“How do we transcend the cycles of violence that bewitch our human community while still living in them?”

John Paul Lederach, The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace, p.5, Oxford University Press, 2005.

Riverside Friends Justpeace Collaborative seeks to promote justpeace in community, education, and entertainment.

• How do we become aware of disrespect in our most cherished relationships when we are accustomed to dehumanization and disregard as acceptable in the most casual encounters of everyday life?
• How do we meaningfully and respectfully connect with others when competition and manipulation are features of our society?
• Where do we find models for healing and wholeness when our culture rewards destruction and promotes isolation?

What do we value? Do we live with love or in fear? Respecting other people as equal to ourselves and recognizing them as peers – unique individuals with inherent sacred worth – means putting effort into preventing the conditions of conflict that lead to violence.

A true revolution requires that a credible alternative be put in place of what is torn down.

Evan Stark, Coercive Control, p.11, Oxford University Press, 2007.

In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. described the first step of a nonviolent campaign as “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive,” gathering information about the situation at hand. All of us who desire restorative, respectful culture and relationships must begin by collecting the facts within ourselves to understand the state of our own existence and how it forms a unique point of view: our social location.

We are glad you are here.