Oct. 7, 2011: What peace means for a generation growing up in a post-9/11 world, by Sirir McGuire

 

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was 6 years old. I was too young to understand the magnitude of that day, but old enough to realize that something drastic had happened. I don’t remember what the world was like before 9/11, and neither can many of my classmates. I am part of a generation of Americans that know nothing but a post-9/11 world.

I’ve grown up with many in our society blaming the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., on the Muslim community as a whole, without them taking the time to fully understand their beliefs and values. Those who accepted this explanation without question didn’t pause to consider the prejudice in such declaration.

But children look to leaders and adults in society to teach them about the world and how to treat other people, especially those of different beliefs. So it is vital for adults to stop and consider what effect such intolerance may have had on the younger generation.

When the country demonizes an entire community because the acts of a few, many innocent people are harmed. If a child is taught and grows up believing that all Muslims are terrorists, what contribution does that make to creating a sustainable peace in our world?

So what is peace to a person who has never lived in a country that is not at war?

Growing up in the post-9/11 world has taught me that peace is not merely a lack of violence; rather, it is an active effort to learn from the past and to prevent violence in the future.

But how can peace be attained when all we understand is prejudice and misinformation? Peace in this world means gaining understanding of differing viewpoints; with understanding comes acceptance.

We must remember that acceptance of another does not mean we have to believe in the same god, agree with the same politician or speak the same language. It means recognizing and attempting to understand another viewpoint, and giving that person the respect and dignity he or she deserves despite differences.

My generation has the challenge of wiping away the misconceptions about the Middle East and Islam by educating ourselves and forming our own opinions about the matter. Peace can be attained in a post-9/11 world only when we take an active role by educating ourselves and taking responsibility for the things we say and for the lessons we teach others.

 

— Siri McGuire is the daughter of Bill and Anne McGuire. She is a junior at Concordia High School and the president of the school’s chapter of Friends of Rachel.

Year of Peace booth at Fall Fest offers peaceful treats

In what has now become an annual tradition, the Concordia Year of Peace Committee filled its Fall Fest booth Saturday with an array of items — including small candy bars marked as “A Little Piece of the Peace” — designed to remind the community of its continuing efforts.

The committee was also asking people to fill about a simple anonymous survey about their top concerns relating to peace and nonviolence.

Throughout the day, committee members handed out Year of Peace buttons, stickers and signs, and sold “Another Year of Peace” shirts.

The Concordia Year of Peace efforts were launched at Fall Fest two years ago, and then were re-dedicated as Another Year of Peace beginning in January 2011. The committee continues to plan projects that emphasize peace, nonviolence and public civility.

Peace Fair features discussions, songs & prayer

It was a peaceful day at the Nazareth Motherhouse today (Sunday) as discussions, songs and prayer filled rooms throughout the building in celebration of the International Day of Peace.

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FOR A YouTube VIDEO OF PATRICK SIEBEN LEADING THE AUDIENCE IN “A LITTLE PIECE OF THE PEACE,” CLICK HERE.

2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the commemoration established by the United Nations, explained Sister Esther Pineda, director of the Justice and Peace Center in Salina and one of the major organizers of Sunday’s Peace Fair. So it seemed appropriate, she said, to look at a broad range of issues that have peace and nonviolence at their core. Those topics ranged from telling the children taking part how they can write letters or emails to “pen pals” around the world to the 2010 documentary “The Forgotten Bomb” and a discussion of nuclear proliferation.

The afternoon’s program was sponsored by the Justice and Peace Center, which is a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia; Pax Christi of Salina; and the Concordia Year of Peace Committee.

The Year of Peace, in fact, was a prominent part of the afternoon’s program. Patrick Sieben, Cloud County Community College music director and a member of the Year of Peace Committee, helped get the activities started by teaching the audience the words to “A Little Piece of the Peace,” which he wrote as part of launching the Year of Peace idea in September 2009.

There was also a breakout session where other Year of Peace committee members — including Sue Sutton and Sisters Jean Rosemarynoski, Julie Christensen, Anna Marie Broxterman and Mary Jo Thummel — talked about all the various projects over the past two years and the impact they have had on Concordia.

In another breakout session, Janet Hansen of Pax Christi Salina showed a 16-minute clip of “The Forgotten Bomb,” which looks at the damage done by the nuclear blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, and at nuclear weapons today. Hansen then led a discussion on the impact nuclear proliferation continues to have worldwide.

In the third breakout session, Phil Holman-Hebert, who owns and operates Sweetlove Farm in Oskaloosa, Kan., discussed “Peace in Family Life” and what he and his family have done to live without damaging the environment.

Meanwhile, the children taking part had a chance to create miniature “Peace Poles,” decorated with the words “May peace prevail around the world” in different languages. Sister Carm Thibault of Salina organized the crafts project.

Sieben and Sarah Harvey also led the children in a number of songs, while Sister Regina Ann Brummel and Janet Lander assisted.

The formal activities ended with a Peace Walk to Lourdes Park, on the Motherhouse grounds, where five monks from the Buddhist Temple of Salina chanted their prayers. After walking along the circular paths of the park, the participants paused in prayer or reflection as the monks completed their chanting.

The afternoon ended with an ice cream social in the Motherhouse dining room, hosted by the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The Motherhouse has hosted International Day of Peace ceremonies for the past few years, but this is the first year for a “Peace Fair” involving the entire family, said Sister Esther.

The theme of the day may have been a poem quoted by Janet Hansen as the program opened. By Lao Tzu and written sometime around 500 B.C., it says:

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

The United Nations established the International Day of Peace in 1981, and the first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. Since 2002, it has been observed on Sept. 21, which the U.N. has declared as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence.

Sept. 16, 2011: Finding peace in simple joys, by Cheryl Lyn Higgins

Peace is hard to find these days, be it within ourselves or with others.  The economic and political landscape is in constant flux, and national and international finger-pointing seem to be the model of leadership — even though that model is both disconcerting and unproductive.

I am not an authority on either personal peace or world peace, or any subject for that matter.  But since childhood, I have generally found peace and comfort in two places — my church and my home.

I find peace in God’s house.  I find peace in the rituals of the service.  I also find peace when I sit alone in his house and talk with God.  I try to attend church regularly, but find myself being far more devoted when matters in my life are out of sync or I am troubled.

I find peace sharing time with my children and my grandson.  My son and I spend countless hours on the deck talking about anything and everything — laughing, arguing and dreaming.

The conversation always takes on new and interesting turns when my daughter joins us. She views things so much differently than my son and I.

My grandson serves as conversation bookends. He cuddles and shares his planned adventures at the start of each day and then cuddles again as he recounts his exploits before crawling into bed each night.

It is the walk to the church and the road home that helps me find inner peace and comfort.  My church and my home are the essence of what matters to me.  They give me strength to endure the disquieting aspects of life. They give me peace.

 

— Cheryl Lyn Higgins is coordinator for Neighborhood Initiatives Inc., an office of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia.

Sept. 2, 2011: 1960s folk song urges us to find common ground, by Sister Mary Jo Thummel

A few nights ago I was watching a PBS special on the 1960s folk singers Peter, Paul, and Mary and the influence of their music during the Civil Rights movement. I was familiar with many of the songs and remembered how they had spoken to me about a world united.

The piece included conversations with the three —  Peter Yarrow, Noel “Paul” Stookey and Mary Travers — about their music and the influence it had on people.  Peter and Paul said folk music is a form of art that draws people in because it speaks to the commonality of their lives.  It is a culture all its own that unites because it comes from the root of common experience.  Mary referenced the children in her remarks.  Many of songs — especially ones like “Puff the Magic Dragon” — appealed to children because of the rhythms and lyrics which were easy to learn. Mary said it’s important that the music speak to the children because they are our true hope for peace.

One of the songs they sang, and of which I was not familiar, was “The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life).” Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning “circle” or “round.” In a religious or spiritual context, it is a symmetrical representation of the universe — and the lyrics really captured my attention. They spoke of the importance of each of us deciding how we were going to take our place on the wheel of life and what stance we will take toward our sisters and brothers.  Some may find the words offensive, but they simply made me think of what I can do to stand on common ground with my sisters and brothers around the globe.

As I pondered, I was reminded of something my mother had done in the latter years of her life.  After I left home, we had always corresponded via letter.  Hers were always newsy and clever and ended with “Love, Mom.”  As the years went by, Mom wrote less and less.  Instead, she started picking out cards that expressed want she wanted to say and always signed them “Love, Mom.”

Then, at some point — and I’m not sure I noticed the first time she did it — she began signing them “Peace, Mom.”

