Meet the Peace Trainers: “These are my people”

 



 










As soon as Kristi Lewis of Cobble Hill, B.C. heard about the Peace Train, she knew she wanted to be part of it.

“These are my people,” she said of those who spoke about the Nov. 15-22 cross-country trip to ask the federal government to establish a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice focused on research, education, and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and peace operations.

“I value their endeavors with regards to the peace train and trust their commitment to the cause. I know it is for all the right reasons, that we are seeking to re-institute a peace center in Canada that puts peace back on the map. Not choosing sides. Standing up for peace. Period.”

Kristi admits she is “as heartbroken as everyone by the news every day. But I simply want to do more than nothing. Despondency does not get us anywhere. I believe we must engage grief in order to move through it, and that loving community aids us in the process.”

While on the train, Kristi, 44, plans to write about the experience, fold a lot of peace cranes, sing songs, make new connections and “engage in a path toward peace in any meaningful way I can.”

The goal of the Peace Train is to ask the Canadian government to establish a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice focused on research, education, and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and peace operations. More information can be found at https://www.peacetraincanada.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“You are inspiring in these difficult and uncertain times.” Peace Trainers meet Members of Parliament in Ottawa

Image
“ You are inspiring in these difficult and uncertain times.”   With those words, Gord Johns, NDP Member of Parliament for Courtenay—Alberni, welcomed Peace Train participants to a reception in Ottawa at the Sir John A. MacDonald Building.   Eleven Members of Parliament attended the reception—something Johns noted was exceptional considering how busy Parliamentarians are each day. “This is a tremendous showing,” he said, noting that every political party was represented at the event. Johns praised the Peace Trainers, saying they were bringing an important and hopeful message to Ottawa in calling for a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice—something he was glad to support. Following Johns was John McKay, Liberal Member of Parliament for Scarborough—Guildwood and Chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence. McKay said he spends most of his time thinking about the latest threats. “We live in a fraught environment,” he said, adding “I’m glad to see you here...
Read more

Cross-Country Peace Train Seeks to Get Canada Back on the Track Towards Peace

Image
Getting peace back on track in Canada—that’s the goal of the Peace Train.   The 40 or so people travelling on VIA Rail from Vancouver to Ottawa Nov. 15-22 plan to ask the Canadian government to establish and fund a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice focused on research, education, and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and peace operations.   “In the face of ever-increasing violent wars, nuclear threat, climate disruption, and humanitarian crisis, the Peace Train seeks to raise the voice of Canadians about the need for us, as a country, to find peaceful ways to promote stability, security, and human rights both here and abroad,” said Keith Wyton of Port Alberni, B.C.   For Keith, who is organizing the Train with his wife, Bernadette, it’s not about Canada doing something new but, rather, recovering its “honorable history of peace efforts going back to 1957 and Lester Pearson’s Nobel Prize for helping create the first UN Peacekeeping force,” as ...
Read more

Meet the Peace Trainers: Members of Winnipeg church want to get peace back on track

Image
For four members of a Winnipeg church, joining the Peace Train is a way to try to get peace back on track in Canada.   The four—Gordon and Lori Matties, Val Falk and Agnes Hubert—are among 40 people from across Canada who boarded VIA’s The Canadian Nov. 15 in Vancouver to travel to Ottawa to ask the federal government to establish and fund a Centre of Excellence for Peace and Justice focused on research, education, and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and peace operations. They are part of River East Church, an Anabaptist congregation that is affiliated with Mennonite Church Manitoba.   While the four have different reasons for participating in the Peace Train, they all seek one thing: To see Canada play a more active role in finding ways to prevent or deescalate conflict in the world. Gordon is a retired university theology professor who is inspired by how the Bible “imagines a hopeful future, a future without war, a future of peace with justice for all o...
Read more