"Anything war can do......PEACE can do better!! "

"As a local catalyst for a Department of Peace, striving to build a culture of peace through our personal and co-operative actions, our mission is to be a community resource for conflict resolution and non-violence.

We support the passage of peace related legislation." (Our Mission Statement)

Peace Pizzazz is Sunday, May 22nd!!!!

Our third annual children's peace art and music festival is just around the corner. It begins at 1:30 in Bronson Park, with the children's peace parade (including Peace Mama) beginning at 3:30.

There will be lots of entertainment, hands on art activities and an exhibition of the children's peace art, which has been created in the past few months. This is in conjunction with May being declared Peace Education Month by the Kalamazoo City Commission.

There will be face painting and free bubbles for all. Bring your kids, grandkids, neighbor kids, nieces and nephews and share in the fun!!! You may even want to bring a picnic lunch.

Come Walk With Us in the Memorial Day Parade

Members of all local peace organizations are encouraged to participate in the parade on Monday, May 30th in downtown Kalamazoo. This is an effort of our newly formed peace cooperative group called People for Peace and Justice.

Help us show our community how many of us are committed to the peace effort. We need you!! Details will follow.

Petition to Withdraw Troops from Afghanistan

However I felt about the death of Osama bin Laden, I am disgusted

and discouraged that it's being used as a reason by some to intensify the

war in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden wasn't even found in Afghanistan. He was in Pakistan. And it

wasn't an occupying force of over 100,000 of our soldiers who captured

him. It was a small force of a few dozen.

This war has already cost us so much, in terms of the lives of our

soldiers and many civilians. And in terms of the billions of dollars we

keep spending there that we need now at home.

President Obama is deciding right now how many troops to bring home and

how quickly, to honor a commitment he made to start withdrawing troops in

July. I signed a petition to let him know that we want our troops home.

Can you join me at the link below?

http://pol.moveon.org/afghanistan_drawdown/?r_by=27213-7132962-8t65lMx&rc=mailto

Thanks! This text comes from moveon.org.

Join us on Facebook!!!

Help us grow our numbers! We invite you to join and participate in our Facebook Group. (6thDistrictDoP@...) There is also a link on our website which we encourage you to view. (www.dopmichigan6th.org)

Moveable Peace this summer

Kevin, Mr. Peace Szwala, our state coordinator for the Department of Peace, will be travelling around our state after Memorial Day this summer promoting the idea of having a Michigan Commission for Peace and Justice.

We would be the first state in the nation to have such a commission. Kevin will be in Kalamazoo in mid June. This will culminate in a walk for peace on Labor Day over the Mackinac Bridge. To find out more about Moveable Peace,

go to our website and click on Links and then the Citizens for Peace. More information to follow.

Our next Department of Peace meeting is on May 12, 2011 at Skyridge at 6:30. Please join us.

Peacefully Submitted by Luana VanDam, Janice Lakers (outgoing co-chair) and Chuck Harmon ( incoming co-chair )