Have you ever seen a Peace Pole at one of our churches and wondered what it was all about? Or perhaps you’d like to spend a few quiet moments near a Peace Pole to pray for peace, and you’re wondering where to find one.
Peace Poles are internationally recognised symbols, bearing the message ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ on each of their four or six sides. You can find more about the Peace Pole Movement on the May Peace Prevail On Earth International website. Of the 250,000 official Peace Poles across the world, five are in our diocese. You can find them at:
- St Peter’s, Lutton Place
- St Mark’s, Portobello
- St James’, Goldenacre
- St Ninian’s, Comely Bank
- St Anne’s, Dunbar
A safe place at the heart of the community
The poles at St Ninian’s, Comely Bank and at St James’, Goldenacre, are part of larger peace gardens. The Revd Jane MacLaren, Priest-in-Charge of St James’, Goldenacre, explains what inspired this garden and its Peace Pole: “Our beautiful historic church at St James’ Goldenacre is closed for renovation. We are still worshipping in the halls behind but wanted to send a message to the local community that we are still here, and they are welcome. The Peace Garden was our solution to this. It has generous seating, calm planting, and signage that includes a welcome board, some history about peace poles and peace gardens, and a simple prayer that anyone could use.
“We have lots of local cafés so the garden is in a good location for people with takeaways. The local shopkeepers represent a number of different cultures. We asked them about their ‘Mother tongues’ and these are the languages we have on the Peace Pole. One of them said that when she sees the Peace Pole, it makes her feel safe.”
One of the local shopkeepers said that when she sees the Peace Pole, it makes her feel safe.”
Creating a Peace Pole
St Martin of Tours, Dalry, created their own Peace Pole for an art festival (pictured above). The Revd John Vincent, Priest-in-Charge, said: “The making of the St Martin’s Peace Pole was a collaborative effort made initially for our Art Festival, but it now stands proudly by our main entrance as a visible sign of peace to all who use our building. The pole has as its pinnacle a dove, and the word ‘peace’ in different languages: further down are symbols of war and a prayer card I was issued with when I deployed to Afghanistan. This reminds us of the cost of peace and our constant prayer for those who serve in our armed forces.”