Sunday, October 7th, 10:00 am – 12:00pm

As our first step in honoring the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, we are planting a Peace Pole on our campus.

The ceremony will take place on Sunday, October 7th – one year before Gandhi’s 150th birthday and on the day we traditionally remember the work of St. Francis of Assisi.

These two giants of peaceful, non-violent living deserve a place on our campus, for as it says in our movements declaration, “…in the midst of chaos, Unity stands for peace.”

In nearly every Unity, Unitarian and Center for Spiritual Living church I’ve ever been to, there is a clearly visible Peace Pole.  It will be a visible reminder to all that we are One People on the One Planet, expressing One God as Peace.

History of the Peace Pole Project

The Peace Pole Project was started in Japan by Masahisa Goi (1916 – 1980), who dedicated his life to spreading the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth”. Mr. Goi was greatly affected by the destruction caused by World War II and the atomic bombs which fell on the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His desire to assist in the creation of world peace was answered when in 1955, the Peace Message, May Peace Prevail On Earth, came to him in a moment of great inspiration and deep prayer.

After Mr. Goi authored the Universal Peace Message in 1955, a great number of people gathered in support of his vision and activities to spread the Peace Message were promoted throughout Japan. Soon after, Peace Poles inscribed with the Peace Message began to appear in various locations across Japan initiating the start of The Peace Pole Project.

The Peace Pole Project was first introduced to the United States with the opening of The World Peace Prayer Society offices in San Francisco and New York in 1986, The International Year of Peace.  Peace Poles are now the most recognized international peace symbol and monument the world over with more than 200,000 Peace Poles standing in almost every country throughout the world.