Newsletter

May 2005

It’s an incredibly gorgeous spring in the Washington, DC area. There’s no prettier time of the year here. Walking under the cherry blossoms outside our building gives one a feeling of being surrounded by a magic fairyland of total beauty. Last Thursday, Deborah, who is our executive assistant, came to the door overflowing with gifts of cherry blossom branches that had been trimmed from the trees. Her face was absolutely glowing with inner beauty with the excitement and connection of it all.

It’s this flavor that the Community of Peace movement is beginning to bring forth – the qualities of beauty, engagement, magic. One of the phrases that I’m starting to use in one of the workshops is “From the Mundane to the Magnificent”. People are starting to discover that they can indeed “make it up” to create what is deep inside them – in a safe, nurturing and loving framework.

Some of the new developments:

An Open House will be held in Staunton VA on May 14 th to celebrate the opening of the new Community of Peace office, at 219 W. Beverley St. Children’s art from the Children’s Art Network will be displayed on the walls during the day, along with the initial Staunton CCMC section, done by children from the Genesis School. Meditation in Motion studio sponsored this CCMC section, and has been the initial sponsoring business in the Staunton area.

We’re in communication with school officials, university representatives, and community organizations regarding the development of an Emissary of Peace curricula to offer in the schools in that area.

The Peace Forums will be beginning in that area shortly, with an emphasis on a new economics, based on “Care First”. The philosophy is based around just moving ahead and creating what is personally deeply meaningful, whether there appears to be money to support it or not. The experience is that there will be economic support when one has the courage to move ahead. We’re excited to see what will be developing as a community experiments with this! They’re looking at starting a bank that will be supporting the concept.

Jean Nash speaks to Costa Rican children about corresponding with children from Augusta County, VA.

Children from the Hearthstone School in Sperryville VA will be going to Costa Rica in May to interact with children in three orphanages there. On both sides, the children will be fulfilling the requirements for the Emissary of Peace program. We’ll be presenting the certificates to the Virginia children at the end of May. They’ll be making a combined section of the Children’s Cloth of Many Colors – a great idea, which we’re starting to model in other programs. Hearthstone School was the first sponsoring school for the CCMC – we’ve all been waiting for two years now to see what will be emerging with this program, and I love what’s happening!

Children in the Clymore School in Augusta County VA are writing to the children we visited while in Costa Rica in February. The Costa Rica school is located at the base of a rain forest owned by one of our friends – and the children’s love of nature on each side is being emphasized in their correspondence. The Clymore schoolchildren are part of the “K Kids” sponsored by the Kiwanis organization.

Fahima Vorgetts speaks to Afghan children about the program.

Our collaborator Fahima Vorgetts, founder of “Women for Afghan Women”, is leaving on Tuesday for Afghanistan. She’ll be identifying children in orphanages there to interact with children from Warrenton VA. Combined sections of the Children’s Cloth will be started, with a written exchange program, focusing on the children’s explorations of peace. This program extends the existing background between Warrenton, our first “Community of Peace”, and Afghanistan (covered in the website).

We’ve also been approached by someone who would like to link us with the president of Afghanistan to bring forward the concept of the Community of Peace program. We’re in those conversations now about that possibility, and what we can bring forward to enhance this program.

Kibra Abraham and chidren from the "Ethiopian Ambassadors" group.

Kibra Abraham, founder of the “Ethiopian Ambassadors” program, will be doing the same thing in her country in June, setting up the exchange program for the Children’s Cloth/Communities of Peace with orphans there. We’ve been working with this organization for some time now; they’re such a special group of young people. Two of these children will be accompanying Kibra on her visit. This is emerging to be a wonderful link with the Washington DC program, as Mayor Williams made the Community of Peace proclamation to these children, and Addis Ababa has just been declared a “Sister City” for DC. The fact that Mayor Williams was himself an orphan adds special meaning.

Mayor Anthony Williams declares Washington, DC a Community of Peace to gathered children.

The Community of Peace program in Washington, DC has a new “point person” in Linda Grover. We’ve collaborated for about six years now with Linda’s Global Family Day program, setting up the first model on the West Bank on January l, 2000. Linda was DC’s Mother of the Year in 2002. We’re sure that whatever Linda comes up with in DC will be exciting - her projects always have that flavor.

First Global Family Day, Askar Refugee Camp, Israel. Palestianians and Israelis share a meal in an event organized by their children.

Current plans are to have Washington DC children approach the DC foreign ambassadors, asking that their country presidents recommend Global Family Day and the Communities of Peace to their countries. The Emissary of Peace program is a great framework for this to happen through the children. Linda would also like to see the Children’s Cloth of Many Colors extending on the Capitol Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, in September.