{"id":1998,"date":"2017-09-25T09:07:48","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T16:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.loghouseplants.com\/blogs\/greengardening\/?p=1998"},"modified":"2017-09-25T09:07:48","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25T16:07:48","slug":"a-peace-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.loghouseplants.com\/blogs\/greengardening\/2017\/09\/a-peace-cafe\/","title":{"rendered":"A Peace Cafe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nourishing A Peaceable Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the wake of the recent events in Charlottesville, I\u2019ve been pondering the logistics of building peaceful community. It seems that for a city or town to have the resilience to resist hate, it has to be a lively, vibrant, connected community, one where many people feel a strong sense of belonging. There\u2019s lots of social research that indicates that this sense of belonging is losing ground in the USA, for dozens of reasons, from increased job mobility to increasing distraction seeking, media addiction and more. Holding an occasional protest or festival can\u2019t truly do the job; weaving community requires many small threads. It also takes time, yet I\u2019ve seen how quickly we can bond over shared experiences and desires. It seems clear that people who long for peaceful, nourishing community are the very ones who can most effectively create it.<\/p>\n

Here on the island, several hundred people gathered on a downtown green space after Charlottesville with candles and hurting hearts. It was heartening to see that the momentum was positive rather than negative; people gathered not to scorn the haters but to show their desire and support for a more peaceful, inclusive, and just society. As people shared stories and songs, it became apparent that many of us want to be more connected, to learn from each other, and to stand together in the face of hate. Over and over we heard that community is strengthened when we welcome diversity, meet challenges with compassion, and support each other with kindness.<\/p>\n

A Cafe For Kindness<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been thinking and talking with friends about ways to encourage the momentum of that initial event locally. Recently, I got permission from Eagle Harbor Congregational Church to host a monthly Peace Cafe<\/strong> in the Fellowship Hall. The idea is to make a time and place for coming together to share experiences and ideas that can help build kinder, stronger, and more resilient community for all of us. I\u2019m inviting our local branch of Indivisible to participate, as well as local faith communities and anyone who is interested is definitely welcome to come and talk and listen.<\/p>\n

One problem I saw at our outdoor gathering was that the circle was so huge, we couldn\u2019t always hear each other. At the end, as people drifted away, I had a vision of doing a grand promenade, circling around and shaking hands right and left so we all got to see each other face to face and maybe exchange names. Years ago, I participated in several \u201ctalk cafes\u201d, open gatherings where participants move between variously labeled \u201ctopic tables\u201d, including some undesignated tables for free discussion. It seemed like a great model for developing an open yet small scale forum that allowed enough interaction that everyone at a given table can speak and be heard.<\/p>\n

Kindness In, Kindness Out<\/strong><\/p>\n

My model is also influenced by the Socratic Cafe program, which encourages careful phrasing of table topics to promote broader and more empathetic responses than single word topics like racism or hate might. Thus, each Peace Cafe table\u2019s conversation will hopefully be sparked by a prepared question which aims to stimulate thoughtful responses. How can our community resist hate\/racism in our schools? How can we discover\/explore our own filters, perhaps white\/privilege, abled\/disabled, agist, gender spectrum, etc.? What actually, practically encourages\/discourages a diverse community?<\/p>\n

Loving, Compassionate Exit Strategies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a great conversation starter:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/intelligence-report\/2016\/life-after-hate<\/strong><\/p>\n

If your community could benefit from such a program, please feel free to adapt this one to your own needs. Here on Bainbridge island, we will host Peace Cafes monthly and intend to include all ages. If there is interest, we will happily arrange for daytime events as well, possibly at the Senior center and the local schools. Like any good cafe, we\u2019ll supply coffee and tea and light snacks.<\/p>\n

Dorie Greenspan\u2019s Peace Cookies<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do you serve at a Peace Cafe? Perhaps the most delicious treat ever developed, the World Peace Cookie has become as iconic as those ubiquitous molten chocolate cakes. I have a riff on the recipe, as many people do, and Dorie herself has take it a step further as well, as you can see here:<\/p>\n

World Peace Cookies, the Newest Version from Dorie’s Cookies: Sneak Peek<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n