Rotary/WW Peace Bell Foundation/Peace Prayer Society Collaboration

By Doug Martin Sturomski

Greetings of Love and Peace to All!

Besides being the Founder/CEO of the World Wide Peace Bell Foundation I am now the Peace Chair of Rotary District 7210, 64 Clubs that straddle the Hudson River Valley.  I am also the Initiator of Vision 2020- Making the Hudson River Valley the World’s First Peace Valley! * (Click here to see project overviews.)

As the non-profit World Wide Peace Bell Foundation we began in 2009, the year of the Hudson quadra-centennial, with an initiative, Peace Bells Along the Hudson, having 500 + churches and organizations from Saratoga to NYC ringing bells for peace once a month from May to Oct. – In times of War Bells were melted down to make cannons but in times of Peace Cannons are melted down to make Bells - (This first event introduced us to Universal Peace Day where we performed and rang our bells in NYC that year). The next three years on or close to International Peace Day Sept 21 we initiated, Peace Bells Across the Hudson, Promenades for Peace on the new Walkway over the Hudson. Last year once again we revisited Peace Bells Along the Hudson as we planted a Peace Pole on Broadway in Newburgh overlooking the Hudson River dedicating it to friends Pete & Toshi Seeger and Earth Day founder John McConnell who we met during our performance for the Japanese Peace Bell Ceremony at the United Nations, NYC in 1992.  You may recall that this moment was three months after M. Gorbachev stepped down, the Soviet Union was dissolved, and the Russian people were finally allowed to ring their bells after 70 years of silence under Communism. (The equinox March 20th is also my birthday.)

This year we will plant four more Peace Poles along with Peace Gardens. These special initiatives in the Hudson Valley have been a collaborative effort with the Rotary (and young Rotarians in Interact) Pax Christi of the Hudson Valley and St. Mary's Fishkill, Men’s Fellowship. Having known and worked with Fumi Stewart of the World Peace Prayer Society in Armenia, NY for over six years we are pleased to now collaborate with them on this 2020 vision – we have appeared in performance at the Peace Sanctuary a few times. www.MartinBells.com is the site for our Universal Peace Day appearance.

Next month we will, with 20 summer camp High School students, be planting/dedicating a Peace Pole at the top of Downing Park in Newburgh (spectacular view of the Hudson River down to West Point) on Aug 7th honoring those who died in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We also will be planting Peace Poles/Gardens at Beacon High School, the Newburgh Unity Center and St. Mary's in Fishkill before Sept 21st.

A short radio interview in Poughkeepsie is being aired today on Vision 2020 and this also will be the topic for Radio Rotary and several other stations in the area. Besides the booklet we created for the Rotary year 2012 (to see the booklet, click here), we are working on a Peace Symposium at the Mohonk Mt. House which in 2015 will be celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Court of Arbitration at the Hague.  The Mt. House and Albert Smiley began the 11 years of conferences which lead to its formation.  

As you probably know we are in Teilhard de Chardin country and minutes away from his grave at the Culinary Institute of America. His faith, evolutionary ideas and science are a hard sell to the Catholic Church of which I am a member but I have enjoyed his deep insights since college over 40 years ago. I am now re-reading a wonderful book The Unbearable Wholeness of Being by Ilia Delio endorsed by Barbara Marx Hubbard about his work and others connected to it.

Having taken several Shift Network courses I am now working on a book about Bells and Peace…called The Overtones of Peace.  It concerns being in tune to our own frequency, tuning into others through harmony and alignment and ringing true to our core beliefs of love, service and peace.  The ubiquitous bell is rich in sound because it overtones are all in harmony with each other and so it is with us.  We first need to daily align our mission through meditation within before we can interface and work with others through example sometimes using words to bring about the changes we know will move humanity to our true essence of love, service and peace.   Hope this helps for we look forward to hearing, working and collaborating with you for a better world for our children, grandchildren and beyond. Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven…which is here on Earth…  Namaste

*  Mayors for Peace Vision 2020 is to rid the world of nuclear weapons by that year...we hope we can help.

Blessings Of Peace, Love, Service, Joy, Fun & Awe!

Doug Martin Sturomski

To learn more about Doug, his work and partners, visit:
www.PeaceBellFoundation.org
www.BillionBellsForPeace.org
www.MartinBells.com

Become an Example and Inspiration to all

Ringing true in truth

Resonating with love and

Fine Tuning within and without

The subtle textures of Peace!

Imagine peace, Think peace,

Act peace, Spread peace, Live peace

Be that Light in darkness!