Peace Community Gathering Warms Body and Soul
by Greg Field
Beverly Sterns and Bill Slavick share some thoughts at the Peace Community Gathering in Portland
Over 70 people came together on a cold Saturday morning in January at the Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland for the first Peace Community Gathering held by Peace Action Maine's Action Committee.
Chaired by Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, PAM's Action Committee plans to hold similar gatherings around the state four times through the year. As explained by Gagnon, the gatherings offer all of us an opportunity to "share with each other, to heal our broken hearts, to inspire each other, and ultimately to share our ideas and visions for how we can effectively continue to build a real movement in our state and beyond."
While the weather outside was in a deep freeze, people came to the gathering with arms full of casserole dishes, muffin tins, and other good foods for the potluck breakfast that preceded the conversations. Participants came from many types of activism and many Maine organizations.
The food was warm, delicious, and plentiful — the only glitch coming from the long delay faced by those of us hovering around the coffee urn waiting for the slow-perking machine to finish its job!
Bruce Gagnon called everyone into a circle. With so many people in the circle it was clear that we couldn't have any meaningful chance for conversation, so after quick introductions from each person, we broke up into five groups and sat down to share our thoughts and concerns, our frustrations and hopes.
Not designed to be a meeting that would map out strategies or plan specific events, Gagnon charged each group with only this — that each of us share something of what we feel as we live in an age of U.S. empire. As might be expected, each group had quite different experiences with this path. Some groups had a smooth-flowing conversation about how we keep hope alive amid the cynicism of our age. Some focused on the fact that we face some issues unique to our age, but that U.S. empire is not a new turn in our history.
Others had less success sharing thoughts. Some people came hoping to gain a little more direction for future actions. After all, they thought, this was a gathering of the "Action" Committee of PAM. Others faced the usual pitfalls of group dynamics — people who do not self-regulate as well as others: some groups were dominated in both the time and direction of the conversations by one or two people. In all, though, people walking out the door left with good words to say about the event and thankful for the opportunity to come together.
The next Peace Community Gatherings are now being planned. Feedback from the first breakfast is helping shape the future meetings, and the Action Committee is committed to holding gatherings around the state. We are eager to hear from PAM members and other peace activists across parts of the state who might like to host such a gathering. PAM will help do outreach (email announcements, flyers, mailings) about a gathering, and will work alongside local groups to plan the process. If you're interested — from York County to Aroostook — give us a call at the PAM office (772-0680) or e-mail Bruce (globalnet@mindspring.com).
Back to Peace Talk Index, Spring, 2004