Lord Bates, champion of the Olympic Truce, writes about our gathering on Friday on Lords of the Blog.

“At lunchtime today I attended a short and moving service in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster where representatives from many faith groups were brought together under the auspices of London Peace Network to mark the International Day of Peace.  

In turn we simply shared our united desire for peace not in a superficial way which denied our own sincerely held religious convictions and traditions but through drawing on our our traditions we found the common elements of peace and forgiveness to share with each other.

I was particularly impressed by the representatives of  London’s Islamic centres and mosques who the media might lead us to believe stirring up riots against the latest provocative anti-Islamic video and burning flags, but they were instead embracing the UN International Day of Peace by inviting those from all faiths and none to join them at Friday Prayers (Salaatul-Jumu’a) for prayers for peace, to exchange messages of peace, to celebrate local peace building efforts and to enjoy hospitality and friendship with one another.”

The London Peace Network is delighted that Lord Bates, who promoted the Olympic Truce by walking 3,000 miles from Olympia – through the Balkans and many other historic battlefields – to London, joined us on the International Day of Peace.  Read the full text of his blog here.