Mesa Celebrates First Anniversary as an International City of Peace; Peace Pole Rededication Sept. 21 at Mesa Community College
MESA, Arizona – Sept. 19, 2023 – In recognition of International Peace Day and in celebration of the first anniversary of the City of Mesa becoming an International City of Peace, a Peace Pole Rededication Ceremony is being held at 3 p.m., Sept. 21, 2023, in the Mesa Community College Rose Garden, 1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa, Arizona 85202. Sponsors include Mesa Community College, the City of Mesa, Rotary International, City of Mesa Police Department, The Children’s Benefit Foundation Inc. and St. Matthew United Methodist Church.
In 1981 the United Nations General Assembly declared Sept. 21 as the day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace and as a call to action that recognizes individual and collective responsibility to foster peace. The first MCC Peace Pole was dedicated on the Southern and Dobson campus in 2013.
Open to the public, the celebration begins with an opening prayer by Peggy Schlesinger, Chandler Baha’i Community, followed by a welcome by Dr. Tammy Robinson, President of Mesa Community College and City of Mesa Vice Mayor Francisco Heredia. Speakers include Kevin Pitts, Rotary District 5495 District Governor; D.L. White, Author and Educator; Dr. Ruth Tan Lim, Pediatrician, Homeopathic MD, Veteran of Desert Storm, Rotarian and Mesa Woman of the Year 2011; and City of Mesa Councilmember Jenn Duff, District 4.
Soo-San Stevens-Clarke, Chandler Horizon Rotary Club, will lead the rededication of the Peace Pole ceremony by facing East, North, West and South and saying in each direction, “May Peace be in our homes! May peace be in our schools! May peace be in our community! May peace prevail on Earth!”
The finale will be “May peace prevail on Earth” communicated in Sign Language by Karen Palmieri, Chinese by Dr. Ruth Tan Lim, Hebrew by Dr. Mittman, Spanish by Zarco Guerrero, Greek by Christos Chronis, German and Luganda by Dame Precious Namazzi, and Arabic by Aeda Alkindi. All will join in the statement in English to close the ceremony.
