Wednesday, September 15, 1999
Religious leaders to give peace chance
Millennium event at XU next year
BY JULIE IRWIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Members of the Tristate's religious communities — Bahais, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews and Muslims — will gather next year with the International Peace Council for a Millennium Peace Celebration at Xavier University.
Representatives of the communities announced the celebration Tuesday, the International Day of World Peace. The International Peace Council, a body that includes several Nobel Peace Prize winners, will hold its annual meeting at Xavier Sept. 22, 2000. The peace celebration will be held over the following two days.
“Throughout my lifetime there has always been war: nation against nation, tribe against tribe ... and religion has been a factor in these wars, religious intolerance has been a factor in these wars,” the Rev. James E. Hoff, XU president, said in announcing the event.
“So our goal is to bring people together for open hous es, dialogue, discussion, to share our rituals, share our experiences of God, break down religious intolerance and learn to live together in harmony and peace.”
Peace council members will hold a four-day retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Ky., before their annual meeting at XU. The university's new Brueggeman Center for Religious Dialogue will oversee the gathering.
The day after their meeting, area churches, temples, mosques and shrines will hold open houses throughout the Tristate. Bahais, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Native Americans have agreed to participate.
The next day organizers expect 9,000 people at XU's Cintas Center for a celebration that will include addresses, choirs, and a peace ritual from each of the participating faiths.
“Every thousand years or so it's a good idea for people to come together and give peace a chance,” said Rabbi Abie Ingber, director of the University of Cincinnati's Hillel House and a speaker at Tuesday's announcement.
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