Category: News

The opening reception for our juried exhibit, Textiles for Peace will be held Friday, April 14th from 6 to 9 p.m. at New Deal Gallery and Studio, 2003 S. Louisiana in Little Rock. Textiles for Peace features textile art by Arkansas fiber artists, including knitting, crocheting, felting, weaving, embroidery and collage. Sponsored by Arkansas WAND and Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice.

Nine years ago Caroline Stevenson organized the first Pilgrimage for Peace, an inter-faith event beginning at the Clinton Center and walking to the Beacon of Peace and Hope for a celebration of Peace and non-violence there. Join WAND as a co-sponsor along with many faith and advocacy groups to make Little Rock a City of Peace. Funds raised will support victims of violence.

The 9th Pilgrimage for Peace, comprised of a coalition of interfaith and community organizations, will be held on Sunday, April 16th at 2 p.m. Walkers will gather in the circle outside Heifer International, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, where the walk begins. Participants will pass the Clinton Presidential Library, walk through the River Market, then cross the Junction Bridge to the Beacon of Peace and Hope, located at 120 Riverfront Drive, North Little Rock.

At the Beacon, walkers and others will gather for a Remembrance Service at 3 p.m. to “mourn the violence committed in our community, nation, and world.” The interfaith service will be led by community peacemakers offering prayers, reflections from literature and scriptures, songs, and the reading of names of this past year’s homicide victims in central Arkansas.

All ages are welcome. There will be plenty of parking available in the area between the Beacon of Peace and Hope and the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum. Seating will be available and water will be provided. The Service will also be live-streamed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PilgrimageforPeaceLR.

For more information, call Mary Hunt at (501) 690-1609 and by email at paxchristilr@gmail.com. Please also visit the website, www.pilgrimageforpeace.com, where you will find a list of sponsoring groups, information on how to become a sponsor, the
program, and photos of past Pilgrimages. The proceeds generated from sponsors will be donated to the Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits to be used in their Victims Services Program.

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Dear Friends of WAND!
We’re having a Pot-luck! We have missed you! Not only those wonderful dishes you shared before Covid struck but our monthly conversations about making the world a better place. It’s time we get together and share our thoughts about the year-long death and destruction in Ukraine, it’s effects on the rest of the world, and threats in the future.
Dr. Donnal Walter, Chair of ACPJ board and board member of World BEYOND War, has agreed to facilitate this discussion. He wants us to know that he is not an expert on Ukraine or Russia or NATO, but he believes it is important to consider the issues from several viewpoints. Donnal is a retired physician (Neonatologist)and lives in Little Rock.

A public conversation about the war in Ukraine led by Dr. Wiebelhaus-Brahm.
Why has the United Nations not been effective at dealing with the invasion?
What role could the International Criminal Court could play?
How should we evaluate Russian concerns about NATO?
Why countries have taken the position they have on the invasion.
What steps can the United States take now in dealing with the invasion?
What could/should we have done differently?
How can we discern between misinformation/disinformation/malinformation and credible news surrounding the conflict?
How can members of the community help with the Ukraine situation now?

Our speaker will be Ruby Welch, a motivational speaker, criminal and restorative justice advocate, and Founder of F.E.L.O.N. (Formerly Incarcerated Empowered Leaders Overcoming Negative Stigmas).

After experiencing first-hand the harmful effects of serving seven years in the Arkansas Department of Correction, Ruby vowed to educate her community about the disparities of incarceration and its lasting effects on individuals.

Ruby is currently employed with Dream Corps Justice as a Campaign Coordinator.