Ambassadors for Peace Event--Arizona | December 07, 2005

12-03-05

Making 2006 the Year of Peace through Interfaith Action was the theme of a conference held at Cook College in Tempe Arizona on December 3rd. In attendance were 43 community leaders and Ambassadors for Peace. The keynote speech at lunch was given by Rev. Jannah Scott, the Faith Community Liaison for the State of Arizona.

The morning session began with a panel discussion. The moderator of the panel was Dr. Paul Eppinger, the founder and president of the Arizona Interfaith Movement. The Arizona Interfaith Movement is a model organization consisting of members of 22 faith groups who promote respect and cooperation between all faiths. The panelists included:

Gustavo Gutierrez, the founder of Peace and Dignity Journeys, a Native American organization promoting peace throughout North and South America.

Anne Taylor, the state coordinator for the Christian Science publication committee, who represented the Arizona Interfaith Movement on the panel.

Ken Jeffers, a leader in the Bahai’i community who spoke of the need for like-minded people of faith with the goal of peace to work together.

Terri Mansfield, the Arizona coordinator for the Department of Peace campaign. The campaign seeks to establish a Department of Peace in the U.S. government for the purpose of promoting harmony and dialogue and preventing future wars.

The panel discussion was lively and resulted in a dialogue with the audience which seemed excited to know that so many interfaith activities were being conducted in Arizona.

The panel was followed by a presentation by Dr. Frank Kaufmann, the Director of the Inter Religious Federation for World Peace. Dr. Kaufmann was introduced by Rev. Betty Tatalajski, the Co-Convenor of the American Clergy Leadership Conference of Arizona. Dr. Kaufmann’s powerpoint slide show highlighted the decades-long history of peace activity (both spiritual and secular) that now serves as the foundation and context for Ambassador for Peace appointments. Additionally he explained the role and mission of Ambassadors for Peace.

Dr. Kaufmann’s talk was followed by lunch that retained as its master of ceremonies former state representative Debra Brimhall. She introduced Representative Mark Anderson who spoke about a planned summer Religious Youth Service project to be conducted on the Hopi reservation. Anderson then introduced Rev. Jannah Scott who gave a powerful and carefully prepared talk laying out how the faith community could work together with government and business to promote the cause of peace.

In conclusion, as 2005 comes to a close, the Ambassadors for Peace of Arizona have formed a core group of leaders who are planning to work together and make 2006 a year of peace.