Celebrating International Day of Peace in Des Moines

 By IPN Coordinator

 Monday, September 21, 2026, members of the Des Moines peace community gathered at 5:30 pm at the Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in Des Moines to celebrate the International Day of Peace.  Capitol Hill Lutheran Church was the rain location, but it was a beautiful space.  This celebration has been held for some years now, planned by the Des Moines Faith Committee for Peace.  The International Day of Peace was initiated by the United Nations some years ago.

 

(peace gathering at Capitol Hill Church; Krieg/ AFSC)

 

The Prayer Service for Peace, the subtitle of the event, began with music from the Des Moines Singing Resistance.  One song was “Rebel.”  They introduced each of their songs with a story.  It was inspiring to hear.

 Linda Dorsey welcomed everyone to the gathering and led the Call To Worship as well.  Part of the Call to Worship read “As we gather to pray for peace, let us:   sing songs of joy and sorrow.  Tell stories full of wonder and doubt.  Listen to one another.”  It was adapted from “For Such a Time as This: an Emergency Devotional,” by Hannah Reichel.

 Eloise Cranke then introduced the Dove of Peace.  The Dove of Peace is a carved wooden dove, carved by Ted Lytton Hatten, a Des Moines artist.  He gave it to the family of Chet Guinn, after Chet’s death, to be used in events such as these for people to handle.  The dove was passed around the congregation during the rest of the service.

 

(wooden dove carved by Ted Lytton Hatten, in hands of a woman at the gathering; Krieg/ AFSC)

 

Nancy Anderson introduced the speaker, Rev. John Tyson, from Plymouth Church.  He spoke on the danger of AI, and the recent report by an ex-employee of an AI company, Anthropic, that he thought “AI could be the extinction of the world in the span of ten years.”  Rev. Tyson spoke about the girls school in Iran being bombed early on in the conflict, as probably being a mistake made by AI.  He mentioned that the 2027 budget for war is $1.5 trillion.  He said, we must “invest in what we need to survive, and invest in things that lead to peace.”  It was a very moving message, one that made one feel like taking action right away.

 

(Rev. John Tyson of Plymouth Church, speaking; Krieg/ AFSC)

 

A musical selection was offered by the Des Moines Singing Resistance again.  One of the songs, “In this Circle,” was very moving.  It was a lead and response type of song, so the words offered here were sung, and then repeated by the congregation.  Hear these words:  “We belong to eachother.  In this body, no fear; safety; deep peace.”  These words were repeated before each of the following phrase:  “In this city." “In in this state.”   “In this country.”  “ In this world.”  The final song in this selection was very simple. The words:  “Hold on, hold on, my dear ones.  Here comes the dawn.”

 

(Several members of the Singing Resistance; Krieg/ AFSC)

 

After the music selection was a litany of wisdom, led by Steve Bolie, used many times in the last few years for this service.  Bolie explained who a quote was by, then the congregation read the quote.  The quotes are etched in stone in the peace garden in Cowles Commons, downtown Des Moines, where the service is often held, and was originally scheduled to be held this year, but the event was moved due to rain.

One quote was by Chief Seattle. It was: “Humankind has not woven the web of life.  We are but one thread within it.  Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.  All things are bound together.  All things connect.”

There were ten quotes in all.

The service was concluded with offering: an introduction to the offering given by Robin Kline, and a blessing given by Rev. Tyson, and more songs by the Des Moines Singing Resistance.

 There were many cosponsors:  forty-two in all.  Iowa Peace Network was one.  Many thanks to Des Moines Faith Committee for Peace for planning such a special service.