Brethren attend anniversary commemorations in Hiroshima.

Garlands of folded paper cranes were everywhere at the Peace Park in Hiroshima, Japan, as people from around the world converged there for the ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 1945.

There were also cranes for another event in Hiroshima--a 40th anniversary celebration of the World Friendship Center (WFC). The decorations for that event included more than 1,200 cranes folded a month earlier by children and adults attending the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Peoria, Ill.

The Brethren have been connected to the WFC through a steady supply of volunteer directors serving through Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS). Brethren also have been heavily involved in the American Committee of the WFC, currently chaired by Mary Ann Albert of Warsaw, Ind.

"The World Friendship Center has survived 40 years," said WFC board member Michiko Yamane, who emceed the welcome gathering on Aug. 5. "It's a miracle. Maybe it is God's plan."

Greetings from the Church of the Brethren were brought by BVS director Dan McFadden, who presented a resolution from the General Board: "On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima, the Church of the Brethren General Board commends the center for its tireless efforts to work for peace, share stories about the personal suffering caused by nuclear weapons, and build friendships across borders. We in the Church of the Brethren recall our many years of partnership with the center, particularly through Brethren Volunteer Service. We celebrate the profound, interfaith witness of the center that has been born from the ashes of Hiroshima. We honor the past and express hope for the future by reaffirming, with you, our commitment to creating a world free from both nuclear weapons and war."

McFadden also presented a gift from the General Board, a new wall map to replace a fading one that is used to identify the homes of the many international visitors who pass through the center. As a companion gift, the American Committee contributed funds for mounting and framing the map.

Guests at the several-day event included a number of former WFC directors: Mary Ann Albert, Joel and Bev Eikenberry, David and Evie Bertsche, Liz Bauer, and Ed Dougherty and Beth Bentley. Current directors are Don and Pauline Hess of Massanutten, Va., who began a two-year BVS term in May. While many directors have served through BVS, staff also have come from the Mennonite and Quaker traditions.

Those participating in the WFC anniversary attended the city's 60th anniversary commemoration and traditional lantern-floating on the river, heard the stories of survivors of the bomb, visited the Peace Museum, and toured sites significant to the history of the center.

The World Friendship Center was founded in 1964 by Barbara Reynolds, a Quaker woman from the US, and Tomin Harada, a physician in Hiroshima.

Source: 08/31/2005 Newsline
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