE BEGINS WITH THOUGHTS OF PEACE. AND IT IS FROM THIS CONCEPT THAT THE PEACE POLE PROJECT WAS IMPLEMENTED WITH THE INTENTION TO UPLIFT PEOPLE TOWARDS HARMONY RATHER THAN CONFLICT. THE PEACE POLE REMINDS US TO KEEP PEACE EVER-PRESENT IN OUR THOUGHTS. TO DATE, THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEACE POLES PLANTED IN EVERY COUNTRY, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

PEACE POLE DEDICATION: THE PEACE POLE COULD BE COVERED THEN UNVEILED…. 

SPEAKER: 

TODAY, AS WE STAND HERE IN THE PRESENCE OF THIS PEACE POLE, WHICH DISPLAYS THE VISUAL EXPRESSION OF THE PEACE MESSAGE, LET US REMEMBER: PEACE IS INSIDE EACH ONE OF US. AND WE ARE PART OF OUR FAMILY, OUR COMMUNITY, OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD. MAY PEACE BE EVER PRESENT IN OUR WORDS, THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS. (ATTENDEES CAN BE ASKED TO SAY A FEW WORDS) 

SPEAKER: 

LET’S US INAUGURATE THIS PEACE POLE AND COMMORATE THIS DAY, BY SAYING 

TOGETHER: MAY PEACE BE IN OUR HOMES! MAY PEACE BE IN OUR SCHOOLS! MAY PEACE BE IN OUR COMMUNITY! MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH! MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH! MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH! 

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OPTION: SPEAKER: 

I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THIS Quote from the UN Secretary General, Ba Ki-moon, --IDP at UN September 18th, 2013 "On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect. Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity. Let us fight for peace and defend it with all our might." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 

September 21st is United Nation's International Day of Peace. This is a day where individuals, groups and nations come together for prayer-- to activate tens of thousands of Peace Poles around the world! I hope you will gather again around this Peace Pole, next Sunday at 12 noon for a moment of silence and prayers. MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH!

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                                                    Peace Pole Dedication Script

                                (from School Sisters of Notre Dame, Central Pacific Province Dedication Ceremony 

                                      on June 5, 2014 at Sancta Maria in Ripa, St. Louis, Missouri)

We come together today to dedicate this Peace Pole and now one of more than 200,000 in 180 countries. This idea began with Mr. Masahisa Goi after World War II and the dropping of the atomic bombs. Mr. Goi came to understand that words, thoughts, and intentions carry energy strong enough to influence the destiny of all living beings and by speaking, acting, and living in the spirit of the prayer, May Peace Prevail on Earth, the energy field of love and harmony would radiate forth to all of creation. 

The four languages on the pole – Japanese, Spanish, English, and German – unite us with our sisters around the world, and we also gather into our circle all life and living beings in the four directions. 

So I invite everyone to first turn to the East. 

East 

I am the East

 I am the veiled woman

 I am the Vietnamese fishing family

 I am the polluted air of Beijing 

I am the Tibetan Buddhist nun 

I am the trees and streams of Appalachia, devastated by Mountain-top removal coal mining 

I am the forgotten one on the streets of Calcutta 

I am the refugees from Syria I am the small farmer in India 

I am your sister I am your brother May Peace Prevail on Earth (Repeat in Japanese) 

All: May Peace Prevail on Earth 

Now please turn to the South. 

South 

I am the South 

I am the factory worker in Mexico 

I am the singers and dancers in Haiti 

I am the Amazon rainforest 

I am the weaver of cloth in South America 

I am the sickened dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico 

I am the surviving Bush people of the Kalahari Desert 

I am the mothers of the disappeared in Central America 

I am the African elephants poached for our ivory 

I am the aboriginal children in Australia I am the Small Island States disappearing as the oceans rise 

I am your sister 

I am your brother May Peace Prevail on Earth (Repeat in Spanish) 

All: May Peace Prevail on Earth 

Now we turn to the West. 

West 

I am the West 

I am the forest ranger in the Rockies 

I am the wolves – trapped and shot and poisoned 

I am the Native Americans 

I am the child in a high-rise apartment 

I am the whales deafened by Navy sonar 

I am the shepherd in the Alps 

I am the winemaker in the Mediterranean 

I am the housewife in Poland I am the widow in Bosnia 

I am your sister 

I am your brother May Peace Prevail on Earth 

All: May Peace Prevail on Earth 

And finally we turn to the North. 

