Glossop event to raise money for world peace

The event will be held on Sunday 24th March at Victoria Hall and will be raising money for the World Peace Flame charity.

World peace is something that many have campaigned for over the years and, amidst all of the wars and genocides taking place in the world at the moment, it is down to the people to come together and unify to create change.

This is exactly what Penny Wilson is aiming to achieve on the 24th March. Penny is a professional singing tutor and held a Sing for Peace event last year in the Catholic church. “I used to run regular harmony singing sessions in the Partington Theatre, but since the pandemic I’ve been leading intermittent one-off sessions on different themes”, Penny said.

The last Sing for Peace event was held in January 2023, and we spoke with Penny to find out more about how the initiatives came about:

“These events were initially inspired when the Ukraine war started, and I thought what I could offer was teaching songs of peace. That was back in 2022, and at the beginning of 2023 I was attending an eco-spirituality course in the Catholic church and the priest heard that I wanted to do a sing for peace event. The Catholic church celebrates Peace Sunday so what I wanted to do did actually happen in 2023. We raised one hundred pounds from that event for the charity Pax Christi.”

The 2023 event was entitled “Sing and Pray for Peace” and was held at St.Marys’ Hall, with 30 people singing their hearts out for the good cause.  Given the state of the world at the start of 2024, Penny felt that the time was right to hold another Sing for Peace event. “I thought that it would be appropriate to share other songs for events that are happening now. I managed to get availability for the Victoria Hall in Glossop and am thrilled that we can sing there for the first time. The songs will be easy to learn and taught by ear, so there’s no need to read music or be an experienced singer. The aim is to create harmony and peace in our hearts and send it out into the world.”

During a break from singing the songs, there will be a refreshment break, which, as well as tea, coffee and biscuits, will feature specially-made vegan PEACE SOUP and bread for those who would like it. The attendees are also able to bring their own light snacks but no alcohol is allowed at the event.

To enter, there will be a donation and the session will be raising funds for The World Peace Flame.

This is a charity which produces practical peace education packs for use in schools. Founded in 1999, when seven Peace Flames were flown from seven different continents to be united in Wales, it has a fascinating history. The living Peace Flames provide focal points around the world for people to come together and symbolically mark their desire for peace. It is not tied to any political party or religion, but wishes peace for all humanity and it starts with each individual person.

There will be a raffle during the evening to raise extra funds, and participants are welcome to bring along a raffle prize as well.

The doors for the event open at 5.15 p.m. and there will be a short, gentle physical and vocal warm-up to begin. Children are welcome, but under 12’s supervised please. There is an area of the former library with books and toys if they do not want to join in the singing.