Daily Observance of Nonviolence
Monday – Friday, Noon - 12:30 PM
Rochester Liberty Pole

Members of the community are warmly invited to gather for a daily observance of nonviolence at the Rochester Liberty Pole. The observances will be led by individuals and organizations in the community inspired to spread the message of peace and goodwill. Dates are still available for anyone wishing to lead an observance. Creativity and random acts of kindness are encouraged!

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Workshop
February 7 - March 14, 2011 (Mondays)
7:00-9:30 PM
University of Rochester Interfaith Chapel

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is an applied nonviolence practice developed by Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D. It is based on historical principles of nonviolence. Facilitated by Kit Miller, the Director of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, this six-week NVC course will focus on building skills in self-compassion, connecting across differences, and “right speech” from a spiritual perspective.

Robert Shetterly’s Americans Who Tell the Truth
February 7-25, 2011 Central Library
February 28-March 8, 2011 MCC Damon City Campus

Americans Who Tell the Truth is a non-partisan series of portraits by artist Rob Shetterly. His portraits of past and current Americans form a travelling exhibit that is hosted by schools, universities, churches, and various community groups around the country. With this remarkable collection of portraits, Rob intends to remind people of the dignity, courage and importance of some of America's truth tellers and, whether or not you agree with a particular subject’s point of view, to create dialogue that will help each of us figure out which truths we value most as citizens in a democracy.

Kathy Kelly
Distinguished Gandhi Lecturer
February 27, 2011
7:00 PM
University of Rochester Interfaith Chapel

Kathy Kelly helped initiate Voices in the Wilderness, a campaign to end the UN/US sanctions against Iraq. For bringing medicine to Iraq in open violation of the UN/US sanctions, she and other campaign members were notified of a proposed $163,000 penalty for the organization, threatened with 12 years in prison, and eventually fined $20,000, a sum which they’ve refused to pay. Kelly has taught in Chicago area community colleges and high schools since 1974. From 1980 – 1986 she taught at St. Ignatius College Prep (Chicago, IL). She is active with the Catholic Worker movement and, as a pacifist and war tax refuser, has refused payment of all Federal income tax since 1980. She currently helps coordinate the Voices for Creative Nonviolence campaign.

Arthur Romano
Lecturer & Kingian Nonviolence Trainer
March 18-20, 2011
Time and location to be determined

Presentations by Arthur Romano, certified nonviolence trainer and international educator, will honor the lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. and offer insights into the vision of these two great men. Romano is currently the Inamori Center for Ethics and National Peace Academy Teaching Fellow at Case Western Reserve University.

Nontombi Naomi Tutu
Closing Keynote Speaker
April 3, 2011
4:00 PM
University of Rochester Strong Auditorium
In this empowering keynote speech, Naomi Tutu combines Dr. King's dream of the "Beloved Community" with the teachings of a South African proverb, speaking to the need to understand how our actions – or inactions – affect all with whom we come in contact and ourselves. Rather than focus on what separates us, Tutu encourages us to focus on our shared humanity in order to build a just world. Both the "Beloved Community" and the proverb share an underlying theme: the importance of not dehumanizing those with who we are in conflict, but rather concentrate on what we have the power to change.