Peace House Director’s Reflections

The energy in the room at our recent Peacemaker Awards Dinner was a delight to those of us who have worked to create our seventh annual awards dinner!

Our thanks to all who attended and contributed to an evening of delicious food, friendship and profound content from our Awardees. It has been an honor to illuminate individuals whose lives are a witness to the power of nonviolence and their integrated visions of the present and the future.

Each of them answers the question that Dr. Larry Ward asks:
“What kind of ancestors do we want to be?”

Peace House has evolved, as Dot Fisher-Smith reflects, for thirty-seven years.  We are looking ahead to what will be important in the future. If you would like to be involved in our work, please contact us.

Committed to a culture of equality, nonviolence, a healthy environment and peace,

Elizabeth V. Hallett, Director

Our Peace House event on Friday, November 15 was attended by over 175 people – thank you all! Below is a wonderful write up, published in the Tidings, by one of the attendees of the dinner and one of the founders of Peace House. Thank you Dot, we appreciate you greatly!  Photos of the event taken by Allen Hallmark follow – thank you Allen!

Dear Editor,
Peace House held its annual dinner and awards ceremony Friday night (11/15) at the Ashland Hills Inn. As one of the founders of Peace House 37 years ago, looking around the packed ballroom, I felt somewhat like the ancient matriarch at an enormous family gathering, very proud indeed of what a small group of passionately concerned citizens had set in motion so long ago, when the threat of nuclear annihilation seemed imminent, the need for non-violent education and action imperative.
Over the years, Peace House has broadened its scope and continues (perhaps too quietly) to be a strong force  for a variety of causes and groups beyond what we envisioned at the beginning. A beautifully designed Program booklet for the annual event describes in detail the impressive number of projects flourishing under the Peace House umbrella.
I’m expressing my gratitude publicly to Elizabeth Hallett, the board, staff and volunteers who carry on this vital, heartening work, and I encouraging readers to email:info@peacehouse.net to receive the bi-weekly calendar of peace and justice events, information and volunteer options. Being part of the Peace House Community offers solace and hope in an ever increasingly fragmented, divisive, distrustful society.
Sincerely,
Dot Fisher-Smith
945 Oak St.
Ashland
541-625-3300

“Tending the Sacred: Resiliency in Challenging Times”

2019 National Peacemaker Awardees

Peace House 2019 National Awardees

Our keynote speakers, Dr. Larry Ward and Dr. Peggy Rowe-Ward, are senior dharma teachers and co-founders of the Lotus Institute. They were ordained and married by peace activist and Zen Master Tich Nhat Hanh. Deeply inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Tich Naht Hanh, they have committed their lives to nonviolent social change, healing and transformation at all levels, from individuals and  communities to the global scale. Peggy and Larry transmit a rare combination of academic, lived and embodied wisdom that helps actualize healing for self and community.

Their background in Buddhist background in Buddhist practice informs their work nationally and internationally, having worked in over twenty countries. Their skilled teachings encompass psychology, education, trauma and resiliency trainings, and social justice awareness, creating a powerful dynamic for healing and change. Peggy and Larry are coauthors of the book, “Love’s Garden: A Guide to Mindful Relationships.” 

Local Awardees

David West, Director Emeritus, Native American Studies, SOU

David West is the adopted son of Grandmother Agnes Pilgrim connecting him to the Confederated Tribes of Siletz and the Takilma Band, and is en- trusted to speak for her when she is unavailable. A marvelous storyteller, David West is well known here and elsewhere as a messenger of Native American wisdom. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatami Nation.  David is the Emeritus Director of Native American Studies at SOU. His advocacy for Native American education is evidenced by the ongoing success of the unique Konaway Nika Tillicum, an SOU residential summer academy for Native American youth. He holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Oregon and an M.A. in Community Psychology from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. David promotes respect for the Earth and all its creatures, as a foundation for real peace—a basic tenant of Native American spirituality and wisdom.

Vision Quilt, Cathy DeForest and son Derek Pyle: Empowering communities through art and inclusive dialogue.

Cathy DeForest, her son Derek and a huge number of volunteers are working to create gun violence awareness and emotional healing from the trauma of gun injuries and deaths in our culture. They have taken their project beyond the Rogue Valley into several other parts of the country. Creating a national network of sup- porters to cultivate compassionate, nonviolent change, they help to amplify the voices of under-served youth and survivors. People ages 4 to 96 have made Vision Quilt panels, exhibited across the country. Vision Quilt recently received a nationally prized Innovation Grant for the work they are doing in California’s East Bay, with Lighthouse Community Charter School. Their program, “Addressing Gun Violence: Creating Visionaries, Storytellers, and Community Activists” is a production-centered, youth-led initiative which grew out of a direct request from Lighthouse students. Cathy DeForest earned her Ph.D. in Organization Development and Systems Change. Vision Quilt is based on collaboration with schools, health care systems and violence prevention.