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Ceremony marks lighting of World Peace Globe


From NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>
Date 08 Dec 1999 13:52:58

Dec. 8, 1999 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-21-71BP{661}

NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.

NEW YORK (UMNS) - A smaller version of a World Peace Globe to be installed
in Manger Square in Bethlehem was unveiled during a Dec. 7 ceremony at the
Church Center for the United Nations.

Sponsored by the United Methodist Office for the United Nations and the
Office of the Coordinator of Bethlehem 2000, a project promoting both
millennial celebrations and economic development in Bethlehem, the event was
marked by calls for peace around the world.

Levi Bautista, a United Methodist Board of Church and Society executive,
called the globe-lighting ceremony "an exercise in remembrance and
anticipation" - remembrance of Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, and
his teachings and anticipation of  "a just, compassionate and durable
peace."

Created of Plexiglas by Rebecca Nova of Wilmington, N.C., the 16-inch globe
is lighted from inside. Countries at peace are brightly lit; countries at
war are dark, and countries with internal conflicts blink. A four-foot globe
will be installed in the World Peace Center now under construction in
Bethlehem.

The peace longed for by the religious community is more than just a matter
of treaties. "We understand that peace is not simply a political persuasion,
peace is a moral imperative," said the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett, Church
and Society's chief executive in Washington.

He added that Bethlehem 2000 is a way of expressing "this overwhelming
possibility of peace."

Bethlehem 2000 is an initiative of the United Nations, nongovernmental
organizations and other groups to support the Bethlehem 2000 Project of the
Palestinian Authority. The project's main objectives - as a way of
establishing a lasting peace -- are to encourage millions of tourists and
pilgrims to visit Bethlehem and celebrate with the Palestinian people; to
promote Bethlehem's rich past and future promise; to revive the Palestinian
tourist industry and to enhance economic development of the Bethlehem region
and Palestinian territory. Events are scheduled from December 1999 through
Easter 2001.

The Rev. Anthony Frontiero, attaché of the Permanent Observer Mission of the
Holy See to the United Nations, hailed the project as a "noble initiative"
and reminded the gathering that while peace is God-given, men and women must
prepare the way for the gift to be received.

"Peace is only possible where there is a will to reconciliation," he
declared. "Letting old words of hatred and violence bleed again and again
and again is to deny peace a chance."

The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, chief executive of the National Council of
Churches, echoed the call for reconciliation. "We work for justice in the
sure knowledge that in that struggle lies the only way to peace," she said.

"We have before us a vision of hope, radical change and transformation to a
new life," she said. On the edge of the new millennium, "never before, I
think, have we been so well placed to accept such a difficult challenge,"
she said.

As the leader of an organization representing millions of Christians,
Campbell pointed out that the "communities of witnesses" in Bethlehem and
the Middle East are even more important than the holy places. She hopes the
2000 celebration "will be an occasion for renewal" for those people.

H.E. Ibra Deguene Ka, chairman of the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the ambassador of Senegal,
told the gathering "the international community has demonstrated its
commitment to this project."

The peace globe, he said, "serves as an inspiration to all of us who believe
in Bethlehem as a messenger of peace."

The Rev. Hamilton Fuller, coordinator of Bethlehem 2000 participation for
the Anglican Communion, added that the World Peace Globe provides an
opportunity to celebrate the call from God "that we are to be at peace, that
we are to choose peace."

The globe lit Dec. 7 at the Church Center for the United Nations will remain
in the Tillman Chapel there for the next 18 months. Fuller said there is the
possibility of mass production if groups or individuals are interested in
placing them in office buildings, museums, universities and homes. More
information is available at the Web site: www.peace2k.org. 

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*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://www.umc.org/umns


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