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On April 23, 2005, a Saturday afternoon with intermittent drenching rain, about 40 peace pilgrims
from Australia, Japan, Austria, and across the U.S. arrived in Allentown for supper at First Mennonite Church.
The "Stop the Bombs Interfaith Pilgrimage" commemorating the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki began with a March 12th vigil at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, and 780 miles later arrived in New York for a May 1st rally. The following day folks from all over the world walked to the United Nations headquarters for the start of the review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The walkers were easy to spot, with colorful banners flying and the monks drumming and chanting their Japanese Buddhist mantra. Along the way they stayed in churches and city halls, and were usually warmly greeted by many friendly folks. Local communities provided supper at most stops, and passersby often brought bottled water, chocolate, and other gifts as they passed through cities, villages and farmland. The peace walk was a collaborative effort of a number of groups, including Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, FootPrints for Peace, the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist order, the Interfaith Peace Pilgrimage, and the Mayors for Peace Campaign (representing 611 member cities in 109 countries and regions.)
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