Iowa Religious Media Services, in partnership with the Mid-Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America, will once again host the Bethlehem Peace Light during this Advent season. For over a thousand years, lamps have been continuously lit in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and now the same flame can shine in your sanctuary too. Since 1989, Boy Scouts from Austria have facilitated the distribution of the Bethlehem Peace Light from the Grotto of the Nativity in the small town of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Lighting their lamps from that flame, the Scouts then distribute the Light across Europe and North America.
Church representatives are invited to bring a lantern or oil lamp to IRMS beginning Monday, December 7, when the Light will arrive at IRMS, through Wednesday, December 23, between the hours of 9:30 AM and 4:30 PM, or by special appointment on December 24, to light from the Bethlehem Peace Light flame. This is a great activity for youth groups or confirmation classes to do together. As the continuous flame of the Bethlehem Peace Light is carried back to your churches, we encourage you to pass the Light of the nativity to your families and neighbors as well.
If you have any questions about the Bethlehem Peace Light, an appropriate vessel or any other details, contact the Central Iowa Peace Light Coordinator, Alan Strohmaier at alan.strohmaier@gmail.com. For more information on the Bethlehem Peace Light, go to www.peacelight.org.
Tracey Stark, Library Manager
Iowa Religious Media Services