2006
Peace Programs
Peace
Programs in 2005 & 2007
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A
Conversation in Community
August 7 – 12, 2006
Highlands, North Carolina |
Peacemaking
resides in the heart of spirituality.
Through
dialogue, the arts, worship, reflection and
experiencing nature, we’ll gain understanding
about others with whom we might not normally
be in community. This experience incorporates
peacemaking into daily life, and inspires
individual actions both great and small.
Participants help create the program as it
unfolds, becoming a collaborative interfaith
community envisioning – and creating
– peace.
In these turbulent times . . .
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when
political cartoons spark riots and bombings; |
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when
there is unspeakable violence all over
the world in the name of religion; and |
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when
homicide among our youth (ages 10-24)
is the leading cause of death for African
Americans, the second for Hispanics,
and the third main cause of death for
American Indians, Alaska Natives, and
Asian/Pacific Islanders (CDC report,
2006) . . . |
. . . there is an urgent need to learn to
explore religious pluralism and how diversity
can strengthen non-violent social action as
we work to achieve peace and positive community
building throughout the world. |
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| “This
has been one of the most moving experiences
of my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity
to discuss topics that before were too uncomfortable
for me, and to learn how to approach people
with opinions vastly different from mine in
an open, caring way. We can be in 'harmonious
disagreement' and still work for a common
vision for peace - together. Thank you for
Interfaith Visions for Peace.”
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Distinguished
Faculty
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The
Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt is
minister of The Fourth Universalist
Society in New York City. She graduated
from Yale University and Drew Theological
Seminary. Reverend McNatt is former
editor of the New York Times Book
Review, author of three books including
her memoir, Unafraid of the Dark,
and is a contributing columnist as “Reverend
Mother” for Beliefnet.com. Currently,
she serves as adjunct instructor at
Union Theological Seminary and is a
member of the Unitarian Universalist
(UU) Panel on Theological Education.
She is founder of the UU Trauma Response
Ministry, which was created to provide
culturally-sensitive and liberal religious
assistance in mass disaster situations.
Reverend McNatt’s passion, wisdom
and wit bring energy and depth to any
conversation. |
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Dr.
Kenneth Nafziger brings people
of any musical skill and faith tradition
to new levels of spirituality through
community singing. He received his DMA
from the University of Oregon and was
a post-doctoral conducting student with
Helmuth Rilling in Stuttgart, Germany.
At EMU his teaching responsibilities
include the EMU Chamber Singers, courses
in conducting, music history, interdisciplinary
humanities, and in music and worship
at the seminary. Dr. Nafziger has conducted
many performances of Cuba‘s leading
choirs and orchestras and has led workshops
on singing spirituals with Schola Cantorum
Coralina in Havana. As co-author of
Singing: A Mennonite Voice,
his commitment to peace through the
arts has inspired thousands throughout
the world. His unexpected bursts of
humor, creativity and sensitivity motivate
people of all ages to raise their voices
in song. |
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Voices
representing Muslim, Jewish, and other faith traditions
will be an integral part of this community conversation.
 The
Mountain’s scenic setting inspires a
safe environment where people of diverse religious
traditions engage in honest conversation and
learning together.
Interfaith Visions
of Peace will be a unique
symposium in which all of us – faculty
and participants – collaborate in creating
the program as it unfolds as an interactive
and “organic” experience.
Note: Please bring along
a personal or symbolic object representative
of your vision of peace. (This will return
home with you.) Also bring another special
item to share – a stone, vial of water,
etc. (This will go home with another participant.)
You may also wish to pack tools which support
your creative process: a journal, treasured
books/quotes/songs, musical instruments, etc.
Join us for a conversation in community! |
“As
individuals, we may not be AT peace with the
way things are, and so we need to consider
a peace position as a process rather than
a ‘place.’ The arts allow us to
engage in this process, moving beyond thought
and into the heart and spirit.”
