From the Community of the Canberra Anzac Eve Peace Vigil, 2013:
We send greetings and a heartfelt invitation to you, and/or to all members of your group, to join us in ceremony and song at the third lantern-lit Canberra Anzac Eve Peace Vigil, from dusk on Wednesday, April 24.
With each successive Vigil on the eve of Anzac Day, our contemplation of the sufferings in Australia’s war involvements is deepening, with particular recognition and sorrow for the ongoing trauma to Aboriginal peoples in the wake of Australia’s Frontier Wars; and an encompassing compassion for dispossessions, exiles, and emotional injuries associated with conflicts and their refugees throughout the world today.
This year, a ceremonial focus is the kindling of the Peace Fire at the Aboriginal Memorial, embers of which will light the lanterns and Welcome to Country ceremony at the top of Mt. Ainslie, light the community gathering and smoking ceremony at Remembrance Park, and light the walkers’ way to the all-night Peace Vigil at the end of Anzac Parade.
As we walk, sing, share poetry and stories, and make ceremony together, we remember that almost everyone in Australia has a family story of trauma and loss through war and, for many, dispossession. The Peace Fire gives expression of light and blessing upon our hopes for a safe, united and happy future, for our children and all our descendants.