Other  Events
 

• Saturday, August 7th, 7 pm: A Conversation with Peace Activists
  Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, 
  615 West Wellington Ave., Chicago
  
  Flowering of the Prophetic Word in the Americas:
  Unmasking U.S. imperialism and Religious Fundamentalism
  
  An evening of conversation with Phil Wheaton, Kathy Kelly, Michael McConnell, and Dan Dale
  Phil Wheaton: Elder in the Latin America solidarity movement, Episcopal priest who has accompanied the 
  church of the poor in Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, founder of EPICA (Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean.
  Kathy Kelly: Founder of Voices in the Wilderness and Voices for Creative Non-violence
  Michael McConnell: Midwest Regional Director of AFSC (American Friends Service Committee), Associate Minister of Wellington Avenue UCC
  Dan Dale: Chair CRLN (Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America), CPT (Christian Peacemaker Team) Reservist, 
  Senior Minister of Wellington Avenue UCC
  
  For more information please contact Wellington Avenue UCC: 773-935-0642

   

• Saturday, August 14th,  2pm - 9pm:  Green Festival in Monee
   

  This green event will be held from 2 pm to 9 pm Saturday, August 14 at the Ochsenfeld farm, 28020 S. Crawford Ave., Monee.

  The gathering will feature speakers, music, fire-dancers and food. Nobel Peace prize nominee, Kathy Kelly, will speak on her humanitarian efforts. Also featured will be Green Party candidates George Ochsenfeld, Kenny Williams, and Rev. Anthony Williams.  Music includes folk singer Anna Stange, and (probably) Danny Fox interpreting Bob Dylan.  Entertainment includes fire dancing by Intrinsic Fire Concepts and caricature artist Tom Birmingham.

  Suggested donation is $25 per person--but all donations welcome. All proceeds benefit George Ochsenfeld’s campaign for state representative. For more information, visit www.georgeochsenfeld or call (708) 534-7319.

• Sunday, August 15th,  2pm:  SouthSiders for Peace Annual Summer Picnic
  Southsiders for Peace Annual Picnic at Mike and Lenore's,   1650 West 105th Street , Chicago . 
  RSVP at 773-239-1439.  Bring something to share!

Past Events

PEACE:  How Do We Get There? - September 26, 2009
 

This educational conference, held at the Flossmoor Library, featured presenters and activities focused on peacebuilding
and conflict management. The conference was held in recognition of  International Day of Peace, which occurs every year
on September 21st.
 

Speakers included:

• Facilitators from Homewood School District 153's SEED diversity project

• Representatives from the Homewood-Flossmoor Restorative Justice/Peer Jury Program

• Teen filmmaker Stephen Sotor and his documentary, Peace

• Governor's State University professor, Dr. Larry Levinson
  
  Our brown-bag lunch discussion explored this question: 
  How would a U.S. Department of Peace impact our government and our society?
  
  Children's activities featured a "Peace Heroes" workshop led by Ginny and Jim Hartley, former Chicago-area coordinators of
  Parenting for Peace and Justice.
  
     
  Julie Haverty, Judy Gleitsman, Concetta Smart, and Karen Maurer (right photo) admire the Peaceful Earth sculpture
  made by children at First Presbyterian Church, Homewood.
  
  

          Mary Fazzini and Peer Jurors role play a Peer Jury session.

 

                         
Dr. Larry Levinson speaks about a peace                 Generations for Peace member, Joan Sanders, talks
as an ongoing process and the successes                with a conference participant.

of NGOs and grassroots organizations in
peacebuilding

Eyes Wide Open Exhibit - October 25, 2008

Generations for Peace honored fallen U.S. military personnel and Iraqi civilians by bringing the traveling exhibition: Eyes Wide Open: The Cost of War to Illinois to Homewood's Irwin Park.

This state exhibit is one of 46 included in the national Eyes Wide Open network, created by the American Friends Service Committee. As of the date of the Homewood event, the exhibit included 151 pairs of boots representing servicemen and women from Illinois who have died in the Iraq War. A white pair of boots was included to represent the unknown number of soldiers who have committed suicide either in Iraq or upon return home. In addition, pairs of civilian shoes were displayed around the perimeter of the exhibit to represent the thousands of Iraqi men, women, and children who have died as a result of the war. 

                                                

                                     Nan Wexler and Judith Vicari prepare a pair of boots for the Eyes Wide Open exhibit.

International Day of Peace - September 21, 2008   

Generations for Peace sponsored "Imagining World Peace," an event to mark International Day of Peace, designated by the United Nations as a global day of personal and political ceasefire and peace-building.  People of all ages gathered together. We sang traditional peace songs, learned dances designed to create peace and unity, and viewed a short documentary about one young man’s dream, Peace One Day. We also wrote messages which were sent to a peace group in Tehran, Iran, which was holding its first-ever International Day of Peace event.

Read about the event on the blog of Karen Van Fossan, Archibald Bush Artist Fellow:
 

http://peacetheater.blogspot.com/2008/09/this-bag-is-for-peace.html

                                             

Fall 2008: The Penny Poll Project–  How YOU want your tax dollars spent!

