90 Years of Memories

On February 19, 2022, about 60 people and I celebrated my 90th birthday ONLINE!

My wife and our daughters arranged the event which featured prerecorded video messages, phone calls, and some sent an email or letter. Thank you all.

In early February my daughter Tamara and her husband John, and Kristina with her daughter Milena, decided to arrange a virtual party. They invited many people to submit short video messages at a website, or any way the guests would like. About 60 people participated resulting in a 1.5 hour video and more than a dozen emails, cards and letters.

Kristina wanted to create a photo album of my life, and we selected about 50 photos which became a slide show presentation of my '90 Years of Memories'.

See everything here:

• Videos submitted (1.5 hours) — Link to be added.
• Slide show of my life — Link to be added.
• Emails received

During the planning process, I began to reflect on my 90 years and listed these highlights of my life so far, a short version of my biography and 50 Years of Doukhobor Studies.

1. Born in 1932 in this farm house to parents and grandparents who came from Russian Doukhobor roots. Believed that hospitality, love and nonkilling are the way to a world without wars.
   
   
2. Met Tyrus R. Cobb world famous baseball pioneer. Invited for tryout in 1953 to Pittsburgh Pirates in California. Did not make it, but exercises that I learned from Lloyd Percival of CBC Sports College of the Air persist today 70 years later.
   
   
3. At the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where I took my BA in Arts and Sciences in the 1950s, I produced 50 monthly journals of The Inquirer at my grandparent's attic next door, which led me to become a journalist, photographer, scholar, and peace activist.
   
   
4. After attending the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957 in Moscow, this led me to make 12 additional trips to the Soviet Union and Russia as a bridge-building effort between the East and the West (1957, 1964, 1980, 1991, etc, ). The wisdom of getting to know the stranger persists today as one of key steps to help the people and the planet to survive.
   
   
5. In the early 1960s, at UBC in Vancouver, I was privileged to get my MA in Anthropology and Sociology, with my thesis on 'A Study of Russian Organizations in the Greater Vancouver Area' (PDF, 15 GB). The Cold War, I discovered, was the critical element in what brings people together and what splits them apart.
   
   
6. In 1964, as a Russian and English speaking grad of UBC, I was invited to the International Ethnological Congress in Moscow where I met anthropologists Margaret Mead and Sol Tax.
   
   
7. In 1980, as guest Doukhobor peacemaker and photo journalist, I reported on the Summer Olympics in Moscow as a Slavic representative for North and South America. What an awesome responsibility!
   
   
8. Over the past 60 years I have organized a number of scholarly ethnographic studies and exchanges across North America (including a 1990 3-month North American Ethnographic Expedition with Russian scholar Svetlana Inikova), the Soviet Union and Russia on my ancestors the Doukhobors and East-West understanding. Together with my work in the provincial and federal governments as social scientists, this led me to publish over 25 books and 50 articles; the gifting to the Saskatchewan Archives and BC Archives major collections of textual materials and photographs on Doukhobors, rural development, Native Indians, and ethnography; the creation of a Spirit Wrestlers website and blog with Arizona scholar Andrei Conovaloff.
   
   
9. In November 2007, I presented a paper on 'Tolstoy and the Doukhobors' at the First Leadership Forum in Hawaii where the Center for Global Nonkilling formed; and served as reporter and photographer for 13 Ottawa Peace Festivals.
   
   
10. In 1982 co-organized with Community Doukhobors, the First International Intergroup Symposium of Doukhobors, Molokans, Mennonites and Quakers, held in Castlegar, British Columbia, with many prominent people including the great grandson of Lev N. Tolstoy, a major world writer and proponent of nonkilling. The meeting endorsed a letter to the UN on disarmament and getting rid of wars.
    
    
11. With distinguished Doukhobor lawyer Peter G. Makaroff (the first non-Anglo-Saxon grad in Western Canada with a law degree in 1918), and participating Doukhobor, Quaker and Mennonite reps, in 1964 and 1965, I coordinated and helped organize four major peace manifestations in Western Canada urging the government to cease research and production of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction, and work towards the survival of our human species.
    
    
12. Between 1996 and 1998, served as guest co-Curator with Dr. Robert Klymasz on 'The Doukhobors: Spirit Wrestlers' exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, commemorating the centenaries of the  Doukhobor destruction of weapons in 1895 in Russia and the January 1899 arrival of the first Doukhobors to Canada.
    
    
13. We all know that it takes a village to raise members of a family. My grandparents and parents along with my newly acquired families and offspring deserve praise for their support. Son Lev is professor at Memorial University in Newfoundland where he is modeling the last Ice Age and is searching the major parameters of climate change. Daughter Tamara, now retired as a museum professional, recently spent the last three years working in Nunavut as Project Manager, Wrecks HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site. Their spouses, Dorothee Bienzle is an accomplished researcher and doctor, and John Pinkerton is a retired international manager for Parks Canada. Their children Jaspar and Katya along with Tamara and John's offspring (Nicholas and Elena) are outstanding students, athletes and outdoors people like their parents. I always marvel at being so lucky to be part of their family circle. 
    
    
14. As well, I marvel at the challenge of keeping alive my 30-year marriage with Kristina Kristova, a pioneering journalist who once served for 24 years as anchor person with the Bulgarian National Television. Her daughter Milena is a music teacher in Ottawa, while son Orlin is in Sofia, Bulgaria, as a professional keyboard composer / musician. Kristina introduced me to her most fascinating Bulgarian community who have given me the title of 'Honourary Member' although I have not learned much Bulgarian language.
    
