Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Silence and prayers on Whanganui Day of Peace

Laurel Stowell
By Laurel Stowell
Reporter·Whanganui Chronicle·
23 Sep, 2018 04:00 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

International Day of Peace,the annual gathering at Handspan sculpture at Queens Park. Video Stuart Munro

A respect for human rights is the very foundation of peace, Jeremy Simons says.

He gave a talk at Whanganui's Quaker Settlement on Friday evening, the International Day of Peace. At noon he was with seven others for the annual minute's silence observed at the Handspan monument in Whanganui's Queen's Park.

After the silence there were prayers. He asked God to help those in the group "be people of peace in our very ordinary and everyday lives".

Simons is working toward a PhD at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies in Dunedin. He planned to focus on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in his talk.

The 30 rights were adopted in 1948, in a reaction to the horrors of World War II. The right to peace is one of them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We can expand our concept of peace - to not just the absence of war but to the presence of social justice. The ancient definition for [the Hebrew word] shalom is everything being the way it should be. It's harmony, and right relationships between people and the environment," Simons said.

The rights don't have to be enforced by rules, he said. Communities can uphold them regardless of the law.

"The idea is that they will lead to, or bring about, peaceful relationships."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Activist Deirdra McMenamin said the peace focus will continue for the next few weeks, leading up to a Peace Carnival that starts in Palmerston North on October 26.

Between now and then a group of trained artists, educators and therapists will be available to work with schools on peace-related activities such as songwriting or a sustainability game.

Any school that wants to host these free sessions can email Peace Action Women for Sustainability on paws@gmail.com.

Women's Refuge is also collecting a basket of shoes worn by people who have experienced conflict of any sort. The aim of the project is to provide a "silent witness".

Discover more

Celebrating women's suffrage at Sarjeant

22 Sep 09:00 PM

Drum master to return to Whanganui this month

22 Sep 07:00 PM
Environment

Man of principle remembered

20 Sep 11:47 PM

Government looking to invest more in region

24 Sep 12:00 AM

Shoes and the stories people want to share can be left at the pop-up Charity Chest shop benefiting Women's Refuge. It's in the former Shanton building in Victoria Ave.

The shoes will be for future display, then donation.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found

Whanganui Chronicle

End of the line for former St George's School buildings

Whanganui Chronicle

Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found
Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found

Kahu Gill's body was recovered near the Cobham Bridge on July 14.

16 Jul 08:34 PM
End of the line for former St George's School buildings
Whanganui Chronicle

End of the line for former St George's School buildings

16 Jul 06:00 PM
Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash
Whanganui Chronicle

Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash

16 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP