The Mechanicsburg North Rotary Club dedicated two Peace Poles last Thursday in a celebration of Peace, Inclusivity and Global Unity, appropriately timed to occur on the International Day for Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.

The collaboration on display for the well-attended event was precisely what the peace pole concept envisions for outreach, impact, and engagement.  The Mechanicsburg North Rotary Club and Bethany Village, along with its Bethany Associate Belonging Council, formed the Committee to plan the simultaneous dedication of both peace poles on its campus.  Thanks to Executive Director of Bethany Village, Brian Grundusky, the ideal partnership between Rotary and the community achieved the plan that included dozens of residents as participants.  

 

Two special Rotary couples, Clarence and Susan Asbury, and David and Judith Clovsky made a great commitment to peacebuilding by underwriting the peace pole project and seeing it through.  Together with Bob Saline, who coordinated the publicity, they took a giant step forward in the Rotary role toward global peace, creating on that day the equivalent of an Institute of Understanding similar to what Rotarians undertook 85 years ago. The historical aspect of the gesture was very evident. View the ABC 27 News Coverage here. 

 

In 1945, when a delegation of 49 Rotarians attended the United Nations Conference on International Organizations in San Francisco, they set the example for how Rotarians can be engaged in public discourse concerning understanding, good will and ultimately peace.  If there were to be another such global planning session for a revised UN, surely the Asbury’s and Clovsky’s would be high on the list of volunteer Rotarians to attend!

 

This symbolic gesture and the words on the two poles, each in 8 languages, plus braille, convey the essential message of MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH.  Many of the languages were chosen by the employees at Bethany Village, and the Committee even included the language of the Lenape to reflect the indigenous peoples from this area!

         

As Rudyard Kipling concluded in the Ballad of East and West:

But there is neither East nor

West, Border, nor Breed, nor

Birth

When two strong men stand

face to face, tho’ they come

from the ends of the earth!

 

The peace poles are an integral part of Rotary’s vision that positive peace starts right here in our community.  In addition to our New Year’s Day Mile Peace Walk, our District has already held numerous peace workshops at Club meetings, the World Affairs Council, and at two District Learning Assemblies.

 

The next Peace Workshop is on May 31 at Central Penn College from 8:30 to noon.  It is free, including breakfast, and attendees will leave with profound insights about positive peace, community assessments of areas of conflict, and next steps to make progress in addressing the pillars of peace. The session will be facilitated by District Peace Activator, Dr. Hector Ortiz, and is open to all Rotarians and community government, educational, and religious leaders.  Please bring along someone from your community and register on the website.

 

The May 31 workshop will endeavor to achieve what the Mechanicsburg North Rotary Club did in facilitating the Peace Pole ceremony: charting a path to changes in attitudes, institutions, and structures toward the goal of greater understanding and positive peace.

 

In another area for global engagement, our District has been in talks with the Penn State College of Medicine Global Health Center concerning opportunities to support medical projects in several nations where its medical students are interning.  Several students have written proposals to enable them to undertake medical projects in Ghana, India, Philippines, and Nepal. The chart below shows the proposals, with scope and costs.  The medical students would do these projects and then report back with detailed briefings after their overseas experience.  Clubs and individual Rotarians may wish to directly support one or more of these projects as a way of staying engaged with this important area of focus, and the unique opportunity to deal personally with the medical students, before and after the mission.  Click here for further information.