After months of planning and lots of hard work by dozens of volunteers and event sponsors, the first Peace Week Delaware will launch on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Three events will be held at the Delaware Contemporary (formerly DCCA) at 200 South Madison St., on the Wilmington Riverfront. Additional events will be held in Center City Wilmington and in Rehoboth Beach. Between Sept. 18 and Sept. 25, more than 35 events are scheduled.
Peace Week Delaware is an expanded vision of peace led by the Movement for a Culture of Peace, which organized anti-violence marches in Wilmington in 2014 and 2015 and has held monthly public forums on how to achieve peace and address the impact of violence. Peace Week Delaware provides a coordinated outlet for that energy, widening the circle of nonviolent action across the state.
A detailed, up-to-date listing of all events is at www.peaceweekdelaware.org/events.
Sunday, Sept. 18 Events
New Castle County
Visions of Peace: Free Family Sunday
12:00 noon to 3:00 pm, The Delaware Contemporary
In conjunction with the opening reception for the Pacem in Terris Children’s Peace Art Exhibition, The Delaware Contemporary invites families to create artwork representing their own visions of peace at its regular first Fall Free Family Sunday. Materials provided. All ages welcome!
Opening Reception: Children’s Peace Art Exhibition
1:00 to 3:00 pm, The Delaware Contemporary
What does peace look like? What does a peaceful world look like? A children’s art exhibit for students in grades K-12 sponsored by Pacem in Terris. Conceived as a dialogue between youth and older citizens, the exhibit features images and words describing the world our youth envision. How will we respond to their vision?
Peace & the Spoken Word
3:00 to 4:30 pm, The Delaware Contemporary
Stories can be central to peacemaking. Brief narrative readings—all spoken aloud—will present the ideas and experiences of great thinkers and writers. During these participatory readings, audience members will be invited to read out selected passages. Today’s topic: Americans Abroad.If you think travel makes us better, this is for you. Readings will include Dr. Howard Thurman in India, Bayard Taylor in Germany, and James Baldwin and Charles Sumner in France. Sponsored by Plays of the World. Advance Registration Suggested: playsoftheworldhere@gmail.com or call (302) 463-4095
Also in Wilmington is a great opportunity to share a potluck meal across religions and cultures at the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew (SSaM), 719 N. Shipley St.
Breaking Bread Together
4:30 pm (meal served at 5:00), SSaM
An opportunity to meet our Muslim neighbors and to offer them our friendship. All ages and religious backgrounds (or no religion at all) are invited to come together around a shared meal. Foods from diverse cultures are welcome. Come as you are—with or without food—to celebrate our common humanity. Advance registration suggested: dlcasson@ssam.org. Sponsored by: Masjid Isa Ibn-e-Maryam and SsAM.
In Sussex County
The first Peace Week Delaware event in Sussex County will be a learning experience about a much talked-about alternative to incarceration and punishment.
Restorative Justice: Peace Making in Latin America
7:00 – 9:00 pm, Epworth United Methodist Church, Rehoboth
Charito Calvachi-Mateyko, a restorative justice practitioner, will give a brief overview of the approach that restorative justice uses, how it relates to building peace in Latin America, and the implications for peace building in our country and in our individual lives. Participants will be invited to ask questions and dialogue. Where: 19285 Holland Glade Rd., Rehoboth Beach DE 19971. Sponsored by: Delaware Humanities Forum and Epworth United Methodist Church
More information on all Peace Week Delaware events is at www.peaceweekdelaware.org/events
