International peace light arrives in Exeter

The International peace light, lit from the eternal flame at the nativity grotto in Bethlehem, will arrive at Exeter Cathedral next Monday (23 December).

It will be received by Canon Ian Morter at the lunchtime carol service at 1pm after travelling from Newton Abbot on the  Devon stretch of its journey.

The  Peace Light, direct from Christ’s Grotto, will be bringing its annual glow of Christmas magic to communities all round the UK and the rest of the world.

All of this is organised by Scouts in over fifty countries and is now in its 27th year of bringing the light of Peace across the globe.

Each year, a child from Upper Austria kindles a flame from the "Eternal Flame" from the Nativity Grotto in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.

The light is then flown to Austria from where it is distributed at a Service of Dedication to delegations from across Europe who take it back, with a message of Peace, to their own countries for use at ecumenical services throughout the Continent.

Scouts and Guides can then take the light on to other churches, hospitals, old people homes, prisons, and places of public, cultural and political importance - to anybody that appreciates the significance of the "gift".

In past years the light has been presented to Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, Mikhail Gorbatshow, the former King Hussain of Jordan, EU President Romano Prodi and other member of the European parliament in Strazbourg, the UN Troops in Kosovo and to Ground Zero, New York.

World Scouting’s Messengers of Peace Initiative, launched by the World Scout Committee in 2011, aims to inspire the millions of Scouts who are doing amazing things in their local communities to tell the world about it, and thus inspire other Scouts to do even more.

Any Scout project that brings a positive change in a community - its health, environment, social circumstances, safety or addresses conflict – is a Messengers of Peace project