Rotary International Launches Peace Pole Project

BY PATTI DALEY

The five-word prayer appears in multiple languages on a post in nearly every country on Earth. Known as a Peace Pole, the simple monument serves as a silent witness to the world’s hope for peace.

“Peace Pole is a symbol that peace is possible,” says Ellie Patterson, “a reminder that we can bring peace to ourselves, to our environment, to our countries.”

In 2021, Globe will put its own stake in the ground for peace. Through the efforts of Globe Rotary and Rotary International, a four-sided Peace Pole will be planted in Patriots Park outside City Hall on the corner of Oak and Pine.

“It’s all about bringing peace to communities,” says Cami Lucero, Globe Rotary President.

The location for the peace pole was selected for its proximity to a bench that honors the three lives lost in a 2018 downtown shooting. In December, Globe Rotary was in the process of ordering the peace pole and they expect to hold a dedication in 2021. Globe’s peace pole will have the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in English, Spanish and Apache. “All our local cultures together,” Cami says.

Masahisa Goi (1916-1980) was 29 years old when the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on his home country and more than 100,000 people were killed instantly. His personal response to the physical and emotional devastation of World War II was to pray for world peace. May Peace Prevail on Earth.

It was a simple inspiration, but Masahisa Goi believed that if more people put their efforts into this prayer for peace it could help unify humanity. In 1955 he founded The World Peace Prayer Society. The group is not affiliated with any religion; it was established to transcend all religious, social, ethnic and political barriers. It does profess on its website (worldpeace.org) a belief in the power of words to inspire, heal and transform the human heart.

At first the group’s effort consisted of neighborhood gatherings and discussions of a peaceful vision. Then came literature and stickers that were handed out in public spaces. The idea of displaying the message on a pole gained popularity in the 1970s. Peace Poles are designed with four or six sides to be inscribed with the prayer in various languages to help bridge religious and linguistic divisions and bring people together in a common hope for peace. It is then set in the ground as a silent reminder and witness to that hope.

In the early 1980s Peace Poles began to appear in towns and cities outside of Japan and around the world. By 1986, the Peace Pole Project was established in the United States and by 1990 the society was

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recognized as an NGO in affiliation with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations. In 2019 the organization was formally renamed May Peace Prevail on Earth International.

Today there are Peace Poles in almost 250,000 locations around the world, including the magnetic north pole and Ground Zero in New York City.

“Wherever you plant a peace pole, it becomes a sacred space and people are drawn to it because... doesn’t everyone want peace in their life, peace in the world?” says Ellie Patterson,

Ellie was District Governor for about 50 Rotary Clubs in Arizona’s southern district (D5500) when she learned about the Peace Pole Project at a Rotary Club International conference in Sydney.

“I got really excited about bringing the project to our district.” Ellie says, “and there was a lot of response.”

“Everyone thought it was a good idea,” Cami says, speaking for Globe Rotary.

Peace and conflict prevention/ resolution tops the list of Rotary Club International’s six areas of focus. The others are disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and community development.

The first peace pole in Arizona’s southern district (D5500) was erected in Casa Grande, in Peart Park. Dedicated in July 2020, the four-sided pole features four messages of peace in English: “May Peace be in Our Schools,” “May Peace be in Our Hearts,” and “May Peace be in our Communities” in addition to the universal message, “May Peace Prevail On Earth.”

Coolidge Rotary Club also embarked on new territory when they installed a peace pole outside the city library in November 2020 – the words of peace are displayed in English, Spanish, Sign Language and Klingon.

Peace poles can be as fancy and colorful as one wants. They also come in basic white. The most important thing is that they be “permanent in nature for a long time,” says Ellie, “the way we want peace to be.”

“We can’t stop talking about peace,” says Ellie Patterson. “Peace is so necessary. It calms the mind. It makes us more creative.”

Ellie is currently Peace Education Chair for the Tucson Rotary Club. She is helping clubs become peacebuilder clubs and take on greater commitment to the awareness and culture of peace.

“Do things that result in peace,” Ellie says. “Just do peaceful activities that bring positive change to the communities.”

From her perspective, everything Globe Rotary Club does from support for literacy to food security, contributes toward peace. Her dream is for peacemaking to be taught in the early grades, by students in high school.

“Teach them how to verbalize and negotiate without confrontation,” Ellie explains, “how to take it to that level where both parties come out of it feeling that they’ve made progress; that there is something they share.”

May Peace Prevail on Earth. u

Beyond Rotary, the peace pole has captured the imagination of artists world wide and the result is a variety of peace pole designs, including this one channeling the wisdom of John Lennon.