Coming in
 July - August  2008:

ECO-JUSTICE 

Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites.
(William Ruckelshaus, native Hoosier and first administrator of the U.S. EPA)

There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.
(Mohandas K. Gandhi, spiritual leader)

One of the most important resources that a garden makes available for use is the gardener’s own body. A garden gives the body the dignity of working in its own support. It is a way of rejoining the human race.
(Wendell Berry, farmer and author)

Sustainability is another word for justice, for what is just is sustainable and what is unjust is not.
(Matthew Fox, author and theologian)

Deadline for the
July-August issue is June 10.

Articles and artwork:
editor@branches.com

Advertising: apple@branches.com

317/255-5594

News and Events (return to top of page)

Global Peace Initiatives offers free Peace Hikes at various times and locations, rain or shine. Meditation hikes start at 5 p.m. Tuesdays from Garfield Park, 2505 Conservatory Dr.; 5 p.m. Wednesdays from Spades and Brookside parks, meeting at the Spade Park branch library, 1801 Nowland Ave.; and Thursdays from the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Rd., Indpls. In months with a fifth Saturday (such as Dec. 29), take an all-day hike within Indiana  (reservations required). 317/222-1556 or www.globalpeaceinitiatives.net.

Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project strives to encourage self-education among prisoners, aid in the rehabilitation process and stimulate critical thinking behind bars. Volunteers collect reading materials such as dictionaries, thesauri, law books, westerns and history books for free distribution to prisoners who request titles. A Bloomington group meets Sundays at 2 p.m. and Mondays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. at Boxcar Books, 310-A S. Washington. Call 812/339-8710 or write to boxcar@boxcarbooks.org; www.boxcarbooks.org.

The National Priorities Project is a nonpartisan nonprofit education and advocacy organization that details how your tax dollars are being spent. The project’s Web site is a running total of expenditures in Iraq with options to find out how the money could be used on other programs such as housing, education and health care. http://costofwar.com/index.html

Networking (return to top of page)

Bloomington

The Bloomington Peace Action Coalition meets from 6 to 7 p.m. the first Monday each month in Room 1-C of the Monroe County Public Library. Current activities include supporting U.S. House Concurrent Resolution 35, which calls for an end to the occupation by developing and implementing a plan for immediate removal of U.S. forces from Iraq. The full text of the resolution and related literature can be downloaded at www.BPAC.info. Details: Timothy Baer, BPACpeace@hotmail.com, or 812/988-1917.

A peace vigil and demonstration against war is held every Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. on the steps of the Monroe County Courthouse, organized by the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition. www.BPAC.info.

Columbus

The Columbus Peace Fellowship, an affiliate of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the Laws Room of First Presbyterian Church, 512 Seventh St. Information: Sarah Kramer, 812/342-3443, skramer@hsonline.net.

Fort Wayne

Fort Wayne Peace Action holds a weekly vigil the first Saturday of every month from noon to 1 p.m. on Clinton St. between Main and Berry to protest the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq, and to demand that the president bring the troops home now! http://www.fwagitator.org/. 

Indiana Equality is a statewide coalition working to amend Indiana's Civil Rights Law to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes. Details: http://www.indianaequality.org/.

The Agitator is a weekly update of Fort Wayne Peace Action Coalition's activities and a roundup of the week's news, published by longtime activist Dave Lambert. Read it online at http://www.fwagitator.org/

Indianapolis  

The Women in Black group in Indianapolis gathers rain or shine for silent protest on the first Friday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the north side of Monument Circle. WIB seeks to educate and energize the community by focusing on what they believe the government should do to promote a lasting peace in Palestine and Israel and by exposing the community to the disastrous effects that current and historical policies have had on Palestinians and Israelis. The group is committed to nonviolence and holds silent vigils dressed in black as a way to make their position and sorrow visible. Women are invited to join the protests. 317/846-3982; timothy_a_king@hotmail.com.

Indianapolis Peace & Justice Center meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at Broadway United Methodist Church, 609 E. 29th St. IPJC members hold a vigil for peace Fridays from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the northwest corner of Michigan and Pennsylvania Sts. 317/920-1510 or 317/926-4318; ronjane@igc.org.