I was a little surprised, but knowing my mom, I felt sure there was a reason for the change.  It wasn’t long before she told me that through prayer she had become aware of the importance of peace in our own hearts, among family, friends and all the people throughout the world.  Her wish of peace at the end of her cards was her attempt at being a peacemaker, her way of taking a peaceful stance in the wheel of life.

My question to myself and to you is, What little thing can we do to take a stance at being peacemakers?

As the song says,

“Take your place on The Great Mandala

As it moves through your brief moment of time.

Win or lose now you must choose now

And if you lose you’re only losing your life.”

 

 

— Sister Mary Jo Thummel is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, presently serving on the Leadership Council.

Aug. 19, 2011: Patience isn’t always easy (but it’s worth waiting for), by Patricia Gerhardt

The technology of today’s world doesn’t require as much patience as we had to have in the past. With a “zap” or two in the microwave, we can have fresh, “homemade” meals; with the silent touch of a cell-phone button, we can view photographs just taken and see loved ones who are continent away. If we’re willing to undergo the pain and expense, we can lose a 100 pounds in a matter of hours with the aid of lyposuction and a surgeon. Now, with the recent increase in Kansas speed limits, we can get from here to there quicker than ever before.

There are some things, though, that can’t be achieved quickly. Remember the saying “good things come to those who wait”? Even with all of today’s technology, there are things worth waiting (and working) for.

Good solid marriages don’t just “happen;” they take time and effort on the part of both individuals. Youth who want to excel at a sport know it takes discipline and practice — and then more practice. Individuals pursing an advanced degree must be willing to sacrifice and devote several years of study before they can receive that piece of paper. Healing — whether it’s physical, mental or emotional — also takes time.

But patience doesn’t come easily for most of us. We become irritated, frustrated or angry when forced to wait or delay action. We’re not able — or even willing — to control our emotions and proceed calmly. When we want something, we want it NOW.

It’s also easier to be more patient with acquaintances than with ourselves or those close to us. We’ll give others more leeway than what we are willing to accept of ourselves or family members.

When we act this way, are we really being fair?

If we can control our impatience, both with ourselves and with others, we’ll be healthier and happier. We won’t get as angry, stressed or overwhelmed. We’ll control our emotions rather than  let them control us. We’ll make better decisions because we won’t be acting on impulse. And we’ll get along better with others because we’ll take the time to understand and appreciate them.

Developing more patience isn’t easy, but it is a worthy goal to strive for.

At the beginning of the day, think about the day ahead, what you will be doing and who you will be seeing. Make a conscious effort to live in each moment of the upcoming day. Slow down. If you’ve a tendency to rush things along and can’t wait for things or people, stop. Take several deep breaths and think. Decide not to get worked up or anxious. Avoid saying or doing anything without first weighing the consequences. Relax your muscles. Remove yourself from the situation.  (You can do this mentally even if you’re not able to leave physically.)

Ask yourself: “Is this something really worth getting all worked up about? In the big scheme of things, how important is it, really?”

Patience is a valuable character trait to develop, and it requires practice and self-discipline to achieve. But it can be acquired — with persistence and, yes, patience.

 

— Patricia Gerhardt, a member of the Year of Peace committee, is a Family Consumer Sciences extension agent for Kansas State University — River Valley Extension District.

 

Aug. 5, 2011: You call that rock ’n’ roll? by Susan Sutton

If you want to create a spirited, cross-generational debate, start with the question, “What is rock ’n’ roll?”

To help zero in on a definition, one might cite a particular artist or band as being the embodiment of the genre. For Baby Boomers like myself, that artist was Elvis the Pelvis who shocked the World War II generation out of its wits on Sept. 9, l956, with his “Ed Sullivan Show” gyrations, flopping patent leather forelock, snarly upper lip and abuse of a microphone like it was a 4-on-the-floor.  After that, we weren’t in Perry Como-land any more (hooray).

Thanks to the miracle of television, the real-time broadcast of Elvis singing “Don’t be Cruel” and “Ready Teddy” possibly launched the original generation gap.  Of the 65 million viewers watching that night, surely half agreed that THIS was Rock and Roll and Elvis was the King of the kingdom!

