Past 2023 Event: Meeting Our Sorrowing Heart: A Workshop of Grieving and Healing

Saturday, September 16
2-4pm
Philadelphia Ethical Society
1906 S. Rittenhouse Square

Join us for this communal experience of grieving together. Guided by grief coach and writer Naila Francis of This Hallowed Wilderness, this is a welcoming space for caregivers, service providers and others to honor their sorrows through meditation, creative practice and ritual.

This workshop invites you to make space for your grief, to connect to your heart and your body and what they might be trying to tell you through writing prompts, meditation and ritual. By gathering in community, we also tap into the balm of connection and the power of being witnesses and affirmed, helping us to feel less alone in our grief.

Please bring a journal to write in.

Get free tickets HERE

Download the flyer HERE

Naila Francis is a writer, grief coach and death midwife. She helps grievers learn to live more truthfully and wholeheartedly alongside their grief. Naila is also a founding member of Salt Trails, a Philadelphia collective making grief public and visible through community rituals, and the co-host of Breathing Wind, a podcast about journeying introspectively through grief. Learn more about Naila at www.thishallowedwilderness.com

Past 2023 Event: Prayers for Peace Mantra-thon

Saturday, September 16
12 noon – 8pm, zoom and in-person
Feel free to join the event either way and at any time for any length

Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2012464464
Meeting ID: 201 246 4464
(In-person) Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center, 954 N. Marshall Street, Philadelphia PA 19123

In Buddhism, a mantra is a sacred sound, syllable, word, or phrase repeated to help the meditator focus on their meditation experience. There are such mantras that help us to connect with the potential that each of us has to experience profound peace within ourselves, and to be an arbiter of peace in the world.

Everyone is invited to drop in to this virtual and in-person meditation offered by the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia. Whether it’s your first time, or you are a regular meditation and chanting practitioner, you are invited to come and share in this experience of chanting mantra prayers for peace.

The Prayers for Peace Mantra-thon is divided into 45 minute segments, each devoted to a specific Buddhist mantra and dedicated to a state of mind that supports happiness, peace and inclusion for all living beings.

DOWNLOAD  FLIER

Past 2023 Event: Talk: Embodied Peace

Sunday, September 17
11:00am
Philadelphia Ethical Society
1906 S. Rittenhouse Square

2:00pm
VIA ZOOM – CLICK HERE

Sometimes peace, both in ourselves and in the world, is portrayed as an elusive, idealistic, or spiritual ideal. But peace is, in fact, very grounded and mundane. It is rooted in the body. Certainly those whose bodies are in physical danger struggle to experience peace. Hugh Taft-Morales reflects on building embodied peace from the inside out through meditative practices. How can we nurture inner peace by more fully embracing our physical nature, from the breaths we take to our mortal, temporal existence? How might it help us build a world where everyone experiences peace and justice?

Hugh Taft-Morales serves as Leader of the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Baltimore Ethical Society and is a member of the Ethical Action Committee of the American Ethical Union (AEU). Hugh taught philosophy and history for twenty-five years in Washington, D. C., after which he transitioned into Ethical Culture Leadership. In April of 2009 he graduated from the Humanist Institute and was certified as an Ethical Culture Leader by the AEU in 2010. For more information, CLICK HERE.

Past 2023 Event: Benefit Concert of Music Inspiring Harmony & Peace

Sunday, September 17th
7:00pm
Philadelphia Ethical Society
1906 S. Rittenhouse Square

$15 suggested donation,  but all are welcome at the door – All proceeds will go to Nationalities Service Center and their Survivor Services program. Get tickets HERE.

This benefit concert will feature pieces of music related to harmony and peace, including works by Leonard Bernstein, Cesar Franck, Romeo Cascarino, Valerie Coleman and Florence Price.

CONCERT FLIER


Musicians will include:
– Pianists Annette and Regina DiMedio
– Flutist Robert Cart
– A String Quartet: violin- Philip Kates and Luigi Mazzocchi; viola- David Giles; cello- Patricia Daniels
– Bassoonist Peter Schoenbach
– Soprano Marta Zaliznyak

NSC’s Survivor Services programs provide comprehensive supports and a path for healing for survivors of domestic violence, torture, and trafficking. NSC aims to empower the communities we serve by providing services that are multilingual, culturally responsive, and trauma informed. Learn more HERE

“A community I’ve found here at Survivor Services Program that shares similar journeys gives me hope for the future.”  – SSP Client

Past 2023 Event: Immigrant and Refugee Career Fair

Monday, September 18
1-4pm
801 Market Street, 11th Floor, Conference Room 1154A, Philadelphia. Entrance is on 8th Street, between Market and Filbert Streets.

iBelong Philly, in partnership with Health Federation, Nationalities Service Center (NSC), DBHIDS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Peace Day Philly, is organizing this event to bring together a wide range of employers from around the city.  Individuals will have an opportunity to network, speak with hiring managers, learn about resume building, interviewing tips, and much more.

