Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus, Indiana, is hosting a Silent Peace Walk in downtown Columbus at 4 p.m. Friday.
The walk will begin and end at the Veterans Memorial at the Bartholomew County Courthouse, with participants walking about a half mile down Washington Street downtown and then back to the courthouse.
Organizers said the entire walk will be conducted in silence, with no signs, banners or chants.
Participants are asked to wear white armbands to symbolize peace and are invited to carry flowers.
Children and pets are welcome to attend if they are of age and ability to remain silent during the walk, organizers said. People of all faiths, traditions, backgrounds and orientation are invited to be a part of the event.
Participants are encouraged to arrive a bit early as the walk will begin promptly at 4 p.m. There will be a short introduction before the walk begins at about 3:50 p.m.
Organizers said should participants encounter any negative communication from passersby, participants are asked to not respond or engage, but simply remain silent and continue walking.
The walk is planned in solidarity with the monks from the Huong Dao Buddhist Temple in Fort Worth, Texas, who are currently walking from their Texas monastery to Washington D.C.
The monks began their walk on Oct. 26, and are scheduled to complete the journey in mid-February, where they plan to ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday, according to the Associated Press.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we meet will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trip barefoot, the Associated Press reported. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every community where the monks stop.
Pannakara has told the crowds who gather that the monks are not trying to convert people to Buddhism, the Associated Press reported.
“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” said Brooke Schedneck, Rhodes College professor of religion in Memphis, Tennessee. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible,” she told the Associated Press.
