In this season of “peace on earth,”
David Toshikazu Ishida, 15, a member of Grace Lutheran Church, Villa
Park., Ill., shares his thoughts on peace after a visit to Hiroshima on
the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atom bomb.
At
8:15 a.m., the time the bomb exploded, there was a moment of silence
for those who had died. It was a dead silence, the only sound coming
from cicadas humming in unison throughout the Peace Park in Hiroshima.
A few minutes later the peace bell was rung and doves were released,
universal symbols of peace.
In my own gesture for peace, I presented 1,000 origami cranes at the children’s memorial.
I
also participated in peace-
making activities with Lutheran youth who were on retreat. They were
energized and really into the whole peace idea. We sang songs for
peace. We also made floating lanterns to put on the river, which
represented the prayers for peace as we thought of those who died from
the bomb.
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© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