Participants are encouraged to dress professionally and bring an up-to-date resume and cover letter to the event.

For more information, please contact iBelong at ibelong.philly@gmail.org.

DOWNLOAD PDF

 

Past 2023 Event: Building Bridges: Talking Across Divides

Monday, September 18
6:30-8:00pm
The Peace Center
102 W. Maple Avenue, Langhorne

Excerpted from The Peace Center’s 2020 workshop Talking Across a Divide, which was offered as part of Pennsylvania Inauguration Committee’s 2021 MLK Day of Service, Building Bridges will explore the basics of and differences between communication and dialogue.  They are not always the same!

From kindergarten through elementary school, most students learn how to build friendships in the classroom by using their words, developing shared interests, and finding common ground.  Then middle and high school happen.  We learn and practice the art of debate. Our communication often devolves into a winner-loser approach.  We entrench. We lose opportunities to build bridges.  We can unlearn this!

This 1.5-hour workshop will help participants develop styles and strategies for more effective communication. Participants will:
– Review Communication Modes
– Learn (reflect) personal style
– Practice Active Listening
– Develop Strategies to “reclaim” positive interactions

Lead by Danny L. Thomas, Executive Director of the Peace Center
Registration is limited to 20 people.

Registration Link: https://www.thepeacecenter.org/upcoming-events/9-18_tlkng_acrs_div/

PAST 2023 EVENT: Footballs Not Firearms March and Rally

Tuesday, September 19
11am – 1:30pm

Fairhill Square, 4th Street and Lehigh Avenue

A police/youth/community event against gun violence and for positive youth development.  Young people and police officers will march together through the streets, returning for a rally hosted by Peace Day Philly and the Philadelphia Police Department. Civic officials and Eagle player-alums will speak. They’ll be music and free food. The Philadelphia Eagles have donated 150 footballs for distribution to children between the ages of 6-17.  Come support this effort to strengthen community relationships and build peace!

Sponsored by: The Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Rotary

We also wish to thank Artwell Philadelphia, who are providing a creative activity for the students at this event: https://www.theartwell.org/events/join-us-at-peace-day-philly.

Download Flier

PAST 2023 EVENT: OUR SHARED HUMANITY: A SELF-COMPASSION DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Tuesday, Sept 19
7:00pm EST

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86039782671
Meeting ID: 860 3978 2671

This year’s theme of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace is a “call
to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster
peace.” To take action on behalf of others and our planet requires
compassion and a mindset of shared humanity and equality. Pema Chodron,
an American Tibetan nun, has said “Compassion becomes real when we
recognize our shared humanity
.” Yet it is only when we are compassionate
toward ourselves that we can be present to act for others when the
opportunity arises.

Please join Sue Passante from the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of
Philadelphia in affiliation with the Philadelphia Buddhist Association for a
discussion and meditation on developing self-compassion. We will explore a
few methods from accomplished spiritual and medical professionals on how
to simply turn compassion inward to deepen our motivation to relieve the
suffering of others.

Past 2023 Event: Water and Peace: Access Issues and Navigating Conflicts

Wednesday, September 20
6-7:30pm EST
Via Zoom: https://bit.ly/3EqlLCK

What are global warning signs related to water access? How do water issues relate to conflicts between regions and countries as well as climate change across the planet? In this program, experts will speak to examples of current challenges related to water stress and access and ideas for enabling equitable access to water.

Panelists:

Michael Collins, Executive Director, The Americas, Institute for Economics and Peace – Responsible for expanding IEP’s presence and  impact in the Americas and the adoption of IEP’s Positive Peace Framework as an evidence-based tool for effective peace-centered development. Prior to joining IEP, Michael helped develop and  oversee educational and job creation programs in emerging nations, working frequently in communities affected by natural disasters, poverty, and gang violence.

Omar El Hattab, PhD, Senior Advisor | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | Emergency Programme Division, UNICEFWith nearly 30 years of experience in the WASH Sector, Omar is currently holding the position of Senior Advisor, WASH in Emergency with UNICEF Programme Division, New York and heading the WASH in Emergency and Fragile Contexts Unit within the WASH Section. He’s responsible for overseeing and coordinating UNICEF’s emergency preparedness and responses across the world among others covering a broad myriad of emergencies including conflict, natural disasters and public health emergencies.

Christine Serwan, Special Projects Senior Associate, Charity Water – Christine Serwan is a Special Projects Senior Associate at charity: water, working on their remote sensors and donor travel programs. She is based in the Philadelphia area and has an extensive background in community and international development, with a Masters of Public Administration from Rutgers University. She began her career in international development while living in Malawi after graduating from Gettysburg College, serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer and staff member.

FLIER

“Water management should be everyone’s concern. We need to educate people at all levels because it is not just about technical know-how but also about changing mentalities. This change in attitudes towards water must occur at all levels and should start from the earliest age.” – Abou Amani, Director, Division of Water Sciences and Secretary, Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO

This program is a partnership between Peace Day Philly and the UN Association of Greater Philadelphia.