Weaving Wholeness is a new nonprofit corporation in the state of Missouri. The purpose of this corporation is:
• to support and conduct non-partisan research, education, and informational activities to increase public awareness of women (daughters, sisters, cousins, mothers, friends, neighbors, or others) about caregiving and self-care,
• to provide social support and development of networks, a
nd
• to support sustainable physical, mental, spiritual, and economic wellbeing, and sustainability activities. A significant part of sustainability is peace and the reduction and elimination of social and physical violence. As our inaugural event, we wanted to reach a wide range of women and the broader community to make them aware of how they can work for sustainability. After a year of research about the health concerns of homeless women and a retreat, we decided to host “Stop the Violence 4 Peace” Day and tour of the peace sites. This event is taking place in conjunction with the Old North St. Louis Farmers Market (ONSL) Farmer's Market on July 18, 2015. The market supplies organic produce at nominal prices to community residents, as well as cultural educational opportunities. The goal is to reduce and prevent all forms of violence including gun violence, domestic violence and social violence, and will be followed up with ongoing values and skills-based education. The pilot event will engage community residents across generations and organizations to create public artistic expressions. A Peace Pole is a hand-crafted monument that displays the message and prayer May Peace Prevail on Earth on each of its four or six sides, usually in different languages. There are tens of thousands of Peace Poles in 180 countries all over the world dedicated as monuments to peace. They serve as constant reminders for us to visualize, work, and pray for peace. (http://www.peacepoleproject.org/). On “Stop the Violence 4 Peace” Day a tour of the sites will take place in conjunction with the Old North Farmers Market and festivities. The tour will highlight sites in Old North, Salisbury, Hyde Park, and other North St Louis sites. We are also currently fundraising to purchase peace poles for residents in these communities who are unable to afford them for display on their property. Each person will be asked to write why they think this is important, what they will do to support peace and nonviolence, and display a peace and nonviolence sign in their window.
