Opening blessing ceremony for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence

Kia ora,

This is for anyone who wishes to participate in the opening blessing ceremony for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence*, which will take place at Kopinga marae, on Rekohu / Chatham Islands. There is a long history of commitment to peace and nonviolence on Rekohu, as demonstrated by the covenant of peace which Moriori have observed for more than 500 years, and which remains a beacon of hope today.

The opening ceremony will be part of a two day trip, hosted by the Hokotehi Moriori Trust, which will start with a charter flight from Auckland via Wellington to the Chathams on the morning of Tuesday, 29 September. On arrival at Kopinga, there will be a welcome and blessing ceremony followed by a hakaari (kai). There will be a dawn ceremony on Wednesday, 30 September, and later sight seeing for those who wish to explore; and the charter flight will return to Wellington then Auckland on the morning of Thursday, 1 October.

The cost will be $630 per person for the flight, plus accommodation at the Henga Lodge at $200 plus food, or the marae at $40 plus food; sight seeing costs will be additional. Information about the Hokotehi Trust and Kopinga marae is at http://www.moriori.co.nz with information about the Lodge at http://www.chatham-lodge.co.nz/

At the moment there are an extremely limited numbers of seats on the plane, but there is a possibility that some more may become available in the next couple of days and if there are sufficient numbers of people wanting to go, another plane may be chartered - so if you would like to be part of this trip, could you please reply to Peace Movement Aotearoa email pma@xtra.co.nz as soon as possible and let us know:

a) if you are definitely interested in going if a seat becomes available, or are just thinking about it; and

b) whether you would be travelling from Auckland or Wellington.

Everyone who replies will be put on a waiting list in the order that their reply is received; it would be most useful if you can reply on Thursday, 10 September at the latest. Thank you.

* Information about the World March for Peace and Nonviolence is at http://www.theworldmarch.org/ with the Aotearoa New Zealand section website at http://www.fusecreative.co.nz/worldmarch/index.html - associated events start in Whanganui on 20 September, see http://www.wanganui.com/activitieslbr-ga-events/events/wanganui-international-day-of-peace-celebration?6eea1a9fe9982ea59848074023d19e08=5be85223f5a3e652274de1591c6bd851 with events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.