05/28/2026
The 8-foot, four-sided Peace Pole Makers USA has the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” printed on four sides, two languages on each side (six United Nations official languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, Chinese plus Mohawk and Hindi) and a braille plaque. At the dedication, eight residents read the inscription in a different language.
The ceremony also included recognition of residents who served in the Peace Corps and residents who were conscientious objectors, a brief community conversation about peace, words for dedicating the Peace Pole that included the story from the Haudenosaunee Tradition (Iroquois) of the Great Peacemaker and the Great Tree of Peace, and words for dedicating residents’ lives to being Peacemakers.
The 80 or so residents who attended the ceremony walked from Heiser auditorium to the entrance outside singing “Walk in Peace, Walk in Light,” accompanied by guitarist Randy Matthews.
Resident Judi Bachrach wrote a poem entitled “Embodied Peace” for the occasion, which in part reads:
Peace radiates the glow of love and justice
weighing exactly as much as that which is needed
to rebalance the scale.
Embodying peace is the work we do
to listen and to take right action.
Future events centered around the Peace Pole might include vigils, World Peace Day (Sept. 21) and other gatherings.
“It was an interesting journey to get here and is the result of great teamwork,” says Ellie, a retired minister. Perhaps, that was the easy part. The real work of doing peacemaking with justice continues with urgency at every level: heart, community, nation, and Earth and ALL that is in it.”
The main entrance at Kendal at Oberlin is now graced with a Peace Pole, thanks to the Peace Pole Interest Group headed by Ellie Stock.
“One of the Quaker values upon which Kendal at Oberlin is based is peace,” Ellie said at last month’s dedication ceremony, held at the beginning of Earth Week. “Kendal’s Peace Pole is part of a global movement begun in Japan, following World War II, to promote peace and wellbeing among nations and people at every level. About 250,000 Peace Poles in various languages have been planted across the globe, indoors and outdoors in front of many private and public places. Some thought it was appropriate and timely for Kendal at Oberlin to have a Peace Pole.”
The 8-foot, four-sided Peace Pole Makers USA has the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” printed on four sides, two languages on each side (six United Nations official languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, Chinese plus Mohawk and Hindi) and a braille plaque. At the dedication, eight residents read the inscription in a different language.
The ceremony also included recognition of residents who served in the Peace Corps and residents who were conscientious objectors, a brief community conversation about peace, words for dedicating the Peace Pole that included the story from the Haudenosaunee Tradition (Iroquois) of the Great Peacemaker and the Great Tree of Peace, and words for dedicating residents’ lives to being Peacemakers.
The 80 or so residents who attended the ceremony walked from Heiser auditorium to the entrance outside singing “Walk in Peace, Walk in Light,” accompanied by guitarist Randy Matthews.
Resident Judi Bachrach wrote a poem entitled “Embodied Peace” for the occasion, which in part reads:
Peace radiates the glow of love and justice
weighing exactly as much as that which is needed
to rebalance the scale.
Embodying peace is the work we do
to listen and to take right action.
Future events centered around the Peace Pole might include vigils, World Peace Day (Sept. 21) and other gatherings.
“It was an interesting journey to get here and is the result of great teamwork,” says Ellie, a retired minister. Perhaps, that was the easy part. The real work of doing peacemaking with justice continues with urgency at every level: heart, community, nation, and Earth and ALL that is in it.”
