Peace Ribbon Section Made in Pasadena

A giant peace ribbon scheduled to be wrapped around the Pentagon in Washington on Sunday in a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary year of the dropping of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki includes a segment made by members of the Neighborhood Church here.

According to church spokeswoman Virginia Kimball, the ribbon was the idea of Justine Merritt, a Denver woman who initiated the peace project after visiting the Japanese cities, which were devastated by the bombs at the end of World War II. Thousands of people have contributed segments to the ribbon since the project began in 1982, Kimball said, and the ribbon is expected to wrap around the Pentagon--one of the largest buildings in the world--several times.

The church’s junior and senior high groups each made a yard-long segment of the ribbon. About 30 young church members participated in the project and signed their names to the ribbon. One piece was made of muslin appliqued with scraps of fabric to represent civilization, flora and fauna. The other was decorated to depict friendship, music and imagination.