Waging Peace

Thinking of ways to live the motto, “let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,” I decided to create the Waging Peace Series after the Taize services at East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC). This would also enable me to give back to the Taize community. Taize is a nondenominational gathering of people who come together to sing, chant, pray, and meditate. It was started as a place of hospitality and reconciliation during WW2 by Brother Roger, who rode his bike form Switzerland to a small rural community in Taize, France, close to the Swiss border. Since then, thousands have gathered there, young and old, from all over the world.

The ELPC has been sponsoring Taize services for over 10 years. The services take place every Wednesday from 7-8 pm in the small chapel. People gather for a social time afterwards. With the Waging Peace series, I was hoping to increase awareness of the work of the TMC and its mission of peace and justice.

Tim Vining, Executive Director of the TMC, was the guest on the first night of the series. Twenty-five people (and a poodle) were in attendance.

At the next session, Edith Wilson presented on the School of Americas Watch. Many attendees didn’t know about the school and its history, nor were they aware of the work here in Pittsburgh to help close the school.

On the third Wednesday, Judy Focareto and Francine Porter talked about Code Pink and Edith Bell presented on the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). It was a good match, since that night I learned that someone from WILPF started Code Pink. Francine was very energetic, having just attended the protest against the Bush agenda in New York City during the Republican National Convention. She shared her experiences from the first national protest that she attended as well as a first hand account of Code Pink activities there.

The series closed on the fourth Wednesday with an abbreviated version of the Nuin Peace Circle. The peace circle is a simple template for “spiritual activism.” The circle is a sacred space to harness a positive energy for the purpose of spiritual healing through prayer, meditation and discussion of issues to help change our fears into love and peace. The Nuin Peace Circle meets the first and third Mondays of the month at the Nuin Center in Highland Park. Peace circles are associated with the Global Renaissance Alliance which has introduced HR 1673 -- a bill to establish a department of peace in our government. For more information on the bill, check out www.dopcampaign.org.

I would like to thank Karen, Audrey, Madeline and Jane for their loving presentation and ongoing commitment as spiritual activists. This program series was a great way to network with others in the community and to expose the Thomas Merton Center’s various projects of peace and justice. As a member of the membership committee, it was also my hope to increase our membership or at least to have people consider supporting our peace and justice work. I would like to thank everyone who presented and all of those at ELPC who gave of their time and supported the series. For more info on Taize, see www.taize.fr. 

- Mary Ruth Aull

Participants at the first night of the Waging Peace Series.
(Photo by Mary Ruth Aull)