The International Peace Light

The Peace Light from Bethlehem campaign was originally part of a large charitable relief mission, Light into Darkness, for children in need in Austria and abroad. Since 1986 there has been a great deal of co-operation between Scouts and Guides in many countries which has allowed the light to travel throughout 23 European countries and onto America. Each year, a child from Upper Austria fetches the light from the grotto in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The light is then flown to Austria and distributed at a service of dedication to delegations from across Europe who take it back, with a message of peace, to their own countries. Scouts and Guides can then take the light on to other churches, hospitals, old peoples' homes, prisons and places of cultural and political importance - to anybody that appreciates the significance of the 'gift'. This year the light came to the UK from Vienna, via Paris and St. Omer. From Dover different groups took the light out across the North-East and North-West of the British Isles, including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The delegation in the South delivered the light on its way to Surrey, Swindon, Wiltshire, Exeter, Brixham, Plymouth, Truro and Torbay.
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