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Compassionate
Communication & Peaceful Living
September
8 - 10, 2006
Guest Facilitator: Mary Mackenzie
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The Center for Nonviolent Communication
(CNVC) is a global organization helping
people connect compassionately with themselves
and one another through Nonviolent Communication
language, created by Marshall B. Rosenberg,
Ph.D. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) helps
us connect with what is alive in ourselves
and in others moment-to-moment, with what
we or others could do to make life more
wonderful, and with an awareness of what
gets in the way of natural giving and receiving.
The CNVC International Intensive Training
will take place at The Mountain October
12-20, 2006. For more information, see www.cnvc.org.
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Would
you like more peace and ease in your life and
relationships? Would you like to communicate
with compassion and understanding in order to
support your desire to be a peacemaker in you
daily living?
Mary Mackenzie, author of Peaceful Living: Daily
Meditations for Living with Love, Healing and
Compassion, is The Mountain’s Guest Facilitator
for this fascinating weekend where you will
learn about yourselves and enhance your ability
to create peace.
“Peace is an attitude of acceptance and
trust that all is fundamentally okay in the
world even if it doesn’t look like what
we wanted,” says Mary Mackenzie. “In
any moment we can choose to live peacefully
or we can choose to wage war against what is.
Our state of being and behaviors stem from the
choice we make moment to moment. The best way
to maintain peace is to maintain your connection
to yourself.”
This exciting program will teach you how focusing
on your own needs will help all your relationships
thrive and transform. “It’s similar
to what a flight attendant tells us in our instructions
for how to handle an emergency,” says
Mackenzie. “Put the air mask on yourself
before helping others. When we tend to our emotional
needs, we are much more able to support other
people . . . we’re able to be fully present
to all our relationships.”
Included
in this program:
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Skill-building in nonviolent communication
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Time for spiritual reflection
•
Connecting with the natural beauty of The
Mountain
•
Peace Meditation Concert by The Mountain
Quartet
•
Closing Ceremony of Commitment. |
 Mary
Mackenzie is a certified trainer
for the Center for Nonviolent Communication*,
and the Executive Director of the Flagstaff
Center for Compassionate Communication, a nonprofit
peacemaking organization (see website at www.compassionatecommunication.org/).
She teaches transformational thinking, speaking,
and listening skills to individuals, couples,
families, and children to empower them in their
relationships. Mary also assists corporations
and organizations undergo restructuring or to
enhance their current programs for optimal success.
Mary has been described as a deeply spiritual
person with a keen sense of humor, inner clarity,
and insight. She holds a master’s degree
in Human Relations from Northern Arizona University
and is a certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication.
She is also a trained mediator and member of
the Arizona Dispute Resolution Association.
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Center
for Nonviolent Communication & International
Intensive Training (IIT)
Thursday,
October 12 – Saturday, October 21, 2006
The
Center for Nonviolent Communication is a global
organization helping people connect compassionately
with themselves and one another through Nonviolent
Communication language, created by Marshall B.
Rosenberg, Ph.D. Nonviolent Communication
(NVC) helps connect us with what is alive in ourselves
and in others moment-to-moment, with what we or
others could do to make life more wonderful, and
with an awareness of what gets in the way of natural
giving and receiving.
Nonviolent
Communication International Intensive Training
(IIT)
This
International Intensive Training (IIT) is
a 9-day Nonviolent Communication "immersion
experience." It is a residential workshop.
The purpose of this IIT training is to offer
participants the opportunity to live the
process of Nonviolent Communication in community
over an extended period of time and to develop
Nonviolent Communication knowledge, skills
and consciousness. You learn, eat, play
and live with people who want to connect
compassionately with others.
For
general information regarding an IIT, visit
the CNVC
website — or contact
Cynthia
Moe at 770-934-2787.
You can also visit their IIT webpages at
IIT
Department at The Center for Nonviolent
Communication (CNVC), 800-255-7696.
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Mountain Retreat & Learning Center, Inc. • 3872 Dillard Road •
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Phone: 828-526-5838 • Fax: 781-846-1295 • Email
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