United Kingdom
4 events: Dumfries, Findhorn, Kirkby on Bain, Manchester
Dumfries, Scotland, United Kingdom: report by Caroline Uchima
On the 15th of May, a Symphony of Peace Prayers was held at Allanton Peace Sanctuary in Dumfries. Prayers, poems, dances and beautiful readings were shared from different faith traditions, and interwoven into a flag ceremony of prayers for peace in each country.
Findhorn, Scotland, United Kingdom: report by Katharina Brocke
On 20 May, 12 of us met in one of the beautiful Findhorn Gardens, next to one of our 7 peace poles, in order to link up with the SOPP celebration at Fuji Sanctuary. After a short introduction to the work of Byakko Shinko Kai, we started with a meditation, honouring our beautiful Earth, which has, as part of her evolution, brought forth our magnificent incarnational bodies. This led us into a period of gratitude for various aspects of the earth. Following on from this we honoured humanity’s spiritual and divine essence, and the many different pathways through which it is expressed in this world. After that we performed the Divine Spark IN together.
We then entered into peace prayers for all the nations in the world using the flag cards, which we held up but did not place on the ground because of the very windy conditions. We connected consciously with everyone around the world who was engaged in this work, visualising our peace prayers purifying and uplifting humanity, uniting us as one. The participants were commenting on the simplicity and strength of our gathering and the beautiful vibrations that were being created. People felt grateful and lovingly nourished by our gathering.
Kirkby on Bain, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom: report by Gena Chapman
Our SOPP on 19 May was held in the beautiful pine garden hosted by Peter and Jill Hilton in Kirby on Bain, Lincolnshire. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day, following the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, which preceded the SOPP with an outpouring of love and celebration.
The intention of this year’s SOPP was for love and joy to expand from our hearts to all nations, countries and peoples. The flags were laid out on the beautiful land to absorb the energies of the weekend in honouring our planet and all who live on it.
We had music from Gregg Chapman on didgeridoo, Nick Wise on djembe and Steve Ward playing the Huang drum. Jil Greenewood led us in a meditation using a Tibetan singing bowl. Jane Wise facilitated song and dance and led us into harmony. Jill Hilton and I facilitated the day’s program.
It was an uplifting day with a group of 20 people, experiencing a sharing of an understanding of love. Homemade cake was enjoyed with a cup of tea.
Manchester, United Kingdom: report by Caroline Uchima
On the 25th of May, the World Community for Christian Meditation hosted a day’s programme of meditation and prayers from different faiths, ending in a wonderful flag ceremony and an inspiring, mindful walk around the cathedral carrying the flags. This was also to celebrate and strengthen the powerful spirit of community in Manchester which followed the tragic event of 22 May 2017, where 22 young people lost their lives at a concert.