THE 2009 BRIDGEWATER CELEBRATION FOR PEACE

The Fifth Annual Peace Celebration, a 24 hour vigil of programs and activities, was observed from 2:00 p.m. on Saturday the 19th through 2:00 p.m. on Sunday the 20th, 2009. Starting on Sat. people gathered at First Parish Church at 2:00 to create banners, doves, cranes and peace pinwheels to carry in the 3:00 p.m. Procession through the center of Bridgewater. Returning to the church special youth games and activities were held followed by a light supper, both at First Parish. A special appearance of Earth View, a huge inflated model of the earth, was held in the sanctuary thanks to Vernon Domingo and James Hayes-Bohanan, professors of geography at Bridgewater State College (BSC).

From 6:00 p.m. on an evening of Peace Offerings was presented at First Parish. A wide range of artists and performers gave gifts - including music, poetry, and dramatic presentations centering on peace. The first hour was geared toward children and included stories dramatized by BSC students under the direction of Lisa Troy and Jim Quinn of the BSC faculty. Dances for Peace were held in the Bridgewater United Methodist Church Parish Hall from 7:00- 9:00 p.m. From 7:00-8:00 p.m. at First Parish a sand mandala was created as well as origami cranes and also butterflies for the Holocaust Museum of Houston. Also at this time there was a showing of the film "The Hero Rats" about rats trained to detect land mines. Then the adult segment of the Peace Offerings continued beginning with a recorder program by Capriol Consort.

In keeping with the vigil tradition, the sanctuary at First Parish remained open during the night for private meditation until the 5:00 a.m. Buddhist meditation. At 6:00 a Native American sunrise service was led by Bob Charlebois, an interpreter at Plimoth Plantation. After breakfast Pastor Pat Miller Fernandes conducted a Taizé service at the Methodist church followed by a Buddhist meditation led by Rev. Ed Hardy of First Parish. At 10:00 a.m. Peter Jansen played acoustic guitar gathering music before the regular 10:30 a.m. worship service.

After a Pot Luck Dinner, the celebration concluded with drumming and a rededication of our Peace Pole.