Pursuing Peace in Cincinnati

Photos and Video From the Night

While every speech, from Allison’s introduction, to Bonnie and Don’s heartfelt acceptance speeches, to Andrea’s imploring of us to begin envisioning a Nonviolent Cincinnati, was moving, we were only able to video John’s keynote address. Please enjoy and share those video if you weren’t able to come or if you need a re-watch for inspiration.

We’ve also included a few pictures from the night:

Pursuing Peace in Cincinnati

IJPC is thrilled to host John Dear, an internationally known activist, speaker, and author for Pursuing Peace in Cincinnati: Nonviolent Cincinnati Launch. We also will honor local activist Don Sherman with the IJPC Margaret Fuller Peace Award and local activist Bonnie Neumeier the inaugural IJPC Bob Maxwell Peace Builder Award. We will also highlight some of the recent accomplishments of IJPC, as this event will serve as our annual meeting. As a celebration of peace, it will be in lieu of the World Peace Festival.

Pursuing Peace in Cincinnati will launch the Nonviolent Cincinnati initiative. With violence, hatred, and oppression so prevalent today, we invite individuals, businesses, organizations, and groups in Greater Cincinnati to imagine a nonviolent alternative, and systematically plan a long term course of action to make that peaceful vision a reality.

Event Details:

Pursuing Peace in Cincinnati
Featuring speaker, John Dear
Official launch of Nonviolent Cincinnati
Seton High School (3901 Glenway Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45205)
Wednesday September 20, 2017
7:00 – 9:00 PM

Parking is available in Seton High School’s garage on property.

Tickets:

Tickets are available at the office (215 E 14th St. Cincinnati OH 45202) or online at Eventbrite.

• They are $15/adult and $5/student.
• If you are interested in purchasing 5 or more tickets or purchasing a block of tickets for your school or organization, please call Mel at 513.579.8547 or email mel@IJPCcincinnati.org.
• For bulk tickets, we are able to offer 5-9 tickets for $13 per ticket and 10+ tickets for $12 per ticket. We are not able to offer a bulk price for student tickets.
• If cost of tickets is a hardship but you still want to attend, please contact our office.

Pursuing Peace Supporters

We are grateful for the organizations and businesses who have collaborated with us to host John Dear and kick off this incredible new initiative.

Visit our list of supporters here!

Who is John Dear?

John Dear is an internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence. A peacemaker, organizer, lecturer, and retreat leader, he is the author/editor of 30 books, including his autobiography, A Persistent Peace, and his recent book, The Nonviolent Life. In 2008, John was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. A former Jesuit, John is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Monterey, California.
From 1998 until December 2000, he served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest interfaith peace organization in the United States.

After the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, John served as a Red Cross Chaplain, and became one of the coordinators of the chaplain program at the Family Assistance Center.

From 2002-2004, he served as pastor of several parishes in northeastern New Mexico. He co-founded Pax Christi New Mexico and works on a nonviolent campaign to disarm Los Alamos. These days, he lectures to tens of thousands of people each year in churches and schools across the country and the world. He currently works as the Nonviolence Outreach Coordinator for Pace e Bene.

John has been arrested over seventy-five times in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience for peace, and has organized hundreds of demonstrations against war and nuclear weapons at military bases across the country, as well as worked with Mother Teresa and others to stop the death penalty.
John has two masters’ degrees in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in California.

What is the Nonviolent Cities Program?

Guided by Campaign Nonviolence, the Nonviolent Cities Program calls upon activists, organizers, local leaders, political and religious leaders and ordinary citizens in every city in the nation to organize their local community as a “Nonviolent City.”

We believe in a vision of a nonviolent Cincinnati. There are a handful of other cities across the country that are invested in this work in their own communities. We all know this effort is radical because it hasn’t been done before, and we need peace in our city. We know this is big. We know this is hard. We know this will take time. We know we can’t do this without you.

The Nonviolent Cities Program is a grassroots movement. Cincinnati will analyze the strengths and challenges present in our community, organize what to do, and create a vision of how to do it. We will discover how to promote, teach and internalize principles, methods, and alternatives to violence in all forms at all levels. In the process, we will create just, peaceful, and sustainable solutions that will transform life in our homes, communities, and institutions.

Nonviolent Cincinnati will build a broad coalition of peace partners from a wide range of backgrounds and skills. Together, we will develop a comprehensive shared vision of a peace-filled nonviolent city, and work together to turn this vision into a new shared reality. To connect with Nonviolent Cincinnati, email andrea@IJPCcincinnati.org.

Why be involved?

Cincinnati is a city full of passionate citizens and abundant resources. It is also plagued by consistently having one of the nation’s highest rates of poverty and pervasive multi-level violence. Too many of our community members live in desperate situations that stand in stark contrast to the life of security and general comfort many others enjoy. Resignation and passivity only feed this system, sending the message that this is just the way things are and that we no choice but to live with it. It doesn’t have to be this way. We are sending out a call to all who believe in the possibility of change.

Nonviolent Cincinnati is a local, holistic, grassroots movement to make Cincinnati more disarmed, more reconciled, more just, more welcoming, more inclusive, more compassionate, and more peaceful. It needs the investment of all sectors of society including the poor and marginalized, children and older adults, news reporters and local media, housing authorities, educators and healthcare workers, religious and civic leaders, police and law enforcement, and the mayor and city councilors. Many are already doing the important work of creating peace in Cincinnati. This initiative requires intentional collaboration and connection across sectors. It will require that we stop wishing things were different and actively organize to make change happen. Will you roll up your sleeves and join us? To connect with Nonviolent Cincinnati, email andrea@IJPCcincinnati.org.