The International Day of Peace (IDP) was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. In 2001 the UN designated the IDP as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
Each year the IDP is observed around the world on September 21.
I became aware of this day when I became interested in a phrase associated with my father-in-law, Walker Leigh Knight Sr. He was a Baptist journalist and founder of the publication Baptist Today. In 1972, he wrote the long poem, The Peacemaker.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter asked permission to use the phrase from the poem in a speech when he, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords. These accords set the groundwork for Egyptian-Israeli peace. The phrase he used was: “Peace, like war, is waged.”
This phrase resonated with me and I wanted to figure out a way I could wage peace. I received permission to create a bumper sticker with the phrase. I thought if people saw the stickers on the back of cars, or on their bulletin boards they would be inclined to think about waging peace. I shared this with Teresa and she wanted to celebrate International Day of Peace with the congregation, Sunday, September 17 I will have bumper stickers available if you’d like one. The image below is a link to Walker L. Knight’s memoirs which contain a copy of The Peacemaker.
– Monica Knight