For several decades the International Scouting movement – both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts – have actively promoted global peace and harmony through the distribution of the Peace Light.
Now in its 29th the Peace Light from Bethlehem campaign was originally organized by the Austrian Broadcasting Company (ORF) and was part of a large charitable relief mission called “Light into Darkness” for children in need in Austria and abroad.
Since 1986 there has been a great deal of cooperation between Scouts from many countries, which has allowed the light to travel all throughout Europe. Each year the light is passed on to over 30 European countries and, for the past decade, to the United States, Canada and Mexico as well.
Each year, a child from Upper Austria is named that year’s Peace Light Child and travels to Bethlehem, Israel, to receive the flame from one of the Grotto’s oil lamps, which have been burning continuously for over 1,000 years. The light is then flown to Austria where it is distributed at a Service of Dedication to delegations of Scouts from across Europe, who in turn take it back, with a message of peace, to their own countries.
The Peace Light is then shared with individuals, families, houses of worship, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and cultural centers – with anybody who can appreciate the significance of this “gift.”
The sharing of the Peace Light in Ireland could be followed on a facebook page
Some events among many:
Thursday 17th Ecumenical Service of Distribution in the Church of
the Visitation in Fairview, Dublin
Friday 18th Circulation of Peace Light by rail to Provincial Centres courtesy of Irish Rail.
Saturday 19th Ecumenical Service at Augustinian Church, Galway 1pm
Saturday 19th, 13th Kildare, Clane Scout Den, Kildare at 8pm
Sunday 20th Jordanstown Church, Co. Meath at 11am
