Summit Unitarian Fellowship Dedicates International Peace Pole

Press Release:

“May Peace Prevail on Earth.” This is the message inscribed in 12 different languages*, plus Braille, on a multi-sided pole that will be dedicated and unveiled at , 8778 Cottonwood Avenue, Santee, at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2011.

“This is the culmination of several months of intergenerational activities dedicated to seeking, studying, and practicing peace,” says Deena Tuttle, member of the Peace Pole Task Force. “In the midst of so much conflict and turmoil around the world, what can we do – both personally and as a community of caring individuals? Building a Peace Pole is a way of declaring our collective commitment to peace and the conviction that we are all one in the world.” 

Peace Poles were created in Japan by Masahisa Goi in 1955 – 10 years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then, more than 200,000 Peace Poles have been built and erected, everywhere from the Giza Pyramids in Egypt to Mt. Everest, from nuclear test bomb sites to churches, community centers, parks, and private backyards.   

is a progressive congregation that welcomes people of many beliefs. Unitarian Universalism dates back more than 400 years and has a history of social justice activism. It includes such influences as Christianity, humanism, Buddhism, and Earth-centered spirituality. Summit’s website is http://www.suuf.org/.

*Languages chosen by the Summit congregation, in alphabetical order, are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Kumeyaay, Spanish, Tibetan, and Turkish.