At 2:15 p.m. on September 9, the Scarsdale Friends Meeting  invite the community  to a short program with refreshments at the Meetinghouse about  the interfaith peace walk for  "peace and renewal of Mother Earth."   The main speaker will be the walk's organizer, Japanese-born Buddhist nun, Jun Yasuda who founded the Grafton Peace Pagoda.

      People are invited to join in all, or any part of this walk walk which will culminate with a vigil at Ground Zero on September 11.  This annual event is organized by members of the Grafton Peace Pagoda, located north of Albany.   No registration is needed for the walk -- everyone can just show up and join in.

     The Sunday segment of the walk will begin 8:00 a.m. in Ossining at St. Paul's On The Hill Church, 40 Ganung Drive, and will proceed south on Route 9 until 12:00 noon.  At that time the walkers should be close to Dobbs Ferry where they will be picked up and driven to the Scarsdale Friends Meetinghouse for a picnic lunch.

      The Scarsdale Quaker Meetinghouse is located on Popham Road, just west of Rte. 22.   At 2:15 p.m. on September 9, the Quakers invite the community -- walkers and non-walkers -- to a short program with refreshments at the Meetinghouse, describing the main purpose of this interfaith event:  "peace and renewal of Mother Earth."   The main speaker will be the walk's organizer, Japanese-born Buddhist nun, Jun Yasuda who founded the Grafton Peace Pagoda.  The current walk is also a consciousness-raising event to emphasize that changing national budget priorities and supporting the International Kyoto Agreement may have a positive impact in alleviating the current climate crisis. 

      Jun has walked across the U.S. to encourage peace several times since 1978.   Interfaith and community groups all along the route voluntarily supply food and evening shelter to the walkers

.   The Peace Pagoda is the spiritual home ofNipponzan Myohoji, a Buddhist order of monks and nuns who walk and chant throughout the world to encourage peace. 
     At 8:00 a.m.  Monday morning, September 10, the walkers will continue their journey at Stop and Shop on Rte. 9 in Dobbs Ferry, walking south to the GW Bridge.  A bus will take them to Brooklyn to a Buddhist temple, and on 9/11 they will join with other interfaith groups and walk to Ground Zero.
     The Scarsdale Quakers, part of the Religious Society of Friends, are participating in this event as a way to explore peaceful solutions to conflict and injustice.  For further information about the walk or about the Scarsdale Quakers, contact Charles Davey:  
914/231-5120 or charles @charlesdaveybooks.com.