"I think it recognizes peace in the world."

In a quiet ceremony at the Boy Scout Service Center on Postal Road in Hanover Dec. 14 local Boy Scouts received the Peace Light after it had made the flight from Bethlehem, Palestine via Austria. Cub Scout Pack 352 and Boy Scout Troop 352 from Notre Dame of Bethlehem Church conducted the 25th annual ceremony that included a Scout color guard and escort for the yellow flame that fluttered from a wick in red kerosene lantern carried by a Scout. The Boy Scouts who accepted lighted candles from the flaming wick of a kerosene camp lantern took the light back to share its message with their communities, families, schools and places of worship. According to information provided by the Minsi Trails Council, the Peace Light is from an oil lamp that has been burning for centuries in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. That flame was used to light an explosion proof minor’s lamp Nov. 2, and an Austrian Scout carried it to Austria aboard Austrian Airlines. Local Boy Scouts received the Peace Light as part of an annual program originated by Austrian scouting, Austrian Airlines and the Austrian Broadcast Corporation. Organizers held a flame transfer ceremony Nov. 29 at JFK International Airport’s Our Lady of the Skies Chapel. Volunteers from several countries will be distributing the Peace Light in the U. S., Canada, Mexico, and to countries in South America, according to information released by the local Boy Scout Council. The Scouts will share the Peace Light with military chaplains at Fort Hood, TX and Fort Bragg, NC “as a message to all who serve our country that we appreciate their service.” Retired New York firefighter and heroic first responder to the 911 terror attack Jim Sorenson brought the Peace Light from JFK to Bethlehem, PA. His grandson Steven Schneible, a member of Boy Scout Troop 352, and his daughter, Cathy Schneible attended the ceremony. Boy Scout Saleh Abdussalan, 9 of Lehigh Valley Academy and his mother Yasmin Abdussalan were among the several Scouts and parents in the small audience. “I think it recognizes peace in the world,” said Cub Scout William Wyckoff from Easton Area Middle School.