Coins tell us a story. They tell us about the prosperity and sophistication of a nation by the quality of the minting and the metals used. But much more than that, they provide us with insight into what the people of the nation value, their ideals, their history, and their culture. One could argue that through coinage we can begin to understand a nation whose citizens we have never met. My interest in collecting coins started in my youth when I collected pennies and nickels to try to fill each of the precut holes in the blue cardboard coin album. For the past 20-25 years, my interest has focused on foreign coins of small denominations in circulated condition. Not the typical numismatic collection, but one that I was interested in because I enjoyed thinking about the people who might have used these coins in their daily lives.
In January of 2005 I met Wendy Black-Nasta through a mutual friend, Lynn Keller. In the normal course of conversation, Wendy mentioned The International Peace Belt to me and needless to say, I was captivated by the idea. She happened to have The International Peace Belt in her studio that day and she showed it to me. The symbolism of this belt was so clear, people from around the world joined together, side by side, living in harmony, in peace. But The International Peace Belt took on a new dimension for me, when I recognized that one of the more prominent pieces was a coin from the Vatican. On the front of the coin was the bust of Pope John Paul and on the reverse was an image of the Pieta, the marble statue of Michelangelo, in which Mary is holding the dead body of Jesus following his crucifixion. To the Christian and non-Christian alike, this image elicits strong emotion from the observer.
I had started reading a book entitled,”The Power of Intention” by Wayne Dyer in the fall of 2004. That book compelled me to read about Mother Teresa and to listen to, Skye Dyer, his daughter, sing The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. You might also know it form its first verse, Make Me a Channel of Your Peace.
1. Make me a channel of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me bring you love,
Where there is injury, your healing power,
And where there’s doubt, true faith in you.
2. Make me a channel of your peace,
Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope,
Where there is darkness, – only light,
And where there’s sadness, ever joy.
3. O Spirit, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love with all my soul.
4. Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
In giving to all that we receive,
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
As it turned out, that experience was preparing me for what I was to happen over the next few months.
In March of 2005 when Wendy asked me if I would like to take the Peace Belt to Barbados, I initially was reluctant because of the responsibility of being a care taker of the belt and the uncertainties of how it would be received. But after thinking briefly about my experiences in Barbados, I knew immediately where I wanted to take it. The first spot would be to a performance of the gospel music group called, La Joie (The Joy) who performs on selected Sunday mornings at a resort called The Crane in St. Philip. I had heard the group previously and had a copy of one of their CDs. I contacted their director, Andrew Yearwood, by email and explained the purpose of the Peace Belt and asked him if he thought La Joie might be interested in performing with it. In less than a week, I had the answer. Yes, this sounded like a project that they would like to participate in.
On April 2nd, Pope John Paul II died. Over the next two weeks, the world paid special tribute to this wonderful man and highlighted his many contributions. We left for Barbados on April 9th, and I remember thinking what a unique opportunity I had to be the caretaker for the Peace Belt when so much attention was being focused on religion around the world.
My wife, Traci, and I were in Barbados with our youngest daughter Brittney, along with Traci’s parents, Ron and Jan Dalton, and two sets of cousins Lynn and Chuck Reppas from Seattle, WA, and Pam and Tim Bailey from Helena, Montana. On April 10th, Sunday morning, Ron and I went to the Sunday brunch at The Crane where La Joie would be performing that day.
There were 50 to 60 people at the brunch that morning. Andrew arrived just before 10 am, and we spoke briefly about the belt and he mentioned that he would wear it halfway through the performance. With the video camera in hand, I waited patiently.
Without saying a word, Andrew who was playing the keyboard, had someone else in the group secure the belt around his waist and then he came out from behind the group. All eyes were on him at that time, everyone wondering what he was wearing. He had a wonderful smile on his face and he called me by name and asked me to say a few words about the belt, which I did. I recounted the various locations that the belt had been and emphasized that it was about peace. I made a special point to make note of the fact that there was a coin from the Vatican on the belt. I also extended an offer to everyone in the audience to come up after the performance and look at the belt and touch the coins. I also mentioned that if anyone wanted to wear the belt, that they think of peace.
I had never spoken about peace before and I never realized how easy it is to talk about peace. People want to listen to it. They know intuitively that it is the right thing to do.
As Andrew led La Joie in 4 or 5 more songs, I knew that bringing the belt to this group first in Barbados was definitely the right thing to do. After the performance was over several members of La Joie, and the audience came up an inspected the belt. During the performance one woman, Rochanne, seemed to be particularly enjoying the music and interested in the belt, and I asked her if she would be interested in wearing the belt. She hesitated initially and then agreed. She was in Barbados with her extended family, all of whom were from Ireland, to attend a family wedding. As her relatives starting looking at the belt, one asked, “Is there a coin with JFK on it?’ I said no, but certainly understood why the question had been asked. A few minutes later the entire family was out on the balcony which overlooks beautiful Crane Beach posing for a family picture with the patriarch now proudly wearing the belt.
The following Sunday, Lynn and Chuck accompanied me to St. John’s Parish Church. This Anglican Church sits high on a cliff on the eastern side of Barbados overlooking the area known as Bathsehba with a panoramic view of the coastline. While this solidly built Gothic style church dates back to 1830’s, previous churches located on this site from as early as the 1600’s had been destroyed by hurricanes and fire.
Carrying the Peace Belt in its pouch, I approached the Rev. Canon Dr. Geoffrey Mayers outside the church between the first and second mass of the day and recounted an experience that I had had at that church two years ago. My friend, Ed Custer, a recently retired American Airlines pilot, and I attended Easter mass there two years ago. We unfortunately arrived to the mass late and found the church completely full. Realizing that we had no program, a member of the congregation gave us their program and they went without one, another member gave us their hymnal and they had to share with someone else and finally someone else offered us their seats. To be a recipient of three separate acts of kindness from three individuals in a matter of a few minutes is truly a memorable experience. I told Canon Mayers that I have never forgotten that day and wanted to repay the kindness by bringing the belt to the congregation. I asked him if perhaps I could show it to congregation after mass the following Sunday. He responded, “No, I want you to show it today”.
In the middle of the mass, Canon Mayers called me to the front of the church and I recounted my story of that Easter morning two years ago and why I had wanted to bring the International Peace Belt to St. John’s Parish Church. I gave a short history of the belt and its mission to help people focus on peace. I invited everyone to look at the belt after the mass, and if they wanted to wear the belt as well.
The mass continued and one of the hymns later in the mass was Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. My eyes moistened as I heard the words. No one at St. John’s knew that I would be bringing the International Peace Belt that Sunday. Yet, there was the song that I had listened to daily for the past few months. The hymn was just a normal part of their mass. The concluding prayer, (shown below in the photos), was also about peace. After the mass was over, several members of the congregation were interested in looking at the belt and wearing the belt. Thanks to my cousin, Lynn Reppas, many of these moments were captured on film.
I returned to St. John’s the following Sunday, the day of our departure, to attend mass one more time. About half way into the mass, the following hymn was sung,
Let There Be Peace on Earth.
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father, brothers all are we,
Let me walk with my brother, in perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now.
With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow,
To take each moment and live each moment,
In peace, eternally.
Let there be Peace on Earth,
And let it begin with me.
Words and Music by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller, Circa 1955.
The people of Barbados are a loving and caring people. There should be no question as to why the International Peace Belt was so well received by the members of St. John’s Parish Church. For them to think about peace and to act on peace is as natural as the sun rising in the morning.
Doug Dischino