South Bend

The Michiana Peace and Justice Coalition offers a brochure entitled “The Costs of War” that was compiled by Patti Sayre, of the Peace Not War group at Saint Mary’s College. Download a copy from www.michianapeacejustice.org.

Terre Haute

Terre Haute Stop War on Iraq meets Mondays at United Ministries, 321 N. 7th St., on the ISU campus. The group is involved in organizing local teach-ins and in circulating a Women to Women letter, initiated by Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom from U.S. women to Iraqi women. For more information: stopwaroniraq@yahoo.com.

West Lafayette

The Lafayette Area Peace Coalition meets at 7:30 p.m. the first Sunday each month at the Wesley Foundation, 435 W. State St. Look online for schedule updates: www.lafayettepeace.org.

Peace Studies Programs in Indiana (return to top of page)

GRADUATE DEGREES 

Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart)
M.A. in Peace Studies
http://www.ambs.edu/academics/degree-programs/master-of-arts-peace-studies

The purpose of the Master of Arts: Peace Studies (MAPS) program is to provide the environment for a deepening understanding of and commitment to the biblical vision of peace and justice and its embodiment in the world. 

Bethany Theological Seminary Graduate School of Theology (Richmond)
M.A.Th. or M.Div. in Religion with concentration in Peace & Justice
(with Earlham School of Religion)
http://www.brethren.org/bethany/?page=ep_peacestudies

In 1971, Bethany Theological Seminary became one of the first academic institutions to offer peace studies at the graduate level. The program is grounded within the life of faith community that has been a historic witness to peace. 

Earlham School of Religion (Richmond)
Peace and Justice Studies
M.A. or M.M. in Religion with concentration in Peace & Justice
(with Bethany Theological Seminary)
www.earlham.edu/~esr

This long-established program has a goal to make the world more peaceful at every level — a world in which there is respect for the dignity of human life and where nonviolent means are increasingly used in the resolution of conflict. 

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (near Terre Haute)
and White Violet Center for Eco-Justice
M.A. in Earth Literacy
http://www.smwc.edu/cgi-bin/site.pl?3208&dwContent_contentID=336&menuID=2&weight=23


Earth Literacy is interdisciplinary learning that fosters the capacity to understand the world in order to promote sustainability of the planet as a habitat for life. The Sisters of Providence ministry of peace and justice is one of education, advocacy and nonviolent resistance to the root causes of injustice. 

University of Notre Dame (South Bend)
The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies 
M.A. in Peace Studies
http://www.nd.edu/~krocinst/programs/masters/ma2yr.htm


Established in 1986 through a generous donation from Joan B. Kroc, the Kroc Institute emerged from the need felt by faculty and students for a more imaginative and ethical response to the nuclear arms buildup and the chronic problem of war. 

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES

DePauw University (Greencastle)
B.A. in Conflict Studies (interdisciplinary)
http://www.depauw.edu/acad/conflict/index.asp

Because of its ubiquity and significance in human life, the study of the process and resolution of conflict is increasingly claiming a central place in the study of development in general and peaceful change in particular.

The Plowshares Collaborative
http://www.plowsharesproject.org/index.php

The Plowshares Collaborative was formed in 2002 by Earlham College, Goshen College and Manchester College.  Funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, this institutional collaboration seeks imaginative new ways to address the problems of violence and related challenges that confront the world today. The Indianapolis Peace House Program is a Plowshares initiative to provide an opportunity for critical engagement with issues of peace and justice in Indiana, especially within Indianapolis, through student internships. 

Earlham College (Richmond)
B.A. in Peace and Justice
http://esr.earlham.edu/academics/peacejustice.html

Goshen College (Goshen)
B.A. in Peace, Justice & Conflict Studies
with concentration in community and organization conflict or in peace and justice
www.goshen.edu/peace

The goal of the Peace Studies major is to move students’ vision of peace beyond war so they understand violence issues in daily life. 

