Northeast Department of Peace Conference

The Children's Tapestry of Peace was created by a group of eight children, ages 4-12, from Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Liam and Adrian Coyle; Trees, Hope, Race and Arden Lewis-Taylor; and Julien and Connor White (and their baby brother Graham) attended the first Northeast Regional Department of Peace Conference in Massachusetts, June 2-4, 2006. They participated in the weekend children's program, facilitated by Shelley Schweizer, which looked at peace through the eyes of the children.

The tapestry represents what peace means to each participating child. For one, peace meant a quiet place in nature. For another, it was the caretaking of the earth's animals. For others, peace is captured through the graceful flight of a dove or the joy of a colorful rainbow. The tapestry will be traveling throughout the country and will be displayed in places of worship, museums, and community centers. Our hope is that this traveling tapestry will encourage others to speak with children about what peace means to them and how peace and nonviolence can be an essential and ongoing part of each of our lives.

The Northeast Regional Department of Peace Conference explored building a cultural framework for peace through which the principles of peace and nonviolence can be woven into the practices of our everyday lives. The conference was one in a series of conferences held across the country in support of the campaign for the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace, for which legislation is currently pending in Congress. For information about the campaign and for contacts in your state go to The Peace Alliance website at www.ThePeaceAlliance.org.

For more information on the tapestry or to reserve it for a viewing in your community or at your event, contact Lynn Ellis, 207-779-7351 or lellis at mainedop dot org.

Also, we are collecting digital photos of people with the tapestry. If you would like to be part of the collection, have your picture taken with the tapestry and then email it to Jason White at jason at madop dot org. All photos will be published on the Tapestry of Peace website at www.tapestryofpeace.org.