Plowshares Collaborative News & Events
January 1, 2003
Goshen College dedicates Peace Pole Nov. 13 as part of Plowshares initiative
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| Two participants light candles at the November 13 pole dedication. |
GOSHEN, Ind. — A passerby mentioned that the obelisk planted on the east side of Goshen College’s Union building Nov. 13 resembled the Washington Monument. But while the East Coast monument celebrates a general who won a war, the college’s monument stands as a testament to the need for peace.
Led by Dean Johnson, who directs the Plowshares initiative at Goshen College, more than 150 people gathered to dedicate a Peace Pole on Goshen’s campus. Johnson said the four-sided posts have become an international symbol for peace and are placed in more than 200,000 locations in more than 180 countries.
“In a world filled with so much hate, violence and war, we are trying to cultivate a culture of peace out of our Mennonite Peace Church position,” Johnson said.
Goshen’s 7-foot pole features the words “May peace prevail on Earth” in eight languages: English, Spanish, Swahili, German, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew and American Sign Language. Each language has been represented at Goshen College either through course offerings, academic majors or minors, international students or by the college’s Study-Service Term program. During the ceremony, individuals spoke the words in each language save Swahili; Samuel Zadi, assistant professor of French, and Zenebe Abebe, vice president for multicultural affairs, instead used French and Amharic, respectively, to represent the continent of Africa.
Wilbur Birky, director of international education, said, “Our going and coming have been a form of incarnation – taking on the form of others to understand rather than to dictate, to build relationships rather than to wield power, to learn that to serve is to be served, to love and be loved in the cause of peace – in the small ways, the individual ways, throughout the world.”
The ASL message coincides with the college’s American Sign Language Interpreting program, which the college now offers as a major. Myron Yoder, director of the ASL Interpreting program, said the issue of disability is also a peace issue.
“One can define peace as the absence of violence, and that is so. But one can also define peace in terms of ‘shalom’ or ‘at one,’ of being wholesome with one’s fellow human beings,” Yoder said.
As participants lit candles, Sylvia Shirk Charles, campus minister, and Regina Shands Stoltzfus, associate campus minister, led prayers and litanies petitioning that believers might be able to act for peace and be “candles of love against the darkness of hate.”
President Shirley H. Showalter carried an oringa – a ceremonial, beaded staff given to her by Maasai tribesman and 2002 Goshen College graduate Elijah Metekai. She said elders present the symbol of leadership and authority to new tribal chiefs, often with the statement, “Now that you are a leader, drop your weapons and use your mind and wisdom instead.” Showalter called on those present to do the same and hoped the Peace Pole would stand tall as a reminder of the unpopular stances that Christians must sometimes take as they work for peace.
A grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. funds the Plowshares program, which supports peace initiatives at Goshen, Earlham and Manchester colleges and the establishment of a Peace House in Indianapolis, Ind.
Goshen College is a national liberal arts college known for leadership in international education, service-learning and peace and justice issues in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program and exceptional educational value, GC serves about 1,000 students in both traditional and nontraditional programs. The college earned citations of excellence among U.S. News & World Report, Yahoo! and Barron’s Best Buys in Higher Education. For more information, visit http://www.goshen.edu/.
Editors: For information, contact Ryan Miller at (574) 535-7572 or ryanlm@goshen.edu.
