What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. We’re talking about war, of course. Four years into Iraq, many defenders of the war are finding it hard to argue that this one’s anything but a loser. Meanwhile, on a local level, Richmond Peace Education Center is doing its part to break deadlocks, dissemble stalemates and diffuse stand-offs of all kinds by sharing the tools of conflict resolution. If all goes as hoped, the exercise will provide a foundation for a new generation of leaders to deal with conflict. It’s a lofty ambition, but weren’t the Pyramids built one ginormous block at a time? 

RPEC’s brand of resolution efforts can be applied to conflicts of any size, anywhere, from your own kitchen to the United Nations to a prison near you. “There are three parts,” says Santa Sorenson, certified by RPEC as a conflict resolution facilitator.

“The theme we work on is affirmation; who you are and what you are,” explains Sorenson. “The next level is teaching the right communication skills to keep people open to possibility of resolving a conflict. Third is cooperation, where you learn how to work cooperatively with a group.” Finally, the fourth step is actual resolution. “It’s the most intensive part, but you have to have the other three levels first.”

Sorenson says that although RPEC offers the workshop to the general public, there’s been little interest from that broad forum as yet. But get this: They lapped it up when Sorenson brought her dog-and-pony into the local corrections system. At the end of one workshop for the incarcerated, the inmates were so grateful that they awarded certificates of appreciation to their facilitators. Sorenson has scheduled another foray into the prison system later this year. And with an eye to the future, RPEC is sponsoring a workshop for youth of all faiths the last weekend in September.

If it all sounds too threatening, you can ease into the spirit this Sunday when RPEC and friends put on the Family Peace Festival from 11am to 5pm Sunday at St. Joseph’s Villa, north of the city. Fest organizers expect the fourth annual event to draw 1,000 people. (Last year, approximately 600 attended.) Like all the other outdoor events this festival-crazy town hosts, there will be food vendors, crafts vendors, and live music, most notably by the Richmond Boys Choir, Ban Caribe and Drums No Guns. “Music is a uniting force,” says Sorenson. But the tie that binds? Faith. Of any kind, Muslim or Methodist, Unity or Catholic. The more diverse the better, Sorenson says.

Sunday’s festivities kick off at 11am with an interfaith worship service, scheduled to end around noon with the release of three peace doves. Then comes the frivolity. Entertainment is borderless and not all serious. In addition to food, music and crafts, that popular party pleaser the Moon Bounce will keep kids busy. Best of all, games are structured so that no one loses. As in successful conflict resolution, no one leaves crying. “They’re cooperative games, all win-win situations,” explains Sorenson. 

“We’ve always just wanted to have people of different faiths come together and have a great time,” says Sorenson. “Meet each other, talk to each other, all in a pleasant setting. Just having fun next to a person of another faith, whom you’d never meet anywhere else.” Based on her own experience, Sorenson says, people leave with new friendships, “and new understanding.”

http://www.rpec.org

Family Peace Festival
Sunday 11am-5pm
St. Joseph’s Villa