BY RYAN BRISCOE
Copy Editor
Students will spend the night sleeping in cardboard boxes as one of many events taking place at Saint Mary’s Univiersity’s celebration of the International Lasallian Days of Peace.
Tonight, students will gather to listen to the music of folk singer/songwriter Carlos Lumbí. Lumbí is a native of Nicaragua, and his lyrics campaign against the social and environmental injustices in South America. Lumbí also performs music composed by his friends who share his concerns. Following the concert, students can join in the Habitat for Humanity Shack-a-thon.
Participants in the Shack-a-thon will spend the night in the plaza sleeping in cardboard boxes. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of homelessness. The week will conclude with Make a Difference Day tomorrow. Participants will spend the day serving the Winona community by doing jobs such as raking leaves, washing windows and cleaning gutters. Make a Difference Day focuses on simple jobs, which allows neighbors to help neighbors.
The Lasallian Week of Peace, which began Oct. 19 here at SMU, is a week centered in activities including prayer, service and presentations, all of which will engage members of our Lasallian community. These events aim to promote awareness of a myriad of social injustices seen as the roots of current causes of violence in the world.
According to the International Council of Young Lasallians (ICYL) website, the Lasallian Week of Peace is a product of the International Symposium for Young Lasallians, held in 2006. The participants in the symposium thought that a unified movement of Lasallian communities across the globe could be a powerful demonstration of the special way that Lasallians are concerned for peace. The first International Lasallian Day of Prayer for Peace was then set for October 2007.
The ILDP website says that the movement has since grown internationally to encompass an entire month, beginning with the United Nations day of peace (Sept. 21) and culminating in an evening of prayer on Oct. 21. At SMU, this event was a vigil service held around the peace pole located outside of Saint Thomas More Chapel. Brother Álvaro, the Superior General of the Christian Brothers, has asked young Lasallians to answer the call to action through the ILDP. His message this year to the ICYL reminded Lasallians that we are a people of action and not only a people of prayer. As one Lasallian says, “As Lasallians, we believe a better world of justice and peace is possible. Our mission is to make it happen, one person at a time.”
The Common Threads clothing drive and Make a Difference Day are among SMU’s efforts to help change society, beginning with action in the Winona community.
No comments:
Post a Comment