ANZAC Day peace vigils and weekend events 24 to 27 April 2015

Peace Movement Aotearoa

24 April 2015

A reminder of the ANZAC Day peace vigils in Whangarei, Auckland, Kapiti coast, Wellington and Christchurch; and information about other peace events over the weekend in Auckland (24 to 27 April), Wellington (25 April to 3 May) and Dunedin (25 April).

The peace vigils are the third in the annual series of the nationwide peace vigils during the World War One centenary, coordinated by Peace Movement Aotearoa, in association with Quakers, and in conjunction with peace and faith groups here and in other parts of the world who are holding peace vigils to mark the centenary and to highlight our mutual belief that conflict must be resolved peacefully rather than by war.

The peace vigils have three themes: remembrance of all of the casualties of war and of war resisters, ending war as a response to conflict, and promoting peace. There are four core messages that are the same at all of the vigils, including the central message 'Honour the war dead by ending war', which unites the three themes.

• Whangarei: ANZAC Day peace vigil on Saturday, 25 April, from 5.30 to 6pm, on the Ngunguru waterfront in Te Maika (School) Road. Organised by Whangarei peace people.

• Auckland: ANZAC Day candle lit peace vigil on Saturday, 25 April, from 6pm to 6.30pm, at the Friends Meeting House, 113 Mt Eden Road. Organised by Mt Eden Quakers and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Tamaki Makaurau branch.

The vigil is part of the Quakers Active Witness to the Peace Testimony ANZAC weekend open house at 113 Mt Eden Road - the Meeting House will be open from 10am to 4pm daily on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with peace themed books, artworks, film, posters and other displays. Specific events include * Friday, 24 April, Poems for Peace from 7.30pm to 9pm, details at http://quaker.org.nz/sites/quaker.org.nz/files/POEMS_FOR_PEACE.pdf * Saturday, 25 April, Peace Walk in Eden, from 10.30am to 12 noon; candle lit peace vigil, from6pm to 6.30pm; and Peace from a Faith Perspective, from 7.30 to 9pm, details at http://quaker.org.nz/sites/quaker.org.nz/files/Peace_from_a_Faith_Perspective.pdf * Sunday, 26 April, Quakers Quest for Peace, from 7.30pm to 9pm, details at http://quaker.org.nz/sites/quaker.org.nz/files/Quaker_Quest_Peace.pdf * Monday, 27 April, joint 100 years celebration tea with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom from 3pm to 5pm. The full programme is available at http://quaker.org.nz/sites/quaker.org.nz/files/MH_ANZAC_ProgMtEden.pdf

• Kapiti coast: ANZAC Day candle lit peace vigil on Saturday, 25 April, at 6pm, outside the Kapiti Coast District Council building, 175 Rimu Road (corner Rimu Road and Iver Trask Place), Paraparaumu. Organised by Kapiti Quakers and Otaki Catholic Workers.

• Wellington: ANZAC Day candle lit peace vigil on Saturday, 25 April, from 6pm to 6.30pm, at the Cenotaph (corner Lambton Quay and Bowen Street) - poster with details at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/anzac15-wgtn.pdf Organised by Peace Movement Aotearoa.

Also on ANZAC Day, ‘Disrupting the Narrative’ from 12 noon at Thistle Hall, one of the series of ‘Remember the Peacemakers’ events at Thistle Hall until 3 May - details at http://thistlehall.org.nz/projects/ww100.html

• Christchurch: ANZAC Day candle lit peace vigil on Saturday, 25 April, from 6pm to 7pm, at the Bridge of Remembrance. Organised by Christchurch Quakers and peace people.

• Dunedin: Remembering War by Working for Peace: An Alternative Ceremony on ANZAC Day, on Saturday, 25 April, at 2pm, at the Peace Pole in front of the Otago Museum - details at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/anzac15-dun.pdf Organised by the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and Dunedin peace people.

Links - World War One Centenary Peace Project, http://www.ww1.org.nz - ANZAC Day peace vigils and weekend events (formatted for printing),http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/anzac2015.pdf - on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/events/468539116636271 - ANZAC Day peace vigils,25 April 2015, https://www.facebook.com/events/721030291351755

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