Like a fist, Tigers football players unite as a family, coming together to win the game. In the Black River Falls School District Tigers come together to make it a better place. Seniors Kjell Bakken, Chaz Churchill and junior Mary Onstad came together to strengthen the Tiger Nation and unify with the community through the Peace Pole Project.
A Peace Pole is a six-sided pole that proclaims “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in six different languages. They can be found all over the world.
“As a Peer Ministry Team, our hopes for the Peace Pole Project are, not only that the pole brings us Tigers together with the community, but that the six languages engraved on the pole links us together with people all around the world,” said Onstad.
Over 10,000 Peace Poles can be found in 180 countries all over the world dedicated as monuments to peace. They serve as a visual and constant reminder of prayer for world peace. The idea for the making of a peace pole in the Black River Falls community came about at one of the monthly meetings between the 2013-2014 Peer Ministry Team of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Pastor Eric Bakken. At the Team meeting they considered ways for the congregation to build bridges and engage in a positive and healthy manner between the Evangelical Lutheran congregation and the local school and community.
“My personal hopes for the peace pole is that it can, first, be a cross-cultural gathering place that will create a greater awareness of the need for people to learn about one another, and secondly, foster a stronger sense of tolerance and respect for the wonderful diversity found in our community and world. This monument will help strengthen and unify the members of the school, and community, but also the wider community,” said Pastor. Bakken.
The Peace Pole Project was taken by Barnett to both Principal Tom Chambers and the Student Senate. Chambers approved of the project and the Senate vote was unanimous.
“We, the Senate, wanted to build the Peace Pole for our peers and community members. With this Peace Pole we are confident that the community will cherish and unify around the pole,” said Barnett.
The fundraising for the Peace Pole Project begins in May. Donors are only allowed to give one dollar toward the Pole and in turn will receive a wristband with the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth Peace Pole 2014” on them. Money can be collected by any of the Peer Ministers or brought to the main office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
“We want one dollar donations per person to show that if everyone donates just a little we can make a big difference. It is more meaningful if everyone pitches in than a few people donating the money for the monument. A dollar per person gets everyone involved and the wristbands will illustrate everyone’s support toward the Peace Pole Project because bringing everyone together is what our mission for this project and as Peer Ministers is what it’s all about,” said Churchill.
