Last week one of the local papers published a news brief announcing that a gathering to celebrate World Peace Day would be held outdoors on the shores of Lake Wickaboag on Sunday at 3 pm. I knew I would be driving through West Brookfield that day on my way home from a teaching assignment at Deerfield Academy, so I made plans to stop and participate.

With Cindy Clark and Gary Brennan as our hosts, we gathered around the peace pole, a short rectangular column which has the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written on it in eight languages. Cindy narrated a brief history of this day: In 1999, British filmmaker Jeremy Gilley decided to try and establish the first ever Day of Peace with a fixed calendar date. Over the next few years, he traveled to meet heads of state in countries all over the world, and in September 2001, the member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the first-ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence—Peace Day, 21 September.

Basking in the strong sunshine of this autumn equinoctial afternoon, our group of about twenty people listened to Cindy read statements from leaders of non-violent movements; there was music, poetry, and time for quiet reflection. The cynics will say, What good is any of this? but I know that this story has inspired millions to act. For my part, I took a bumper sticker home with me, as well as paper to make a pinwheel. “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”