Praying for Peace in Ukraine

 In keeping with an ancient Celtic tradition, we were asked to bring stones to build a Peace Cairn. The idea is to lay down your symbolic weapons – the stones – and to balance them in cairns, symbolizing the balance needed to build peace.

Just over 100 people gathered Sunday, March 13th, for a prayer vigil for peace for Ukraine in North Conway’s Schouler Park. Also among them were two Ukrainian students, Anna Bondar, 17, and Daryna Sarediuk, 18, both from Fryeburg Academy. Sarediuk said: “It defi- nitely give us a lot of hope to see everyone here today saying their prayers out here and to see that people are thinking about us and our families.”

It was organized by the Clergy of the Eastern Slope, which included our Rev. John Hughes; the Reverand Mary Edes of Silver Lake; the Reverend John Hogue of the First Church of Christ, Congre- gational; the Reverand Nathan Hall of Lutheran Church of the Nativity; and the Reverand Gail Doktor of Jackson Community Church.

Edes and the Silver Lake Singers performed “Where There Is Light,”  “In Dangerous Times” and “This Is My Song” (Finlandia), and Let There Be Peace On Earth”, with attendees joining in. Four Ukrainian flags were flanked by two American flags at the north end of the park, and a POW MIA flag and Stars and Stripes flapped from the flagpole.

A highlight was placing stones brought by attendees to build a symbolic cairn meant to illustrate the balancing needed to bring about peace through diplomacy. Hughes explained that stones were mankind’s first weapons, and in the Celtic tradition, to lay down your stone was to lay down your weapon. He encourages the public to build cairns of peace in front of their properties and perhaps put Ukrainian flags into the cairns to show support.

Other presenters included Erica Banderob for Judith Felsen, Chavurah Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation; Barbara Lubin, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Tamworth; the Reverand Ann Cady of Christ Church Episcopal of North Conway; and Pastor Gerry Tilton of the First Church of Christ.

Courtesy The Conway Daily Sun; Tom Eastman; Photos Rachel Sharples