New Year's Eve Interfaith Peace Vigil 2004 - 2019

Sangha Shantivanam hosted the first New Year’s Eve Interfaith Vigil for Peace in 2004. Since it occurred just five days after the horrendous tsunami in Southeast Asia, donations were requested for the rescue efforts there. There was a generous response then, just as there has been every year since for both global and local causes.

We have learned that people look forward to celebrating the end of a year and the beginning of the next in a quiet, contemplative way. The silence, prayers, songs and chants, movement - especially walking the labyrinth, the soft glow of candles, and the beauty of an interfaith community sharing traditions and rituals is not only a sign of peace but a sign of how the world can be transformed.