1,000 Cranes is Christian CND’s 2024 campaign. We are asking both churches and individuals to mark Hiroshima and Nagasaki memorial days (August 6th and 9th) – whether that’s in your regular service, as part of a special event, in your small groups, or in your own personal devotions.
We believe that praying for peace is part of our calling as Christians. As wars rage on around the world, including two involving nuclear-armed states, echoing the nuclear bomb survivors’ call of “never again” is more important than ever.
There are several ways that you can engage with the campaign:
1. Use our prayer in your church
Our prayer for the 1,000 cranes campaign has kindly been written by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell. We are asking churches to use it in their services on either August 4th or 11th (the Sundays closest to Hiroshima and Nagasaki days), or for individuals to use it in their private prayers.
2. Send us an origami crane
To mark the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki next year, we are collaborating with a professional artist to create a piece of art made up of origami cranes. Each crane will symbolise somebody praying for peace. Making a crane is also a great creative and meditative prayer activity to do either individually or collectively. You’ll find instructions on how to make one (and where to send your finished crane) in our resource pack which you can download at the bottom of this page.
3. Sign our peace pledge
If you have used our prayer or made a crane, please let us know by signing our “Praying For Peace” pledge. You can sign either as an individual or as a church, to show your support for nuclear disarmament and your commitment to peace. Your support will help us show that peace issues matter to UK Christians, enabling us to call on leaders and decision makers to make peace a priority.
You can sign our peace pledge here.
Download the 1,000 Cranes campaign resource below: