Let the Peace Light shine

A local Boy Scout troop is offering Twin Citians a rare gift this Christmas season: The chance to share a worldwide symbol of peace.

Leaders of Troop 113 in Bayport will drive to New York next week to receive this symbol, dubbed the International Peace Light flame. Then, they'll return to Bayport, carrying special lanterns lit from the original flame, which is carried around the world by scouts.

Already it is being distributed around Europe, transported by many oil and candle lamps.

The Peace Light flame will be on display in the Twin Cities for four hours on Dec. 14 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and available for others to ignite their own lanterns to warm their homes throughout the holidays. Bethlehem Lutheran Church is the charter organization for Troop 113.

"Really it's an awareness thing," said Roger Knuteson, one of the leaders from the Bayport troop.

For 20 years, the Peace Light has been distributed across continents at Christmastime to spread the message of peace.

It starts in the grotto manger in Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and continues to Vienna, where it then travels throughout Europe.

Knuteson and Joe Reding, another leader from Troop 113, plan to receive the Peace Light flame at JFK International Airport on Dec. 10.

Knuteson said their interest in the project was sparked last summer, when the scouts attended an international jamboree, or gathering, in Iceland. There was a tent, set up to serve as a kind of chapel, he explained.

Inside, he spotted some unusual metal containers and asked about them. The chaplain told him they were used to distribute the Peace Light flame, and then explained the whole tradition.

"I was a little bit jealous that Europe was doing this and we weren't," Knuteson said. "I thought if they can do it, we can, too."

When he returned to Minnesota, he surfed the Internet for more information and discovered that a Boy Scout troop in New York has been receiving the Peace Light and distributing it there for the past few years.

He and Reding plan to stop in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Chicago, Madison, Wis., and St. Paul on their way back to Bayport, sharing the Peace Light flame with others.

Transporting the precious cargo by car without extinguishing the flame is tricky business, but the Bayport scouts, true to their motto, are prepared.

They've built two special containers, made out of 5-gallon buckets, to hold the oil lanterns.

Knuteson says they'll take his pick-up truck and leave on Dec. 8. They plan to arrive in Minnesota by Dec. 12.

"These oil lanterns will burn about 18 hours on one filling of oil. We only need to refill it once or twice at most on the way back home," he said, adding, "I hope it works."

Allie Shah • 651-298-1550

WHAT: A Boy Scout troop in Bayport is helping to distribute the International Peace Light that originates from the birthplace of Jesus and travels throughout the world at Christmastime. It's coming to the Twin Cities for the first time.

WHEN: Noon to 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 14

WHERE: Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 490 4th St. N. in Bayport, east of St. Paul.