Peace Light shines on Bedford after traveling from Israel

Friday, December 16, 2011

Submitted photo
Organizers and youth representatives at the Peace Light Ceremony of Reception at JFK Airport Nov. 29, including Bedford pack 114's Joshua Osgood (third from left behind podium).

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Submitted photo
Organizers and youth representatives at the Peace Light Ceremony of Reception at JFK Airport Nov. 29, including Bedford pack 114's Joshua Osgood (third from left behind podium).

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Submitted photo
The two blast-proof miner's lamps used to transport the Peace Light flame from the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Israel, to Vienna, Austria, and then on to New York City.

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New Hampshire's Peace Light coordinator, Gretchen Osgood, receives the Peace Light flame at the Ceremony of Reception held in the Our Lady of the Skies Catholic chapel at JFK Airport Nov. 29.

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Submitted photo
Webelos Scout Joshua Osgood carefully stores the lantern containing the Peace Light flame in the transportation container he and his father constructed.

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Gretchen Osgood prepares the Peace Light for the long car ride back to Bedford, New Hampshire. Others present at the ceremony traveled from as far away as Virginia and Minnesota to receive the Peace Light at JFK Airport.

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Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Bedford Peace Light coordinator Gretchen Osgood shows the Peace Light she carries in a homemade case to keep the flame from burning out. The Boy Scout leader says this could be the first time the flame has officially traveled to New Hampshire.

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Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Bedford Peace Light coordinator Gretchen Osgood shows the Peace Light she carries in a homemade case to keep the flame from burning out. The Boy Scout leader says this could be the first time the flame has officially traveled to New Hampshire.

Enlarge Purchase Photo

Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Bedford Peace Light coordinator Gretchen Osgood shows the Peace Light she carries in a homemade case to keep the flame from burning out. The Boy Scout leader says this could be the first time the flame has officially traveled to New Hampshire.

Enlarge Purchase Photo

Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Peace light in it's homemade storage container.

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Submitted photo
Organizers and youth representatives at the Peace Light Ceremony of Reception at JFK Airport Nov. 29, including Bedford pack 114's Joshua Osgood (third from left behind podium).

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IF YOU GO

Distribution of the Peace Light from Bethlehem

WHEN: 1-4 p.m., Dec. 17

WHERE: Bedford Presbyterian Church, 4 Church Road, Bedford

MORE INFORMATION: Visit peacelight.org

For more than a thousand years, lamps have burned continuously in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Israel, said to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Thanks to the efforts of Bedford resident and Pack 114 Webelos den leader Gretchen Osgood, that same flame, known as the Peace Light from Bethlehem, is coming to Bedford for the first time.

Each year, a child from Upper Austria visits the grotto and lights a lantern from one of the lamps. The flame is transferred to two blast-proof miners lamps and flown back to Austria, where it’s distributed to representatives throughout Europe to bring back to their communities before being flown to New York City for distribution throughout North America.

This year, as an official Peace Light coordinator, Osgood was in New York City to receive it.

Osgood was familiar with the Peace Light through her own experience of living in Germany for 12 years as well as through her husband, who is a German Scout. Scout and Guide associations of a variety of nationalities assist in coordinating the distribution of the Peace Light.

“My husband still subscribes to his German Scouting magazine,” Osgood said, “and this fall I was looking through some back issues and noticed an article on the Peace Light, which mentioned that the flame reaches 23 European countries ,as well as Canada and the U.S.”

Thrilled to discover the Peace Light was available in North America, she signed up to be the official Peace Light coordinator for the Daniel Webster Council, which encompasses most of the state. It will be distributed to any and all who are interested Saturday, Dec. 17, from 1-4 p.m. at the Bedford Presbyterian Church at 4 Church Road in Bedford.

Safely transporting the Peace Light from New York City all the way back to Bedford required significant preparation. Osgood started with an oil lantern that burns without needing “any sort of an adjustment for well over 12 hours at a time.”

Next, “my husband constructed a special Peace Light transportation container for me out of a small metal utility can,” Osgood said. “He cut rings out of a five-inch stovepipe and fastened them to the inside of the can to hold the lantern securely in the center in an upright position and he cut holes into the sides of the can and the lid for ventilation.”

“It worked perfectly,” she said, “and I stopped worrying about the lantern a mere few hundred miles into the trip.”

Even now, Osgood isn’t taking any chances. “I have two lanterns which I use to keep the Peace Light flame constantly burning in my home. I let one burn for 12 hours and then I transfer the flame to the other lantern, extinguish the first and refill the oil for the next 12-hour shift,” she said. “I have also relit two pilot lights at church with the Peace Light flame – just in case.”

For those who plan to come to Bedford to receive the Peace Light, Osgood suggests obtaining a lantern or enclosed candle and following the directions at peacelight.org to construct an appropriate carrier.

As with any other flame, the Peace Light should only be handled by adults while it’s being transported. “Although they will certainly offer, children should never be allowed to hold the candle or lantern or even the lantern carrier in the car,” Osgood said.

In addition to the respect naturally commanded by fire, the thousand-year-old flame of the Peace Light inspires its own unique reverence.

“For me personally, having the Peace Light burning in my own home is a visual reminder of God’s presence in my life and what it really means to prepare my house and heart for the coming of Christmas,” Osgood said.

“However, as wonderful as it is to ‘possess’ this flame, the act of sharing it with others and seeing the comfort and joy this light can bring them has made the Peace Light even more meaningful to me.”

Each person who accepts the flame recites the Peace Light challenge: “We gladly receive this light as a sign of our willingness to be channels of peace, by our words and actions.” The challenge is lived out symbolically as well as concretely as recipients in turn carry the light to nursing homes, soup kitchens and other locations within their communities.

Peace, like many other virtues, has its foundations in the home. “My family has a small Advent wreath with four candles, one for each Sunday in Advent, which we light at meal times using the Peace Light flame,” Osgood said. “The candles represent hope, peace, joy and love.

“I brought the Peace Light flame up to New Hampshire on Nov. 30, which meant that it arrived in time to light the candle of peace on our Advent wreath on Sunday, Dec. 4.”

Teresa Santoski can be reached at 594-6466 or tsantoski@nashuatelegraph.com.