PEACE-BUILDING IN ACTION
Bridge of Peace participants embracing
On Saturday, April 26, about 60 people came together to attend the Women's Federation for World Peace Minneapolis chapter Bridge of Peace Ceremony. The purpose of this ceremony is to overcome racial, political, and religious barriers and to create a bond of sisterhood among the participants.
The ceremony was introduced by Mrs. Jeannette Henry, WFWP Minneapolis chairwoman. She talked about the uniqueness of Women's Federation members as "peace builders," explaining that WFWP members are people who do not just maintain peace, but are active agents in creating peace. She read a speech by the founder, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, that highlighted women's roles as peace builders. All guests were shown the new website and were encouraged to sign up for membership.
To prepare our hearts to cross the bridge, we watched a PowerPoint made at the 2005 Bridge of Peace Ceremony at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. There were pictures of women crossing the bridge together and also of a team led by Bishop Aya, a local Minnesota clergy person, working in Louisiana to help Hurricane Katrina victims. The PowerPoint was a perfect introduction to what was to come.
Participants bow to each other
The guests were asked to line up on one side of the room and WFWP members on the other. Couple by couple—each couple displaying racial, political, or religious differences that needed to be reconciled—they crossed the bridge and embraced. Participating in and witnessing this act of reconciliation was deeply touching. Every pair who crossed the bridge faced and bowed to each other, walked across the divide, exchanged flowers, and embraced.
Every sister received a Bridge of Peace certificate stating that each would "endeavor together to forgive, heal, and reconcile our historical divides and create a turning point, a new and harmonious relationship as partners, sisters, and friends. As women concerned with peace at all levels of human endeavor, we will strive to be peacemakers and harmonizers in our families, communities, society, and our nations."
Afterward, each pair exchanged contact information to keep in touch and develop a more substantial, lasting relationship through sharing their stories and intersecting their lives. To honor and celebrate this reconciliation effort, four dance performances followed the ceremony. Spanish, Haitian, Indian, and Japanese dances filled and delighted our senses.
Mexican Dance Group
To commemorate this profound moment, we took a group photo and shared lunch together. During lunch people sat and shared with their new-found sisters.
As a participant and a coordinator of this event, I could see it went very smoothly and had the intended outcome of beginning the process of bridging the gaps among the participants and letting more people know the true heart of WFWP.
The venue was nicely decorated, with a beautiful handmade banner, flags from around the world, and elegant centerpieces. Many members took this event seriously and worked enthusiastically to invite their friends, family, and contacts to participate. What made the event stand out was the WFWP members' well-organized teamwork and the fact that we enlisted young members to assist with parking, ushering, and preparation. One member commented that "the event was so wonderful that leaders, diplomats, and dignitaries could have attended."
Now, on to the daily act of creating peace!