International Peace Run passes through Pateros for first time

PATEROS – For the first time in its 31-year history, the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, an international torch relay, passed through Pateros and Brewster last Wednesday as part of its 11,000-mile U.S. tour. A small contingent of citizens including two former Pateros mayors, Megan Sherrard and Libby Harrison, and current mayor Carlene Anders were on hand to welcome the team of relay runners who are shepherding the torch along its route through Washington state.

The Peace Run was inspired by the late East Indian spiritual leader, philosopher, poet and musician Sri Chinmoy as an avenue to give citizens worldwide a way to express their hopes for a more harmonious planet.

Since the inaugural run in 1987 more than six million people have participated. World figures including Pope Francis, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Mikhail Gorbachev have commended the run and its goal.

For more than 30 years the Peace run has traversed more than 150 nations on six continents as a symbol of humanity’s universal aspiration for a more peaceful world.

An international Peace Run team representing seven different countries left New York last April and passed the torch along an 11,000-plus-mile route linking Mexico, Canada and the U.S. The runners will complete the four-month circuit back in New York in mid-August. Along the way the team meets with schools, youth organizations and citizens. A European team started its run in Bulgaria last February and will cover 16,000 miles before ending its run in Portugal in October.

Each runner covers two miles before being relieved by another member on the team. In this way the group covered seven miles from Twisp to Grand Coulee on State Route 173 on the day they paused at Pateros. During their stop at Pateros Memorial Park, the team leader, Arpan D’Angelo explained the Peace Run mission, spoke with residents who turned out to welcome the team, posed for photos, and passed the torch among those assembled.

An estimated 50,000 children in more than 1,000 cities and town across the North American route are expected in the Peace Run’s duration.

More information on the schedule and mission of the Peace run is available online at peacerun.org