On Tuesday, September 19, 2000 in the heart of New York City, John Morton facilitated an outreach “Peace Workshop” with approximately 68 people that crossed generations, races and faiths. Several representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations (called “NGO’s”) from the United Nations, students and principals from several schools and many others from the community attended.
The event was sponsored by the Institute for Individual and World Peace (IIWP) and United Youth International. Joan Beisel of United Youth International was the emcee. Joan had contacted IIWP to bring a peace workshop to the United Nations.
The peace workshop was a refreshing experience because conflict resolution training — repair after a conflict has already taken place — was the only kind of training many of the participants had experienced. The group explored peace through group processes, dyads, a mingle exercise, and a sharing led by John Morton. The participants were also treated to the CNN video called “Soldiers of Peace”, featuring the Colombian Children’s Movement for Peace nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The key themes that were presented in the workshop are: 1) peace is always present regardless of circumstances, 2) peace is a choice regardless of conditions, 3) peace is an inner process and 4) peace is the cessation of againstness. In their sharings, participants expressed that they found the training to be both inspiring and uplifting, and a very fresh way of looking at their own process towards inner and outer peace.
The workshop was free to participants because of the donations United Youth International and IIWP had collected. IIWP staff was represented by David Rodgers of Santa Barbara and John-Roger, founder of IIWP.
The team captain of the event was Marc Alhonte and his wife Melba translated for the Spanish-speakers in the audience. Other volunteer assistants were Connie Stomper from Los Angeles, Helen Bort from Philadelphia, Brenda Fishbaugh from Indiana and Larry Brock, Michelle Dinsmore, Tom Dyer, Elizabeth Frumin, Graham Holley, Louisa Holmes, Jim Lynch, Sals Farsi, Fannie Rutherford, Ann Weber and Mitchell Brozinsky. A large group attended from Los Angeles including, Marilyn and Vincent Dupont, Stu Semigran, Doug and Angel Gibson, Nathaniel Sharratt and Eric Albrecht.
John Morton ended the workshop with a reflective process, explaining how each person could go within every day and find their own inner core of peace and carry that with them throughout whatever happened in their outer world.
And then, on to…
Millennium Peace Day at the United Nations
Running out the door of the Peace Workshop and into a waiting van, John Morton, John-Roger, Joan Beisel and a few other adventurous souls headed to the United Nations building for the Millennium Peace Day celebration. After a rigorous security check, Joan worked her magic to get us great seats in a packed conference room for the incredible events to come.
Hundreds of school children attended to hear speeches from Mrs. Nohora Puyana de Pastrana, First Lady of Colombia and Ms. Betty Williams, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner. The children each carried a flag of each country for the World Peace Flag Ceremony. Incredible dancing and singing entertainment was provided by 60 Japanese youth called “Peace Boat” and a Colombian youth chorus called “Colors of Peace”.
The “Cloth of Many Colors” was unveiled, which is made of samples of fabric of every country sewn together. It was draped around the conference room to wrap the United Nations in peace and harmony. This cloth will be wrapped around the buildings of Congress and the Pentagon later in the week.
The youth also presented signatures they had collected for the “Manifesto for Peace,” a personal commitment to peace made by each person who signed it. Children from each country stood and read the amount of signatures they had collected — a staggering 60 million signatures in all! Children definitely can lead us to peace and make a difference. The event was very festive and colorful and the hundreds and hundreds of attendees were jubilant and inspired.
Joan Beisel once again worked her magic and brought the First Lady of Colombia over to meet John Morton and John-Roger. The First Lady personally invited them to come to Colombia to facilitate an IIWP Process Towards Peace workshop, saying her country needed it! A very amazing afternoon!
