| |
International
News & Reflection
Hogar de Paz y Esperanza....
Home of Peace and Hope
This article, by Rev. Dr. William H. Ruth,
appeared in the Winter 2000
edition of the Wolf of Pace e Bene and is
reprinted here with permission
I appreciate this opportunity to describe my
journey from violence to wholeness thanks to the
material from Pace e Bene. For years I have
prayed for materials that would be effective to
change lives of people to live more peacefully.
When I first saw the book From Violence to
Wholeness, I was convinced this was the material
I was praying for. After I took the training in
San Antonio in the first weekend of December 1999
I was even more astounded.
I began a study group of 25-30 people in the
middle of January 2000. The group consisted of
Spanish speaking as well as English speaking
people. Some of the group attended the church;
most of the group did not. One of the
participants is a staff member of the United Farm
Workers Union. Pace e Bene provided FVTW in
Spanish. We had lively discussions. The group
wanted to cover every session in depth. This
caused the sessions to last for fifteen weeks
instead of ten. The exercises brought out moving
personal testimonies about how lives were
changing. The last two chapters were especially
helpful. These chapters helped us evolve from a
study group to an action group.
We have formed a peace center. Hogar de Paz y
Esperanza, Home of Peace and Hope. Our group is
involved in family counseling to prevent domestic
abuse, training junior high school students to be
peer helpers in conflict resolution, and in
writing letters to congress people to control
violence especially among youth. We are presently
beginning a publishing group to send letters to
editors and publish flyers that propose peace. We
are forming a religion and labor group to help
emphasize nonviolence in negotiations.
But the most amazing thing is my life has changed.
I thought I was always a pacifist but now I know
I am on a journey toward wholeness. I am able now
to negotiate and compromise, aiming for a "win-
win" position for all sides. The beautiful
part is that other members of the congregation
who have gone through the process are evolving
also.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my
feelings with you. Pace e Bene's
From Violence to Wholeness is a beautiful method
to help fellow travellers
to become more whole in their journey from
violence.
Rev. Dr. Bill Ruth is the Pastor of Our
Redeemer Lutheran Church,
La Iglesia Lutrana "Nuestro Redentor"
in Livingston, California
International
Visitor to Crank Up Decade
Bill Moyer, a long-term
nonviolent social activist has been invited by
People of the Way to visit us towards the end of
this year to help us mark the beginning of the UN
Decade. Bill, a one-time member of Martin Luther
King Jnr's Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, has been an organizer and trainer in
social and personal change for 35 years in the
US, Canada, Eastern and Western Europe and
Australia. He has worked in civil rights, anti-Vietnam
War, anti-nuclear energy and weapons,
environmental and domestic violence movements
among others. Over 20,000 people have attended
his workshops and his publications are in many
languages (see chapter 7 of FVTW - 'stages in
successful social movements').
We are discussing with Bill the possibilityof
leading us in workshops on:
Creating Peaceful Relationships in a
Dominator Culture; Creating Effective Nonviolent
Social Movements and Actions; Organising For
Social Transformation in the 21st Century
At this stage we are in a 'preliminary planning
phase' and would welcome interest from others who
might like to join with us in hosting Bill's
visit from the USA - contact Brendan if you'd
like more information.
A short
reflection which speaks to us of the need to be
patient, nonviolent and discerning as we journey
on from violence to wholeness. We are grateful to
Jan Passion, a long-term 'global peace activist'
who keeps us amused, bemused, informed and
inspired with her weekly messages....
Next time life seems too tough, think of it as
training...
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a
small opening appeared. He sat and watched the
butterfly for several hours as it struggled to
force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It
appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could,
and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took
a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining
bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a
swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man
continued to watch the butterfly because he
expected that, at any moment, the wings would
enlarge and expand to be able to support the
body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent
the rest of its life crawling around with a
swollen body and shriveled wings.
It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not
understand was that the restricting cocoon and
the struggle required for the butterfly to get
through the tiny opening were the Goddess's way
of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly
into its wings so that it would be ready for
flight once it achieve its freedom from the
cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in
our lives. If the Goddess allowed us to go
through our lives without any obstacles, it would
cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we
could have been.
We could never fly!
I asked for Strength.........
And the Goddess gave me
Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom.........
And the Goddess gave me
Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity.........
And the Goddess gave me
Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage.........
And the Goddess gave me
Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love.........
And the Goddess gave me
Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favours.........
And the Goddess gave me
Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted ........
I received everything I needed!
To receive Jan's weekly (or so) sharing of
humour, commentary or other news deemed fit to
distribute, please email Jan at: Jan_Passion_Humor_and_News_Listserv@egroups.com requesting to "subscribe"
"It is no use walking everywhere to preach
unless our walking is our preaching." St.
Francis of Assisi
Click Here for PAGE 3
BACK
|
|
