By Harley Meadows
Designer: HWPL Design Team
On September 5th, 2024, over 100 Stockon and California residents gathered for a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light’s (HWPL) first-ever peace monument establishment in the United States.
Stockton – a city once plagued by violent crime – has been undergoing a transformation. Recent violence prevention projects have shown promising results in the decrease of crime and violence. Together, the Downtown Stockton Alliance and HWPL established a peace monument to advocate for a world filled with peace, unity, and harmony.
The non-profit peace organization Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), established on May 25, 2013, by chairman Man-Hee Lee, is rooted in promoting religious tolerance worldwide, mutual respect and love, and cessation of war. Although this new organization is only eleven years old, HWPL has already administered 32 global peace missions and has partnered with over 400 different organizations worldwide in signing MOUs.
A dove (symbolizing the desire for peace) soars over the world, symbolizing a beacon of hope for future generations of a community united in love and mutual respect.
The event featured many guests including Harry Black, Stockton City Manager, who spoke on behalf of the City:
“This monument holds great significance for our city,” Black explained during the event. “Not only because it marks a new chapter of peacebuilding, but also because it reflects Stockton’s devotion and unity which is reflected here in the audience today.”
Mike Huber, Executive Director of the Downtown Stockton Alliance, and Sandy Huber, Director of the World Peace Rose Gardens, also expressed their support for this work of peace. Justin Nailes, a marine veteran and HWPL volunteer, said, “I’ve seen many other young lives sacrificed because of war and violence. Today the need for peace is clearer to me than ever before, and I believe this monument will remind us all of that.”
Ericiliana Franco, a 5th grader who won the 8th Annual Inspirational Message of Peace Contest, shared her poem, Peace Around the World, during the event:
May the world have peace,
May the world have love,
And make me fearless with help from above.
And I ask again for peace on earth.
Once more, more than once each day.
Thanks to the Downtown Stockton Alliance, HWPL has taken a monumental step towards our shared purpose – to create a city and a world free of war and united in love, peace, and prosperity.
In the words of Man Hee Lee, Chairman of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL): “Love can unite people in purpose, culture, and peace. Ultimately, it has the power to unite the whole world.”