North 

I am the North 

I am the children of the Ojibwa people 

I am the great boreal forest, home to migratory birds 

 am the fisherman in glacial waters 

I am the Inuit losing my traditional way of life 

I am the polar bears starving and drowning as our home melts 

I am the grandmother in Nova Scotia

I am the farmer on the Canadian prairie 

I am the ecosystem in Alberta devastated by drilling for tar sands oil 

I am the European immigrant 

I am your sister I am your brother May Peace Prevail on Earth (Repeat in German) 

All: May Peace Prevail on Earth 

Now I invite you to turn again to the center as we send peace out to all corners of our beautiful blue planet and all its inhabitants. 

We close with one verse of “Peace is Flowing like a River.” (Sing) 

One last time – to all and for all – we say together: May Peace Prevail on Earth. 

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Some Peace Quotes for Consideration in Ceremonies

Inner Peace Quotes:

• “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” —Saint Francis de Sales
• “The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress, is the easiest type of existence.” —Norman Vincent Peale
• “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” —Dalai Lama
• “Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “If you are depressed you are living in the past if you are anxious you are living in the future, if you are at peace, you are living in the present.” —Lao Tzu
• "When things change inside you, things change around you." —Unknown
• Peace can become a lens through which you see the world. Be it. Live it. Radiate it out. Peace is an inside job. —Wayne Dyer

Calming Peace Quotes:

• “Peace is liberty in tranquility.” —Marcus Tullius Cicero
• “Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.” —Thich Nhat Hanh
• “Being relaxed, at peace with yourself, confident, emotionally neutral loose, and free-floating — these are the keys to successful performance in almost everything.” —Wayne W. Dyer
• “You should feel beautiful and you should feel safe. What you surround yourself with should bring you peace of mind and peace of spirit.” —Stacy London
• “Sometimes you can find peace of mind by transferring yourself to different situations. They're just reminders to stay ... calm.” —Yves Behar
• "Don't search for anything except peace. Try to calm the mind. Everything else will come on its own." —Baba Hari Das
• "Let go of the thoughts that don’t make you strong." —Karen Salmansohn

Inspirational Peace Quotes:

• “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
• “You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.” —J. Donald Walters
• “Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.” —John F. Kennedy
• "Peace brings with it so many positive emotions that it is worth aiming for in all circumstances." —Estella Eliot
• “No person, no place, and no thing has any power over us, for 'we' are the only thinkers in our mind. When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we will find it in our lives.” —Louise L. Hay
• "If you don't know the guy on the other side of the world, love him anyway because he's just like you. He has the same dreams, the same hopes and fears. It's one world, pal. We're all neighbors." —Frank Sinatra
• "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding." —Albert Einstein

World Peace Quotes:

• “When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” —Jimi Hendrix
• “Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one.” —John Lennon
• “Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.” —Hafsat Abiola
• “Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” —Ronald Reagan
• “Not one of us can rest, be happy, be at home, be at peace with ourselves, until we end hatred and division.” —John Lewis
• “When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.” ―Fred Rogers
• "When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world." —Maha Ghosananda

Top 20 Most Inspiring Dalai Lama Quotes

The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.

We need to learn to want what we have, not to have what we want, in order to get stable and steady happiness.

It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

Inspiring Dalai Lama quotes - compassion radicalism

To conquer oneself is a greater victory than to conquer thousands in a battle.

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay.

inspiring Dalai Lama quotes - wings to fly roots to come back

It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

The world doesn’t belong to leaders. The world belongs to all humanity.

inspiring dalai lama quotes - world belongs to humanity

A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your action will be.

Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

Here are 20 Mahatma Ghandi quotes that will inspire you

If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.

A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.

I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.

Nobody can hurt me without my permission.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

inspiring Gandhi quotes - Happiness

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.

An ounce of practice is worth a thousand words.

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

inspiring Gandhi quotes - Live learn

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served.

If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

In a gentle way, you can shake the world.

inspiring Gandhi quotes - Gentle shake

If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.

Hate the sin, love the sinner.

Glory lies in the attempt to reach one’s goal and not in reaching it.

Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.

Permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence.

The future depends on what you do today.

To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.

It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

You don’t know who is important to you until you actually lose them.

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.

I cannot conceive of a greater loss than the loss of one’s self-respect.

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

Martin Luther King Quotes

"Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education."; "The Purpose of Education" from Morehouse College student newspaper, The Maroon Tiger, 1947

"If we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, 'brethren!' Be careful, teachers!"; The Purpose of Education" from Morehouse College student newspaper, The Maroon Tiger, 1947

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.";  —Stride Toward Freedom, 1958

"Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals.";  "A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart" sermon, August 30, 1959

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.";  Strength to Love, 1963

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.";  "Letter From Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.";  "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963

"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.";  "I Have A Dream" speech, Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963