Winston-Salem to Observe International Day of Peace

Office of the Mayor - Sept.18, 2008
Contact: City: Erin Baker, 727-2058

Peace Day: Rev. Hal Hayek, St. Anne's Episcopal Church, 768-0174

Local school children, Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian H. Burke and Superintendent Donald L. Martin Jr. of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools will participate in the city’s annual observance of the International Day of Peace on Friday, Sept. 19, at noon on the steps of City Hall, 101 N. Main St.

The observance will begin with a minute of silence followed by music by the Healing Force, a presentation by students at the Downtown Elementary School and a reading of the Peace Proclamation. Church bells will ring throughout the city and students from Kennedy Learning Center and the Arts-Based Elementary School will offer songs of peace. Also participating will be the Rev. Hal Hayek of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Glenn Pettiford of First Baptist Church East Winston.

Other Peace Day events include a booth at Rock the Block on Friday night; an opportunity to participate in an international peace tapestry project Saturday, 2 - 4:30 p.m. at the Downtown Arts District Association center, 526 N. Liberty Street; and an interfaith service Sunday, 4 - 5 p.m. at the Winston-Salem Friends Meeting, 3151 Reynolda Road.

The International Day of Peace, a global observance established in 1981 by a United Nations resolution, is a day for strengthening the ideal of peace and alleviating tensions and causes of conflict.

On Peace Day each year, young people in countries all over the world observe a minute of silence at noon in their time zone to support the United Nations in its mission of world peace. Observances have been held in Winston-Salem since 2003.