A vigil will be held each day on the Ashland Plaza throughout the 11 Days for Peace where challenges to peace are explored. Our theme is Shining the Light of Peace on Our Shadows, the shadows being those issues that are hindering our community from becoming a culture of peace.
 

9/11 - Culture of War and Violence held by Veterans for Peace (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/12 - Sexual Abuse and Sex Trafficking held by Courtney Dukelow (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/13 - Addiction held by Norma Burton (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/14 - Environmental Degradation held by KSwild (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/15 - Homelessness and the Affordable Housing Crisis held by Jason and Venessa Houk (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/16 - The Prison Industrial Complex held by Katherine Warren(&Possibly Resolve) (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/17 - Acknowledging Historical Trauma held by Red Earth Descendants (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/18 - Racism and Inequity held by Racial Equity Coalition (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/19 - Patriarchy and the Mother Wound held by O.N.E. Space (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/20 - Food Injustice held by Chris Hardy (5:30pm - 6:30pm)

9/21 - Peace Activists Throughout History held by ACPC in Solidarity with the Interfaith Community (3:30-4:30pm)

 

Intention:

 

The purpose for these vigils is to publicly acknowledge the work we as a community must do. It is to take responsibility for our history and what we as a community are collectively facing. These vigils are an opportunity for the community of Ashland to stand together in mourning, in solidarity, and in the discomfort to feel together what has happened, what is happening, and what we are allowing to continue to happen. The vigils are an exercise in sitting together, with intention, full attention to feel the pain of these issues.

 

Specifically, we hope to hold space for people to recognize our collective tendency to avoid feeling the true impact of these issues on our community. We hope to make these issues personal. By connecting with these issues on a personal level, we believe our community has the best chance of engaging in the exploration of how to create a culture of peace in Ashland.

 

Lastly, we believe that to collectively mourn in public is to witness our brothers and sisters being present together to what we collectively face. This presence makes it possible to deal with our culture of war and oppression from an engaged, heart involved place, moving us towards a culture of peace. To be in the discomfort of what we face is to collectively move through it. This is not about doom and gloom, but about taking responsibility and feeling into the power of solidarity and the hopes and dreams for the better world we know is possible.