This fall found Generations for Peace members at various south suburban Farmer’s Markets running a public education project, the interactive Penny Poll exhibit.  Participants were invited to view the bar graph, below, which shows how Congress chose to spend our 2007 tax dollars. Then we gave participants 10 pennies (each representing 1/10 of a dollar) to "spend" among 5 budget categories—military, education and jobs, science and environment, healthcare, and diplomacy and foreign aid.  The results were tallied at the end of each day.

Here's how CONGRESS spent each of your 2007 federal income tax dollars:

                          
                                      

                                           How would YOU spend each dollar?

Results from Illinois School's Sunflower Festival (62 participants)
Because families at this school live in four different communities, Mrs. Linda Green's
6th-grade math students graphed the results by city.

                               
Results from Park Forest Farmer's Market, June 28th,  (67 participants):

                          
 
Results from Flossmoor Farmer's Market, July 11th,  (47 participants):

                       
 

                   
            Marimonica Murray conducts the Penny Poll with a Park Forest Farmer's Market visitor


Homewood Independence Day Parade: July 4, 2008

Reality Check: A Coffeehouse to Mark 5 Years of War in Iraq- March 14, 2008

Intent on not letting the issue of the War in Iraq be forgotten, Generations for Peace held a well-attended coffeehouse event featuring musicians and speakers. Speakers included Margaret Jackson (Midwest Regional Director for American Friends Service Committee), Ramona Mitchell (mother of a GI serving in Iraq), and Jenna Kennedy (Partners for Peace). The gift of music was provided by Anna Stange, the Mother Z's, and Rachel Mylan. 

Candlelight Peace Vigil- December 16, 2007

About 40 brave souls gathered at the Veterans Memorial in Homewood to light a candle for peace. We sang songs, participated in choral readings, and....shivered!! The cloth banners draped around some participants are sections of the Peace Ribbon that was wrapped around the White House as a protest to the war in Viet Nam. They were kindly shared by Rev. Richard Lewis.

Petition Delivery to Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Dec. 13th
NO WAR IN IRAN!

Generations for Peace "hosted" a petition-delivering event at the Homewood office of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. This event was organized by MoveOn, which supplied petitions urging our representatives to sign a letter to President Bush to let him know that he has no authority to strike or invade Iran without Congressional approval. 

Rally for Peace and an End to the War: October 27th, 2007

 This local rally (Homewood) was held as part of a day of nationwide demonstrations and rallies in support of peace and an end to the war in Iraq. Generations for Peace was honored to have folksingers Anna Stange and Candy Heitner lead us in singing for peace. Speakers included Laurie Hasbrook (from Voices for Creative Nonviolence), Pastor Nancy Dederer, Rabbi Ellen Dreyfus, and Roderick Bashirr.


                                           

     
         Laurie Hasbrook                                                  Pastor Nancy Dederer                                        Rabbi Ellen Dreyfus

                       
                                                             Rod Bashirr with family and friends

Homewood Independence Day Parade: July 4, 2007

History

At the end of May, 2007, eight women met at the home of Jodi Libretti, in Homewood, Illinois, in response to a letter she sent to friends and acquaintances. The letter spoke of a deep longing to find other people in the local community who believed strongly in promoting peace and justice.

By the end of the first meeting, the women had decided to form an activist group that would include anyone committed to peace, not just women, and that, as a reflection of the many ages represented that night, the group would be called "Generations for Peace."

There were thirteen people at the next meeting, in June, where the mission statement was crafted. At that meeting, the decision was made to march in the Homewood 4^th of July parade with signs and Generations for Peace t-shirts. In preparation for the parade, a sign-making party was held at the end of June. Over 30 people attended that meeting.

The Homewood 4^th of July parade was the first public appearance of Generations for Peace. Parade bystanders reported that G4P was by far, the largest group in the parade. Over 65 women, men, and children walked with the group including one family representing three generations of peace activists, and the response from parade-goers was overwhelmingly positive. While some members of G4P were active protesters of the Vietnam War, many other members had never taken a public stand on any issue. This was a significant, moving, and uplifting event for the group.

Resources

Statement of Nonviolence
(adapted from the statement written by Voice for Creative Nonviolence
www.vcnv.org)
 

While nonviolence is defined in different ways by different people in different contexts, and while there exists the need to continue discussion and debate on how nonviolence and nonviolent action is conceived, we are committed to following these principles in all of our group actions and events:
 

• We will act with love, openness, compassion, and respect toward all people we encounter. We will seek dialogue with those who may disagree with us and maintain a spirit of openness, friendliness, and respect toward all with whom we engage.

• We will not be violent in our actions or words toward any person or property and will not damage any property.

• We will act fairly and honest with people regardless of the situation or role they play.

• We will remain calm and aware at all times. We will keep a clear state of mind.

• We will recognize our opposition is to a system of violence and militarism, not to individual members of the system.

• We will carry no weapons.

• We will gather in a manner that reflects the peaceful world we choose to create.
  
   

Contact Information for Congressional Representatives, Chicago south suburbs: