MINUTE FOR PEACE DAY     December 22, 2002

December 22 is just three days before Christmas. In our  new millennium Christmas is of increasing importance, with its message of "Peace and Good Will."

Let every radio and TV station fill the day with minutes of music  and words that inspire peaceful actions. Help us unite as one human family in new understanding and care for this wonderful nest in the stars:  Planet Earth, our home.

A Minute for Peace Day brought global attention for the way to peace back in 1963. December 22, 1963 was when we ended the period of mourning for President Kennedy with a global minute of silent prayer for peace on our planet. That special minute (1 p.m. in Dallas, 1900 GMT) was broadcast worldwide and affected people all over the world.

Let's turn the tables on 9-11 by joining all over the world in Minutes for Peace all day on December 22 -- just three days before Christmas. Christmas can then be a turning toward peace, with our neighbor and our world.

World Trade Center Tragedy and What To do.

The horrific event on 9-11 showed us the power of hate.  But love is more powerful than hate and December 22 provides a special opportunity to prove it.

"Hatred does not cease by hatred. Hatred ceases only by love."  Gandhi, and others, have demonstrated non-violent methods of opposing what was wrong.  

Martin Luther King described the power of love in his book "Strength To Love" -- and gave his life to prove it.  Now, strength to "kill" is being advocated as the way to stop violence.

To settle differences, war is advocated far more than peace.  The search engine google.com has 39,000,000 items when you type in "War" and only 13,000,000 when you type in "Peace."

Actions good or bad begin in the mind. Here is a way to reverse the damage done to people's thinking by media's headlines for violence and silence about the proven benefits of forgiveness, compassion and cooperation for common goals.  The World Trade Center tragedy was the result of media failure to feature the work of the Franciscans and many other groups who were seeking the peaceful nurture of people and planet.  

Earth Trustees

A new idea that came from Minute for Peace and Earth Day, was the idea that we can now all think of ourselves as Trustees of Earth. In this age of Space exploration we know -- more than former generations -- that we are one human family and have only one Earth. With care and use of new technology we can now eliminate poverty, pollution and violence. All we need is a clear vision of our goal and reports on Internet - and in the media - of every successful effort to think and act as Trustees of Earth -- in ecology, economics and ethics. This course of action can appeal to the most people on our planet and do the most good.

Then a new spirit of cooperation will engulf the world. With half the money we spend on wars we can make our planet a Garden of Eden.

As we honestly work together we will see all around us the waste of wealth and its unfair monopolization by those in power. The solution is not to condemn the few in positions of power, but to demonstrate solutions and win their support -- not by the power of money or military might -- but by the power of truth, of good ideas and good will.

Then with the power of the words "Love one another" we will reverse the direction of "9-11"and welcome the beginning of an era of peaceful progress in the new millennium.

On December 22, talk peace, think peace, pray for peace, have faith for peace all over the world - in the home, at work in global relations of countries and corporations -- in all human institutions.  

As soon as you receive this message, take action.  Pray, and Plan what you will do.  Call your friends.  Contact media, churches, colleges.  Act now -- with faith that accents the positive and negates the negative.  "Oh the faith that works by love."

By Founder of Earth Day
John McConnell
4924 E. Kentucky Circle Dr.
Denver, CO 80246


Trusteeone@aol.com

http://www.earthsite.org

Phone: 303/758-7687