Peace Week 2018 is fast approaching, and Waterloo region is getting ready to rally together in celebration of local initiatives for peace!
Throughout the week of September 17, you’re invited to mark the UN sanctioned International Day of Peace, which occurs on September 21 each year, by coming together with your community to celebrate in ways that are meaningful to you.
Join over a dozen community groups and businesses that are already preparing to host their own events, such as the Waterloo Public Library, Queen Street Yoga, and Seven Shores Community Café.
The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College, who organizes Peace Week each year, is hosting a reception for their current gallery exhibit promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula. The exhibit, A New Era of Peace and a Peaceful Land, showcases rarely seen artwork from world renowned American, Chinese, and North and South Korean artists. The public reception will take place on September 20, 2018 at 4 PM in the Grebel Gallery. Community members are welcome to participate in this event and the many others, or to initiate events or projects of their own.
Last year, Parkwood Seniors Community decided to get involved in a way that made sense for them. Chaplain Bev Suderman-Gladwell was looking for an opportunity for Parkwood residents to give to others and the invitation to participate in Peace Week 2017 spurred her into action. When Peace Week arrived, Parkwood partnered with a local Grade 3-4 class at Southridge Public School in Kitchener to begin a pen pal program. Little did they know, their Peace Week initiative would spark an ongoing connection that would last throughout the year.
For 8 months, the seniors and children exchanged letters, stories, and pictures on the themes of peace and kindness. A small group of Parkwood seniors then visited the class in April 2018 and, at the end of the school year, their friendship was marked with a pizza party at Parkwood. Along with participating in a joint art project, they read books on the theme of peace to each other, decorated cookies, played old-fashioned crokinole and shuffleboard, made greeting cards, and prepared and ate the noon meal together. A time of singing together and learning about each other’s backgrounds started and ended the event.
As the Parkwood story shows, peace thrives when communities are connected across divides and when people are open to encountering the “other” in ways that build trust and mutual understanding. Peace Week is an opportunity to recommit yourself to the pursuit of peace in this community and beyond! How will you celebrate this year?
To add an event of your own to the Peace Week roster, contact Michelle Jackett, Coordinator, Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement, at 519-885-0220 x24221 or michelle.jackett@uwaterloo.ca. An growing list of Peace Week 2018 community events happening across Kitchener-Waterloo can be found here.
