Reflections and Invitations - May 2021

May Community Call
Untold Stories: Listening from the heart

Please join our May call with author, activist, and everyday peacebuilder, Carmen Rubin. For decades, Carmen has used her voice to tell untold stories, empower youth, and promote literacy. She believes in the power of story to transform hearts and turn the ‘other’ into a sister or brother. This conversation will highlight the importance of storytelling as a tool for healing, connection, and empathy -  three critical tools in the art of peacebuilding. 

During this conversation, a renowned New York City artist, Clintel Steed, will also be sharing his gifts. Throughout the call, Clintel will listen and paint, creating a work of art in real time inspired by the heart of the conversation. At the end, Clint will share his creative expression.

Join us this Friday, May 7th  
8am, PDT / 11am, EDT / 3pm, GMT 
Please click here to register for this call and receive the Zoom link.

 
May 2021 Community Call Invite.jpg
 

An update from the 2021 Peace Practice Alliance

After spending two months exploring personal and interpersonal peace practices, the Peace Practice Alliance is transitioning into month three on community peace practice. The learnings and connections in our first two months together have been inspiring and profound. We have intimately explored and expanded our self-care, self-awareness, deep listening, nonviolent communication practices, and more. After each month, participants harvest their key learnings and reflect on their developments. Here are some sharings from our community:

  • I have learnt the importance of listening to others and actually making them feel heard, which is something I have always struggled with in life. I've always thought of listening being something that you have or did not have, but I have now learnt that it is a skill that you can actually work on. (PPA Participant, South Africa)

  • Even though in my professional life as a psychologist/psychotherapist I practice listening a lot and pay attention to be a good listener, still there are a lot of things to be learned. Thank you for this learning journey which helps me to become a better listener and to continue working on becoming a more self-actualized person. (PPA Participant, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

  • I am amazed at the person I have become these few months. I have never felt this peaceful within and more tolerant, understanding, and empathy for those around me.  Every learning tool from here I put into practice...when I am faced with a situation, they come singing in my ears. (PPA Participant, Nigeria)

 
 

Please help us continue and expand!

Our spring fundraiser begins this month. As we reflect back on the last year, we see how the world has taken new shape. We are grateful that Euphrates has been able to continue to equip, connect, and uplift peacebuilders around the world with an even greater sense of our interconnectedness and the value of empathy.

Your generous contributions allow us to continue and to expand. This year we invited 31 new peace leaders from 21 countries into our family to learn and grow together in the Peace Practice Alliance (PPA). Despite the challenges of lockdowns and limited resources, many of our graduates from the 2020 PPA have launched incredible peace initiatives in their communities - encouraging interfaith dialogue in Bangladesh, working with community leaders to prevent domestic violence in Uganda, and providing intercultural dialogue and nonviolent communication training in Liberia.

Thank you for being a part of this community and making this work possible. We deeply appreciate any support you are able to provide. If you are able, please consider making your donation a monthly one. Monthly support helps create the stability Euphrates needs to continue to support the work of these peace leaders and expand to include many more!

Hollister