UNA- Canterbury – UN PEACE SERVICE AT THE CATHEDRAL
The UNA Canterbury has been organising the UN Service for Peace for 36 years, and it is widely felt that this Year has been the most successful and profound in recent memory. It also had the biggest Congregation to date which bodes well for the future. The theme was ‘Reverse Global Warming to Prevent More Wars,’ and the Lord Mayor, Councillors and Steve Cutts, (Former assistant Secretary General at the UN), were in attendance.
Proceedings began with a superb speech from David Wardrop (Chairman of Westminster), on the UN, followed by rousing songs from the Canterbury Gospel Choir, and the keynote speaker was Dr Carl Wright, who brilliantly summarised Global Warming and the current consequences. This was followed by some beautiful singing from the (Assistant Organist) Adrian Bawtree’s choir: Canterbury Singers, which included words from the Preamble, and the Soloist was Victoria Rowcroft.
Undoubtedly the ‘Star’ of the occasion was a 13yr. old boy: Pascal Sleigh, whose speech is attached, with very well delivered dire warnings to us all. Then the Congregation stood to repeat the Preamble and gave generously in the collection for the Youth UNA dealing with Global Warming Issues. Please viewPascal's speech at https://vimeo.com/367582032/c54a093dfa.
My Deep thanks must go the Team that makes this possible, especially the Co-Ordinator, Valeria Minisini. And great thanks to Neville & Jane Grant for always coming down to the Service, and particularly to LaSER for their Support, without which, we could not continue with this very important event in the annual calendar of the UNA.
We do intend to push the boat out next year on the 75th Anniversary, and our theme will be Multi Cultural and to be more diverse and inclusive to encourage a younger audience. So far, our potential line up is a Rap band that will rap the Preamble, a Kurdish poet, Gurkha singer, a speaker for Greenpeace, teenagers doing a drama on war refugees, etc.,
We will need more funding and we are campaigning now.
From the Director: Nigel Gregory. UNA - Canterbury