Around 25 people gathered together on November 11 to commemorate Armistice Day with songs and bell-ringing. After an eloquent introduction by Maia we rang our bells. Then the Fairbanks Peace Choir led us in songs of peace and hope. Finally we went around our circle with everyone giving a concise statement of what Armistice Day means to them. We were all inspired to follow the original meaning of Armistice Day and rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of peace.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner front page article about the event is reproduced below:
Bells rang out at 11:11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park as two dozen people gathered to celebrate Armistice Day and hope for peace.
Hosted by the Alaska Peace Center and Veterans for Peace, people bundled up in the 1-degree weather to rededicate themselves to work toward peace in the world. They assemble every year on Nov. 11 to ring bells for a full minute.
Bells rang out to announce the armistice between Allied nations and Germany to end the fighting during World War I on 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2018. Armistice Day was celebrated on Nov. 11 for many years until it was renamed to Veterans Day in the U.S. in 1954.
Maia Genaux, of the Alaska Peace Center, led the ringing, stating, “Let our bells today call out to the beauty, the harmony, the relationships and all that thrives in peace. Let our bells call us now and lead us in our work for healing.”
The Fairbanks Peace Choir led participants in singing “Dona Nobis Pachem,” which means “Give Us Peace” in Latin, and “This is my song (Finlandia)” by Jean Sibelius.
Residents shared their hopes for peace in the future. They encouraged one another to love and talk to their neighbors.
One woman said that she is transmitting her rage into art and love for Fairbanks. “Now is the time of artists,” she said.
“One of the strangest stories that we tell ourselves is that war is inevitable. It’s not,” one man said.
“Peace is possible,” one woman said.
Contact Haley Lehman at 907-459-7575 or by email at hlehman@newsminer.com.
Alaska Peace Center 