For those of my generation, defining moments also included, “Where were you when you heard President Kennedy was shot?” or Bobby or Martin Luther King? Of lesser magnitude, but still a defining moment was, “Where were you Feb. 9, l964?” Hmmmm? Need a not-so-subtle hint? It was the night the Beatles made their first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

With all the ear-piercing screams coming out of the black-and-white, Monkey Ward TV, close-ups of teenage girls fainting or clutching their Aqua-Netted flips and the four mop-tops bobbing to “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” my disbelieving parents, who came of age during the Depression and served in WW II, sat on the sectional in frozen silence. In eight year’s time, the cultural divide between Perry Como and the head-nodding lads from Liverpool had grown into a chasm like the Grand Canyon.

It’s worth noting that Señor Wences was on the same show. Some with a good memory may remember him as the ventriloquist who made his hand into a puppet with the help of greasepaint and a little lipstick. Really.

When I boarded the school bus Friday before “The Beatles” were to appear on the Ed Sullivan’s “Really Big Shoe,” many male high schoolers still emulated the pompadour Brylcreem ducktail-do worn by pop celebrities of the day.  But by Monday — less than 24 hours after the Sullivan show — that was all over. Gone was the “big hair for boys” and in was the mop top for men.  The “greasy kid’s stuff” was out the window and fly-away, eye-socket length bangs were in — thanks to the Fab Four.  In a 900-student high school in those days before cell phones, Facebook, email or Twitter, how did all those guys get the memo? This Cultural Revolution literally happened over night.

What’s the point of all this? It’s that we love our nostalgia. Sacred moments in time shared by thousands and millions, seen as flickering black-and-white images on the “idiot box.” Elvis and the Beatles, eight years apart, on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Collective memories that connected a generation. Memories that grow more real with every passing year.

So … a couple of weeks before college classes ended this spring, I was helping a student with a speech about left-handed people.  The student was, himself, left handed.  My suggestion was that he mention other exceptional left-handed people: Presidents Truman, Ford, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Obama; Beatle Paul McCartney … And guess what? The student had never heard of Paul McCartney — or the Beatles!

Lucky for him, I had signed the 2011 Civility Pledge.

 

— Susan Sutton is Dean of Humanities and Social-Behavioral Sciences at Cloud County Community College.

Getting to know the neighbors

Leon Rightmeier and Beth Gleason have both lived on West 14^th Street for some time. They’d certainly seen each other over the years, and probably even waved. But they hadn’t met until Tuesday evening when they both went to nearby Hood Park for a neighborhood party as part of Concordia’s first-ever National Night Out.

And that’s really the point of the annual event now in its 28^th year nationwide, said Concordia Police Chief Chris Edin, whose agency – along with the Concordia Year of Peace Committee – sponsored the communitywide participation.

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Volunteers organizers in an estimated 25 neighborhoods throughout the city planned block parties Tuesday, although a few of those were canceled or postponed due to concerns about the hot weather. But the temperature did not rise into triple digits as predicted, and as the parties began around 6 p.m. it was 93 degrees with a light breeze.

“This is exactly what I hoped for,” Edin said as he and his family stopped by a party in the front yard of a home on West 10^th Street. “It’s all about neighbors out meeting neighbors.”

The goals of National Night Out are to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

In Hood Park, while the grownups were introducing themselves, the kids didn’t need such formalities. Organizers Holly and Kevin Brown created an improvised water slide that proved an immediate hit.

In the small triangular park at Elmhurst and West Eighth streets, Sisters Pat McLennon and Ramona Medina hosted a small group of their neighbors at a potluck cookout. The towering old trees there provided comfortable shade.

The biggest gathering may have been in the East Shelter at City Park, where Patrick Sieben manned the hot dog grill and everyone else brought potluck dishes.

Other organizers blocked off sections of their streets or filled their front yards with lawn chairs for neighborhood picnics and barbecues.

The Year of Peace Committee hopes Concordia’s National Night Out will grow and become an annual event, said Sister Jean Rosemarynoski, who chairs that group.

The 2011 National Night Out was expected have participants in more than 15,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In 2010, an estimated 37 million people participated in National Night Out.

July 15, 2011: God plays a role in creativity and peace, by Autumn Sicard

Creativity means you are good at coming up with ideas and have an active imagination, and that’s a wonderful quality to any person.

Creativity is what makes this world go around. Without people who are creative we could not come up with the new technology, which would mean we would be further away from curing cancer and more people would die from other diseases and illnesses. There would be so many more people mourning the loss of a loved one.

