Daily Tidings Articles

Feb 26, 2017,  By Bob Morse Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

"When I started reaching out to homeless people, I intended to help others, but they help me," explained Vanessa Houk, the coordinator of Ashland's Sunday night shelter. "They give me a sense of peace that I don't get anywhere else."

Feb 13, 2017 By Bob Morse of Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

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"Ashland's mayor recently named a type of love, agape, as a possible antidote for the divisiveness rampant in our country. As an ambassador of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC), I've been listening to local and global voices on how love would be expressed in a culture of peace.

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The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, faithfulness, and commitment. Agape is also the unselfish love of one person for another without erotic implications. In the words of Philippe Hamer, "In a culture of peace, agape love is the basis of all expressions and actions."

Jan 30, 2017 By Bob Morse Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

"I was just in complete awe, having never created anything this powerful before," said Samae Chlebowski. She was describing the Women's March Southern Oregon which she and Sharon Dohrmann organized. They spoke to me at the Ashland Culture of Peace office in a wrapup session about the march's intentions and achievements. "Our goals were for people to walk away empowered, for marginalized people to know they have a voice, and for people to wake up."

Jan 16, 2017 By Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

"As we honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his work for justice and peace, one word comes to mind which encompasses both: love.

I recently attended the meeting of the committee that plans and produces the Martin Luther King Day celebration, and it's the word I heard most. It is represented in the songs and speeches and in the demonstration of attendees holding up hearts on the Plaza after the ceremony ends at the Historic Ashland Armory."

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Jan 2, 2017 By Ashland Culture of Peace Commission
 

"The Labyrinth Sacred Walk into the New Year has become an Ashland tradition. What aspects of Ashland encouraged this ancient symbol and worldwide practice to become a local custom? How has the presence of the Labyrinth Walk contributed to a culture of peace in Ashland?

Peace has been described as "beyond words" as it is a collection of life experiences about which we dream. Each of us has our own image of what peace looks, feels and sounds like."

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Dec 19, 2016  By Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

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"The Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) recently hosted a group of locals with diverse religious affiliations to examine how our community's organized religions have helped pave the way to peace.

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Compassion, an essential component of a culture of peace, is a value that most faiths share. Inclusivity, a strong intention of a culture of peace, has evolved over time through patient tenacity in local faith communities."

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Dec 5, 2016  By Jack Gibbs For the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

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"The Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) recently hosted a group of locals with diverse religious affiliations to examine how our community's organized religions have helped pave the way to peace.

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Compassion, an essential component of a culture of peace, is a value that most faiths share. Inclusivity, a strong intention of a culture of peace, has evolved over time through patient tenacity in local faith communities."

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Nov 21, 2016  By Jeff Golden For the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

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"The evening I heard Hillary Clinton call Donald Trump supporters a "basket of deplorables" (later clarifying that she only meant some of them) was the moment I started bracing for President Donald Trump. Trump himself couldn't have written her a better script for driving home his foundational theme to voters: "The elite running this country — the media, the so-called 'experts,' the liberals — think you're pathetic. That you're stupid and selfish. That you're wrong. Well, come along with me and we'll show them who's wrong."

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Nov 7, 2016  Bob Morse Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

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"When a reporter for Japan's largest-circulation newspaper witnessed President Obama speaking in Hiroshima this past summer, she became curious. How motivated are US citizens to bring about peace?

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Sonoko Miyazaki, a reporter for The Asahi Shimbun, carried this question to America where she visited both Ashland and the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC). At the end of her discussion with the Culture of Peace, she admitted, "I have dedicated my life to a nuclear bomb-less future, believing that peace was merely the absence of war, but here I've learned that peace has many facets."

Oct 24, 2016  Bob Morse Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

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"Transformation emerged as a theme when a group of artists gathered to explore how art activism inspires a culture of peace. Representing the spectrum of art expression (musicians, painters, songwriters, etc.), they dialogued about growth through art — the audience's and their own.

A poet and singer who teaches psychology helps people access their inner voice. While instructing art, a visual artist guides students toward a new way of being, uplifting them from banality and expanding their horizons so that they understand more than just their actions."

Oct 24, 2016  Bob Morse Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

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"Transformation emerged as a theme when a group of artists gathered to explore how art activism inspires a culture of peace. Representing the spectrum of art expression (musicians, painters, songwriters, etc.), they dialogued about growth through art — the audience's and their own.

A poet and singer who teaches psychology helps people access their inner voice. While instructing art, a visual artist guides students toward a new way of being, uplifting them from banality and expanding their horizons so that they understand more than just their actions."