Brooklyn Peace Center serves as a catalyst for peacebuilding and conflict transformation in Brooklyn, New York City. Through peacebuilding activities, arts and culture events, webinars and in-person workshops and seminars, Brooklyn Peace Center engages and resources community residents, activists and artists, clergy and clinicians, and all who have an interest in peacebuilding. Brooklyn Peace Center is gearing up for a season of peace programs, events, workshops, and the launch of a social enterprise! Here are five things happening at Brooklyn Peace Center.
1. Radical Living
Radical Living is a founding partner at Brooklyn Peace Center, and it launched its seventh year of environmental justice youth programming. Radical Living is dedicated to educating, engaging and equipping children, youth and families with the skills, knowledge and experiences to become agents of transformation in their communities. We do this in the context of urban farming, resilience- and community-building activities, and organizing for equity and social justice. Radical Living youth and families grow food seed-to-table, develop green spaces in Brooklyn (ranging from guerilla gardening to organizing a community garden), attend field trips together (including a camping trip to Freedom Farm), and learn in an intergenerational and intercultural community.
2. Shared Worship Space
Brooklyn Peace Church (Atlantic Coast Conference, Mennonite Church USA) and
Garifuna Believers Mennonite (LMC) hosted a joint Easter Sunday celebration at Brooklyn Peace Center, where they each hold services on Sunday (11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively). The worship service was in Spanish, English and Garifuna languages. These two churches share space and often come together for worship, volunteer days and fellowship.
3. Way of Circle Workshop
At Brooklyn Peace Center, we are committed to the way of peace, collaboration, creativity and shared power. We often gather in circles as a way of speaking and listening as a community. In partnership with The Kin-dom Collective, we are bringing a new workshop called
The Way of Circle on May 18-19. In this workshop, we will learn the lineages of this ancient practice, the principles of shared power, collaborative leadership and the everyday work of gathering and holding the wisdom of the community. Community leaders, clergy and clinicians, and artists and activists will leave the workshop with more confidence to host a Circle at their next meeting or gathering.
4. Summer Social
The inaugural
Summer Social fundraiser is scheduled for June 24. Following the success of the winter Jazz Night fundraiser, the Brooklyn Peace Center events team is organizing a Summer Social where there will be plenty of live music, including jazz and opera with Marie Engle. There will also be an art auction, featuring the works of two Brooklyn-based artists, Christian Harbin and Robert Aitchison, and a celebration of summer and the work of Brooklyn Peace Center.
5. Peace Café
Peace Café, a social enterprise of Brooklyn Peace Center, aims to launch in early summer, hopefully right in time for the Summer Social. The café will serve as a community hub where people can gather over a great cup of coffee. As a mission-driven business, Peace Café will generate revenue to provide support to Brooklyn Peace Center and its partners.
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