Creativity is also something that allows us to see beauty in everyday things. You stop and look at a building, which may have been some child’s dream and now has become reality because they grew up and became an architect or a builder. Beauty, technology and creativity may not sound like they all work hand in hand, but they do — and together they make our world a better place.

Then there’s peacemaking, which is a big part of our world as well.

My definition of peacemaking is reconciling parties who disagree, quarrel or fight. Normally when I think about disagreements, I think about two siblings saying, “She did it!”  and, “No, she did it!”

For a lot of kids my age, peace or peacemaking means getting away from parents or siblings. But it is truly just the opposite: Being with you family is what will actually put you at peace.

I have a friend who tells me her mother constantly calls her names. For her, family is not the best option for finding peace, so instead she and everyone else need to turn to God.

There are people who don’t believe in God, and I believe they are the ones missing out. Peacemaking to me is also about finding the inner you, and following the path that God gave you. When you find the true you inside, you will be able to find and follow that path — and that allows you to be at peace with yourself.

I have never been one to know or be happy with the real me. I was constantly struggling to find it, to blend in, so I never stopped to actually look inside myself. But I believe God sent two angels to watch over me — my mom and my stepdad, who have made it possible to stop and look at the real me. Then I could see that the real me is peaceful and creative.

Peacemaking is not all on the inside, but that is when where it starts. It is time that we are all peacemakers, not soul crushers.

 

— Autumn Sicard is an eighth-grader at Concordia Junior High School. She is the daughter of Terry Riley.

July 1, 2011: Fight, flight, or… try something entirely different? by Sister Janet Lander

One day, when I was a missionary in Brazil, I was shopping in downtown Goiânia for supplies for our mission household. As I walked to the bus stop, a man suddenly ran up and twisted the watch off my arm. I dropped my packages and grabbed him by his coat lapels, saying, “What are you doing? That is mine!”

I instantly realized I was being dangerously stupid, and let go saying, “Take it and leave me alone.” He fled, and I stood there shaking with fright, not so much at having been robbed, but by my own attack on the thief. I did not know I had it in me!

What do you do when you are feeling threatened or fearful?

Some run or hide physically. They are often labeled cowards or weaklings. Others run or hide internally, through avoidance of difficult situations or hard conversations. And still others just try not to notice, by deciding not to “get involved.” Then there are those who take the offensive, countering violence with violence, thinking justice comes through fighting back or striking first. They may try to wield control through intimidation in word or action.

Our basic, instinctual responses to perceived danger are “fight” or “flight.” These come from the most primitive segment of our brain, and we share these responses with the rest of the animal kingdom. They are survival tactics, and while there may be a rare situation where such a response is needed to preserve life, most of the time there is another option.

We have a more developed brain than other animals. With human consciousness we enjoy capacities for memory and hope, for compassion and moral decision-making. We are capable not only of intelligent reasoning and logic, but also of choosing love over logic! We are created to be connected to other people.

So in times of conflict, we have the third option of moving toward our opponent to find common ground. For some this is easier than for others. It seems that people have a natural inclination to move toward, move against or move away when faced with conflict. But we can always choose to stretch beyond our comfort zones.

We have all heard remarkable stories of people who befriended “the enemy.” In many cases, the “enemy” was disarmed — literally or figuratively — by the surprising action or words of the person who neither ran away nor fought back. An option other than violence opened up. In some cases the story goes on to become a story of reconciliation, while in some the good news was merely that violence was averted.

Barbara Deming, in her book “Revolution and Equilibrium,” explains this third option as the “two hands of nonviolence.” This stance, not necessarily literally, is one of holding one hand up to say, “Stop your violence, injustice, disrespect. I refuse to cooperate with it and will even stand in its way.” However, the other hand is outstretched to say, “I won’t cast you out of the human race. I believe you can make a better choice. I’ll support you when you are ready.” Perhaps the next time any of us find ourselves in a conflict we can choose to exercise our higher consciousness.

ONE LAST NOTE: A great chance to find common ground with our neighbors is coming up in Concordia Tuesday, Aug. 2! That’s when neighborhoods around the city will hold “block parties” of sorts as part of National Night Out. Activities are planned in nine neighborhoods around Concordia, but we would love to have more neighborhoods take part. To find out more, contact Sister Jean Rosemarynoski at 243-2113, ext. 1225, or sisterjean@csjkansas.org.

 

— Sister Janet Lander is on the staff of Manna House of Prayer and is a member of the Concordia Year of Peace Committee.

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