Toms River students' Pinwheels for Peace join millions around the world
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
St. Joseph Grade School, Toms River, observed the United Nations International Day of Peace Sept. 21 by creating Pinwheels for Peace in solidarity with schools from around the country and world.
The day before on Sept. 20, students planted their pinwheels outside of the school on the front lawn as a sign of their commitment to peace. The school community once again came together the following Monday morning, Sept. 23, to pray as a student body for peace.
The purpose of Pinwheels for Peace is to make a public visual statement about war, peace, tolerance, cooperation, harmony, and unity.
“A pinwheel is a childhood symbol – it reminds us of a time when things were simple, joyful, peaceful,” reads the website for the project, www.pinwheelsforpeace.com.
Pope Francis has encouraged the faithful to pray for peace, especially during the recent conflict in Syria.
On Sept. 7, he addressed an audience of 100,000 in St. Peter’s Square, stating, “How I wish that all men and women of good will would look to the cross, if only for a moment”.
He continued, “There, we can see God’s reply: violence is not answered with violence, death is not answered with the language of death. In the silence of the cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue and peace is spoken.”
He asked the crowd: “Can we get out of this spiral of sorrow and death? Can we learn once again to walk and live in the ways of peace?”
Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, who teach at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Fla., as a way for their students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives, reads the website for the project.
Each participating community creates their own pinwheels from a template provided on the website.
The first Pinwheels for Peace were installed on Sept. 21, 2005. Since then, the project has grown from 500,000 pinwheels planted the first year, to four million pinwheels in over 35,000 locations in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa in 2012.
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St. Joseph Grade School, Toms River, observed the United Nations International Day of Peace Sept. 21 by creating Pinwheels for Peace in solidarity with schools from around the country and world.
The day before on Sept. 20, students planted their pinwheels outside of the school on the front lawn as a sign of their commitment to peace. The school community once again came together the following Monday morning, Sept. 23, to pray as a student body for peace.
The purpose of Pinwheels for Peace is to make a public visual statement about war, peace, tolerance, cooperation, harmony, and unity.
“A pinwheel is a childhood symbol – it reminds us of a time when things were simple, joyful, peaceful,” reads the website for the project, www.pinwheelsforpeace.com.
Pope Francis has encouraged the faithful to pray for peace, especially during the recent conflict in Syria.
On Sept. 7, he addressed an audience of 100,000 in St. Peter’s Square, stating, “How I wish that all men and women of good will would look to the cross, if only for a moment”.
He continued, “There, we can see God’s reply: violence is not answered with violence, death is not answered with the language of death. In the silence of the cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue and peace is spoken.”
He asked the crowd: “Can we get out of this spiral of sorrow and death? Can we learn once again to walk and live in the ways of peace?”
Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, who teach at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Fla., as a way for their students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives, reads the website for the project.
Each participating community creates their own pinwheels from a template provided on the website.
The first Pinwheels for Peace were installed on Sept. 21, 2005. Since then, the project has grown from 500,000 pinwheels planted the first year, to four million pinwheels in over 35,000 locations in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa in 2012.
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