A Reflection on 12 Weeks of Engage, by Solveig Pedersen

On a dark, frigid Alaskan January morning, I clicked through my email
to find something that brightened my day. A group of people were to going to gather for twelve weeks to learn more about nonviolence. This was the opportunity I’d been longing for!

A group of community members who were familiar with Pace e Bene and the Engage training had decided to give it a try and lead a course. Starting in late January, a group of people began to meet at the Alaska Peace Center. Many of us were strangers when we met, but I think we can safely say that we have all left as friends. We braved the cold of January and February to meet every Monday night for 2 ½ hours and go through Engage together. By March and April, the weather was warming up and the training was going strong.

Participating in the Engage training was positive on so many levels. While I’m certain our group would have benefited from having an official Pace e Bene trainer present, the book is set up quite well to be student facilitated. The group of four people who took turns facilitating our meetings obviously had planned and prepared ahead of time and did a really nice job.

The training brought together people from diverse backgrounds who all shared an interest in “exploring nonviolence.” Seasoned activists joined with students, teachers, and church members all with a sincere desire to learn more. The result was a supportive group of people who learned from one another and the Engage program about changing ourselves, our communities, and our world to be more nonviolent.

While the peace and social justice movement is dedicated and determined in Fairbanks, Alaska, it’s certainly not large. Having opportunities to use programs like Pace e Bene’s Engage training are both vital and exciting for the community. The twelve weeks of sessions really built upon one another, and the group grew more cohesive as we went along. Some Mondays we all felt good and optimistic about what we were learning, while other Mondays we experienced some discomfort in challenging assumptions and growing and learning. Part of what was essential, though, was the safety to feel different ways and express those among a group of people that had grown to trust one another. The training was also active enough to keep us thinking, growing, and learning in our heads, our hearts, our bodies, and our spirits.

Planning the nonviolent action as a final step in the process was also a constructive step for our group. The more experienced folks guided the newer folks, and we all learned. Some of the people in the group have been organizing and active in the community for years. Those of us who are newer to the scene were encouraged, emboldened, and empowered to stand up for what we believe. The program walked us through the preparation for the action, and helped us to envision our action. The nonviolent action planning process was truly collaborative, as we all shared our hopes for change in our community and world. Each person had a role in planning and the day of action.

In our planning we decided our main goal was to raise awareness in our community about the Declaration of Peace, the need to end the war in Iraq, and projects like the Occupation Project, in which one Fairbanksan had been arrested and is in the process of defending himself in various trials. These being our goals, we organized a community gathering and walk in downtown Fairbanks. On June 2nd, after preparing, role playing, and envisioning our event, we gathered at the World War II Memorial. It was a warm, glorious, sunny day; one could almost forget the -40 degree weather in which this process began.

We had speakers, songs, and walked from the World War II Memorial to the Veteran’s Memorial (and back) carrying signs calling for an end to the war in Iraq. We also had copies of the Declaration of Peace available for people to sign. In the end, over 30 people attended the event, and we feel quite successful about its outcome. The role playing we had done helped particularly in working with the police and the hecklers that attended the event. Several people thanked us for organizing the gathering and mentioned they’d been looking for opportunities to get involved and stand up for their beliefs.

A few days later, we held a final meeting and potluck at Calypso Farms, a community farm in Fairbanks which is truly an example of a constructive program in action. Since the nonviolent action, and the closing meeting of our group, I have been contemplating the entire process.

Conversations I had at the protest and in general impress upon me how helpless people can feel sometimes about the state of the world. It’s easy to feel cynical and depressed these days, and skeptical that positive change will ever come. But it’s programs like Pace e Bene’s Engage training that give us hope and show us tangible ways for creating change.

Marjorie Cole, one of the facilitators of our group, wrote of the experience, “I think it’s great to check theory against practice in this way. How does one small group having a conversation on Monday night in Fairbanks, Alaska, contribute to the end of the slaughter in Iraq? It’s good that we kept doing it. And keep doing it! The Engage course for me turned out better than I’d even hoped. It’s a calm subtle strengthening.”

I am left pondering and in awe of the potential and power of nonviolence, with hope and a commitment to stand up and keep trying to make the world safer, more loving, and more nonviolent.

Thank you, Pace e Bene!

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Photos taken by Pat Lambert