Following a 15-year-old European tradition, a very special lantern was lit in Jerusalem. It is from the Eternal flame at the grotto site where Jesus Christ was born, which is located under the Church of the Nativity.

This light was then transported via a jet to Tel Aviv, from there to New York City sponsored by private companies in Austria. On Saturday, that same light arrived at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church in Lansford.Its faithful carrier was Bob Leggo of the Hazleton area, who has been involved in transporting the light for several years now. The short ceremony was held in the rear of St. John the Baptist Church after the divine liturgy. The official recipients were the Rev. Dr. Vasyl Chepelskyy and the parish son, Subdeacon Lewis Raybayda.The light will be available to all local faithful to bring to their homes for Christmas and afterward.The Peace Light from Bethlehem campaign was originally organized in 1986 by the Austrian Broadcasting Company ORF (Linz) and was part of a large charitable relief mission Light into Darkness, for children in need in Austria and abroad. Since 1989, there has been a great deal of co-operation between scouts and guides in many countries, which has allowed the light to travel throughout Europe.Each year, a child from Upper Austria crawls down into the grotto to fetch the light from the place in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The light is then flown to Austria, from where it is distributed at a service of dedication to delegations from across Europe who take it back, with a message of peace, to their own countries for use at ecumenical services throughout the continent. Scouts and guides can then take the light on to houses of worship, hospitals, homeless shelters, old people homes, prisons and places of public, cultural and political importance to anybody who appreciates the significance of the "gift."The Peace Light first came to New York in 2001 by Canadian scouts who brought it to ground zero. In 2002, DHL delivered the peace light as a gift from Belgian scouts and guides to the Boy Scouts of America in New York.This is the second consecutive year this gift of the peace light has been given a place to burn locally at St John Byzantine Catholic Church.All local faithful are invited to come to visit St John's any Sunday this season of peace to obtain a peace light for their homes or work places. Candles may be brought from home and will be also be available at church for a donation. Anyone with questions about visiting or about attending Divine Liturgy (Catholic Mass) should call the rectory at 570-645-2640.