Salem Picked to Host Annual Peace Retreat

Salem was selected as its name is rooted in Shalom, the biblical term for "peace".

Courtesy: gandhiking.ning.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - The OR Fellowship for Reconciliation, a statewide social justice organization, has chosen Salem's Capital Manor as the venue for their annual Peace & Justice Retreat set for the October 8-9 weekend.

Headlining will be Seattle folksinger Tom Rawson, delivering an Oct. 8th concert laced with hootenanny-style music and chock full of anecdotal material. Tom is a longtime friend of the retired art teacher/muralist, John Roy Wilson, whom is doing a Picasso-like abstract mural at his old haunts, Oregon's school for the deaf.

John Roy plans to give a power-point presentation on Oct. 9th on how the mural concept first began and finally reached fruition. Violinist Mark Babson, current OFOR co-chair, will also perform along with others. Role-play theatre will demonstrate conflict resolution and the varied techniques of practical non-violence.

The social justice retreat theme is: Our Peace/Arts Partnership. Salem was selected as its name is rooted in Shalom, the biblical term for "peace". The retreat is customarily held in October to reflect Gandhi's birthday as well as United Nations Month.

More details can be obtained from Paul LaRue of the Retreat Planning Committee and a resident of Capital Manor. His phone number: 503-508-0805.

(Editor's note: We frequently remind people that Salem means 'Peace'. Even more frequently, the word 'Salam' is spoken; this word represents 'Peace' in the entire Arab world)

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Salem-News.com Community Writer Barry Lee Coyne brings to our readers stories from his combined career of journalism and gerontology, and explains that these paths shaped his values. Lee Coyne once worked for The Civil Service Leader in NY State and covered the Legislature. He has also done features on mediation and arbitration, and believes in healthy skepticism. This writer-therapist often views the world as the masks of comedy and tragedy placed upon the scales of justice. For him, optimism inevitably wins. "Lyrical Lee" has traveled to 30 nations aboard and was once a press intern at the UN. His first published article was in The NY Daily News in '59, dealing with the need for integrity in public office.

He also launched the nation's first tele-conference on health education for shut-ins, created the Eldermentors project in VA to pair retirees with immigrant students needing role models, and was the main catalyst behind CCTV's "Public Public" panel show here in Salem. Lee received his BA in International Relations and an MSW in community organization. He currently serves as a member of Salem's Library Advisory Board. To send Lee an email, please write to this address: luckycoyne@yahoo.com