Manchester College (North Manchester)
Peace Studies Institute
B.A. in Conflict Resolution
http://www.manchester.edu/Academics/departments/Peace_Studies/index.htm

Established in 1948, Manchester College has the distinction of being home to the nation’s first peace studies program.  

University of Notre Dame (South Bend)
The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
Supplementary major or interdisciplinary minor in Peace Studies
http://www.nd.edu/~krocinst/programs/undergraduate/index.html

UNDERGRADUATE MINOR PROGRAMS

Ball State University (Muncie)
Center for Peace & Conflict Studies
Minor in Peace Studies
http://www.bsu.edu/cpcs/

The coursework addresses the sources of war, social oppression and violence and the challenges of promoting peace and justice. Students receive extensive training in negotiation, mediation and arbitration. They learn how conflict can provide opportunity for growth and change and be a potential source of creative energy.  

DePauw University (Greencastle)
Minor in Conflict Studies (interdisciplinary)
http://www.depauw.edu/acad/conflict/index.asp

Goshen College (Goshen)
Minor in conflict transformation studies
Minor in peace and justice studies
Certificate in Conflict Transformation for Teachers
http://www.goshen.edu/peace

The Peace Studies minor supports students completing professional programs in nursing, social work and education.

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Certificate in Peace & Conflict Studies 
http://users.ipfw.edu/moorj/Library/index.html

Students study issues of war, sexism, racism and poverty, nonviolent initiatives for social change, and conflict resolution.

Manchester College (North Manchester)
Peace Studies Institute
Minor in Conflict Resolution
http://www.manchester.edu/Academics/departments/Peace_Studies/index.htm

Marian College (Indianapolis)
Minor in Social Justice
http://hss.marian.edu/sociology.asp

Students study American social policy, legislation and philosophy to develop motivation for the resolution of economic, political and social injustices.

Purdue University (West Lafayette)
Minor in Peace Studies (interdisciplinary)
http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/idis/idis/programs.peacestudies.cfm

The Committee on Peace Studies also offers an annual symposium on peace as well as various guest speakers and an annual video series on topics related to the study of peace.

Valparaiso University
Minor in Peace & Social Justice Studies (interdisciplinary)
http://www.valpo.edu/academics/minors/peace/

Students focus on social responsibility by examining nonviolent means of conflict resolution.

RESEARCH PROGRAM

Indiana University (Bloomington)
School of Public & Environmental Affairs
Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute
http://www.spea.indiana.edu/icri/

Dedicated to the understanding and expansion of conflict and dispute resolution in public and private arenas.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Fort Wayne Center for Nonviolence
http://www.centerfornonviolence.com/

Founded in 1981 as “Men for Nonviolence,” the Center works to end domestic and other forms of violence in Allen County through programs and outreach based on the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Separate sessions for men, women, children and the LGBT community are provided in English and Spanish. 

Peace Learning Center (Indianapolis)
http://www.peacelearningcenter.org

• The Peace Learning Center offers Peace Education, a comprehensive curriculum incorporating peaceful living and conflict management skills, to groups from throughout Central Indiana.

• A one-day program for 4th-graders engages students in a comprehensive curriculum teaching conflict resolution, communication, outdoor education and Safe Escape (a nonviolent physical escape technique).

• Heading Toward Harmony provides a trained AmeriCorps member as a Harmony Coordinator for one full school year. The Harmony Coordinator works closely with school staff to implement 'Random Acts of Kindness,' Peer Mediation, Peace Clubs and Conflict Management Curriculum.

• Peace Learning Camp immerses 6th-graders in a multifaceted conflict resolution and character education curriculum that includes interpersonal communication, leadership development, diversity appreciation and outdoor environmental awareness. Campers spend 3 days and 2 nights at the Indiana FFA Leadership Center in Trafalgar, Ind.

• The AmeriCorps program hosts classes of national volunteers through a year of service. PLC’s AmeriCorps members help implement innovative peace education programs and lead workshops on peer mediation and diversity. 

Take Ten (South Bend)
Robinson Community Learning Center
http://www.nd.edu/~taketen/index.html

Take Ten’s mission is to reduce and prevent violence and teach children positive alternatives to it through a special curriculum designed for schools.

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