By Sophia Bloch ’24, Interfaith Fellow

Interfaith fellows with Associate Director Rev. Peter Carlson Schattauer ’08

On the evening of September 21st, residents of Northfield gathered in Central Park to celebrate the International Day of Peace. The International Day of Peace, a.k.a World Peace Day, was established by the UN 42 years ago as “a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire,” according to their website. (This is not to be confused with the International Day of Non-Violence, which is October 2nd, the day on which I am writing this post.) The city of Northfield celebrated World Peace Day in a gathering of more than 40 organizations, each one dedicated to the mission of peace in some way. This year’s theme was Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals, a reference to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to tackle issues such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. Each of the booths — many of them religious in nature — were organizations working actively toward one or more of these goals. 

It was interesting to see the themes that emerged: for example, many people wrote down forms of movement (walking, biking) or time in nature as the things that brought them peace. 

Although the event was run by and primarily made up of citizens of Northfield, St Olaf (and Carleton) had an active role in the event, as well. Both the Taylor Center and we, the Lutheran Center, had booths at the event; there was also a speech from President Singer and a performance from St Olaf’s Chamber Singers. Our tasks at the Lutheran Center were to help with transportation to the event (by guiding students) and to encourage event attendees to think about what their vision of peace looks like. We encouraged attendees to write down (or draw!) something that brings them peace as part of a collaborative art project. It was interesting to see the themes that emerged: for example, many people wrote down forms of movement (walking, biking) or time in nature as the things that brought them peace. 

The International Day of Peace celebration was a wonderful time to get to meet the other people of our town, and see the work that the residents of Northfield are doing to work toward a sustainable (and peaceful!) future.

Living up on the hill, many St Olaf students don’t have the opportunity to spend much time in Northfield. Even those who do, like myself, don’t generally spend much time interacting with the broader Northfield community. The International Day of Peace celebration was a wonderful time to get to meet the other people of our town, and see the work that the residents of Northfield are doing to work toward a sustainable (and peaceful!) future.