International Day of Peace Event
Franklin Grove Church of the Brethren
Our church began holding monthly candlelight peace vigils in November, 2002. We held events every month as a witness to our belief that Jesus calls us to be a peaceful people. These short services were held at our church, in parks, and at various other locations throughout the area. In October, 2003 we were able to have a special ceremony as we dedicated our new Peace Pole. In June, 2004 we hosted a candlelight vigil in front of our church, lighting 900 individual candles (one for each soldier that had been killed in Iraq). In August, 2005, we held another candlelight vigil on the courthouse lawn in Dixon. This time we lit approximately 1800 individual lights honoring those killed in the war. At all times, our intent was to remind people of the human cost of war and the high price paid when violence is used to settle disputes or prove a point. We have continued to hold candlelight services at our 
church periodically calling for "peaceful ends through peaceful means." Recently, we decided that we wanted to host another larger, more visible event so we opted to participate in the International Day of Peace on September 21, 2007. In addition to our own church, Don and Cathy Hart from the Cherry Grove Church of the Brethren as well as Janis Butterbaugh from the Dixon Church of the Brethren, helped with the planning of the event. Don and Cathy were successful in getting the major of Lanark to donate our two welcoming banners and Don collected over 400 pinwheels for the Pinwheels for Peace project! We sent letters to many of the churches and schools in the area, inviting them to participate by making pinwheels. In response, we received over 1,120 pinwheels from all over three counties. We even received a box of pinwheels from the Nokesville, Virginia Church of the Brethren! In addition to the pinwheels for peace our church members put in many long hours "building" a Wall of Remembrance: A plywood wall almost 90 feet long with the name, age, residence and cause of death for every soldier killed in Iraq so far: 3,873 as of 9/21/07. The Dixon Park District provided us the free use of John Dixon Park in Dixon--a full block park on the main thoroughfare in Dixon and highly visible. We put up our Wall of Remembrance along the main street, "planted" the 1100 pinwheels and culminated the evening with a short candlelight service at 7:00 p.m. Although we did not get as large a crowd as we had hoped for, we may never know how many children were touched by the project as they made their pinwheels or how many people drove by. Regardless, we feel strongly that it is important for us to continue to witness to Jesus' message of peace, particularly in a time so torn by violence.
Our church began holding monthly candlelight peace vigils in November, 2002. We held events every month as a witness to our belief that Jesus calls us to be a peaceful people. These short services were held at our church, in parks, and at various other locations throughout the area. In October, 2003 we were able to have a special ceremony as we dedicated our new Peace Pole. In June, 2004 we hosted a candlelight vigil in front of our church, lighting 900 individual candles (one for each soldier that had been killed in Iraq). In August, 2005, we held another candlelight vigil on the courthouse lawn in Dixon. This time we lit approximately 1800 individual lights honoring those killed in the war. At all times, our intent was to remind people of the human cost of war and the high price paid when violence is used to settle disputes or prove a point. We have continued to hold candlelight services at our church periodically calling for "peaceful ends through peaceful means." Recently, we decided that we wanted to host another larger, more visible event so we opted to participate in the International Day of Peace on September 21, 2007. In addition to our own church, Don and Cathy Hart from the Cherry Grove Church of the Brethren as well as Janis Butterbaugh from the Dixon Church of the Brethren, helped with the planning of the event. Don and Cathy were successful in getting the major of Lanark to donate our two welcoming banners and Don collected over 400 pinwheels for the Pinwheels for Peace project! We sent letters to many of the churches and schools in the area, inviting them to participate by making pinwheels. In response, we received over 1,120 pinwheels from all over three counties. We even received a box of pinwheels from the Nokesville, Virginia Church of the Brethren! In addition to the pinwheels for peace our church members put in many long hours "building" a Wall of Remembrance: A plywood wall almost 90 feet long with the name, age, residence and cause of death for every soldier killed in Iraq so far: 3,873 as of 9/21/07. The Dixon Park District provided us the free use of John Dixon Park in Dixon--a full block park on the main thoroughfare in Dixon and highly visible. We put up our Wall of Remembrance along the main street, "planted" the 1100 pinwheels and culminated the evening with a short candlelight service at 7:00 p.m. Although we did not get as large a crowd as we had hoped for, we may never know how many children were touched by the project as they made their pinwheels or how many people drove by. Regardless, we feel strongly that it is important for us to continue to witness to Jesus' message of peace, particularly in a time so torn by violence.
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