Vani Manchanda starts Gandhi Shanti Foundation

Short on money and facing thousands of dollars of debt, officials at the Peace Abbey - known throughout the world for its work to promote nonviolence and social justice - must decide whether to break up the property and move out of town by September.

"I would love for this to always be the Peace Abbey, but I have to be realistic," said Lewis Randa, the abbey's founder and director. "The abbey won't cease to continue, it would be the location that would change" if needed.

The abbey, founded 35 years ago on the grounds of a former library in downtown Sherborn, was only able to raise a fraction of the money needed to pay off its $218,000 debt by the end of the fiscal year June 30.

"We're deeply touched by the generosity of people," said Randa, whose group received about $32,000 from nearly 200 donors, but noted it was not enough. "It has fallen short of what we needed."

Now abbey officials have until Sept. 1 to decide whether they can afford to stay at their current location or sell the land.

Randa said the group hoped a wealthy benefactor would pay $5.5 million to buy the property and agree to let the abbey remain on the grounds - but none have materialized.

"We need a benefactor who believes in the ideals of the Peace Abbey to step up and adopt us," said Randa, who noted he believes "there's still a wealthy person willing to invest in peace, not profit."

The group is home to a memorial containing the cremated remains of conscientious objectors to war and a monument dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi.

The abbey is owned by the Life Experience School in Millis, and while the school is financially sound, the abbey's funding problems could impact the school. If the abbey's land is sold, the goal would be to separate the abbey from the school itself, he said.

Last week, Natick resident Vani Manchanda formed a nonprofit group - the Gandhi Shanti Foundation - to raise $218,000 and buy the Gandhi statue from the abbey. The money would cover the abbey's debt and the statue itself would remain at its current location.

Manchanda, a 17-year-old senior at the Montrose School in Medfield, said she was moved by the abbey's plight and Gandhi's mission - "shanti" means "peace" in Hindi.

"This is an important landmark of that town and the only hope for the young and coming generations to live in peace," said Manchanda, who noted she is inspired by Gandhi's nonviolent principles.

"People are forgetting who this man is," she said. "I had to do it."

The Peace Abbey opposes war, and five people were arrested near the abbey while they protested against the Iraq war last January - police said they created an unsafe situation when they formed a human chain along Rte. 27.

Recently, the group's work was officially recognized by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, plus the abbey joined with other international organizations to present awards to singer Jackson Browne, founders of the anti-war group Code Pink, plus leaders of a campaign to increase education about HIV in Africa through professional soccer.

The abbey has also adopted local causes, including Emily the Cow, who escaped a Hopkinton slaughterhouse in 1995 and lived on the property until she died in 2003. Her remains are buried on the grounds.

Randa said the group would consider accepting a lower price and move out of town - but the organization would continue its work.

The abbey could also transfer parcels containing the conscientious objectors and Emily the Cow memorials to the Strawberry Field Trust so they would remain on the property in perpetuity.

With the Gandhi monument, all three parcels total about three-quarters of an acre.

Randa admitted the group's financial troubles are worsened because the abbey refuses to ask for contributions and compete with other nonprofits. Instead, they rely on unsolicited donations.

"If we survive this, it's because we're meant to continue our work in Sherborn," he said. "While I don't have a crystal ball ... I do know that the Peace Abbey will continue its work somewhere."