    
15. In the 90 years of my life, this family along with all the people that I have met around the world (in person, in books and in the media), I consider all of you remarkable and many are friends and wisdom people. Bolshoe spasibo! Thank you very much! You have taught me so much. I wish all of you to live at least to 90 with good health, joy, peace and happiness.
    
    
16. Personally, I look forward to many more years of productive life. In my work, I never got rich in money, but rich in ideas, in friendship, and in the vision of my ancestors for a peaceful world without wars.

World Beyond War Global Conference Ottawa May 26-31, 2020 CANCELLED

Update April 2, 2020: Both CANSEC 2020 and the 'No to CANSEC' rally have been postponed to June 2021. People not Bombs! You can't kill a virus with bullets. Only after massive public pressure from our peace coalition, 7,700+ letters sent, and 19 days after a pandemic was declared, the cancellation followed. The World Beyond War conference has been rescheduled and will be held in Ottawa June 2021. The peace movement is now working to shut down CANSEC.

M. Wuerker, POLITICO.

• "The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war", by António Guterres, Secretary-General , United Nations, March 23, 2020.
• 'PBI-Canada welcomes cancellation of CANSEC arms show, seeks peace and health for all'. By Brent Patterson, President of Peace Brigades International, March 31, 2020.
• COVID-19 takes down Canada's Top Arms Trade Show! CANSEC 2020 in Ottawa is Cancelled, of course.... By Richard Sanders, Facebook, Press For Conversion Magazine (COAT), March 31, 2020.
• “Coalition celebrates cancellation of CANSEC; demands permanent ban on weapons shows”, David Swanson, Executive Director, World BEYOND War, April 2, 2020
• “Weapons don't fight pandemics,” Opinion by Miodrag Soric, Deutsche Welle, April 26, 2020.

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See the latest updates on the big event 'Divest, Disarm, Demilitarize' planned for Ottawa, Canada May 26-30, 2020 with major collaboration by dozens of peace groups led by World Beyond War. [With the cancellation of the CANSEC event in 2020, the new venues including the World Beyond War conference can be forwarded to June 2021.]

See the promotional video. Look at the Schedule, About, Speakers, Media Toolkit (5 items on Google Drive), Rides & Lodging Board for messages, and Contact form. Share on Facebook. Help to billet out of town guests.

The 6-day 2020 WBW Conference workshops, training, panel discussions, films, art, music, dance, and nonviolent action will be held at various locations in Ottawa.

Join this international coalition of individuals and organizations which will converge on Ottawa to say 'No to CANSEC', Canada's biggest annual weapons expo. This event promises to be a peace highlight of the year for Ottawa and Canada. Dozens of peace groups will join as endorsers and sponsors, including Quakers and Mennonites; the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace plans to hold its 60th Anniversary in Ottawa at this time.

As citizens of the world, come and join us as passionate builders of peace and goodwill. Our children and grandchild deserve a viable future. We are responsible in preserving life for the new generation and saving our world from destruction.

More from my blog

• Stop wars! Stop the killings! — A Poem for Our Times
• CANSEC Ottawa Reports Since 2009

A Quaker Summary of Fighting

Book review.

• Are you worried about increasing hate crimes?
• Does it feel like our world is becoming more divided?
• Do you care about peace?

In 2017 the Peace Program Coordinator and Communications Coordinator for the Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers) proposed to answer these questions scientifically by conducting a peace literature review and bibliography. He originally planned to compile a 50-page report to summarize:

• What does science reveal about achieving interpersonal peace, avoiding conflict and hatred?
• Do we really need to fight?

The short project continued for 2 years, and grew to 327 pages. To include as much as possible into the book, the font size was reduced, yet much had to be omitted. Perhaps a second volume will be published to compile the rest of their research.

Matthew Legge. Are We Done Fighting? Building Understanding in a World of Hate and Division (New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, 2019): 327 pp. Copyright by Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC, Facebook).

• Are We Done Fighting Video Trailer, YouTube (1:16 min.)
• Are We Done Fighting? : Building understanding in a world of hate and division, Psychology Today — Matthew Legge elaborates on 8 topics, posted from April 26 to October 7, 2019.
• Preview and Search in Google Books.

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I read the book with much interest and then attended a book launch by the author on October 23th, 2019 at the Friends’ Meeting House, Ottawa, Ontario. Some 30 people attended. A question-answer period followed.

The event was audio recorded by Ken ‘Kensky’ Billings, and posted for you on pCloud, linked from his Digileak Canada website:

• Lecture (63 min.),
• Q & A, discussion (23 min.).
• And I took 24 photos.

Matthew Legge (pronounced: ‘Le-ZHAY’) has been on a book tour across Canada, speaking on radio, at universities, bookstores, and Friends Meeting Houses; and teaching a few workshops. See schedule at bottom of AreWeDoneFighting.com. This is his first presentation fully recorded and posted online.


My Review

This book is a 2-year cooperative effort of many people: the author Matthew Legge — an anthropology graduate from the University of Toronto — and his staff at the Quaker Centre in Toronto.

Matthew emailed to me:

‘The book has about 750 end notes that made it into the final copy. I can't say how many hundreds of books and studies I read, many hundreds did not make it into the book. I didn't do 100% of the research myself. 2 other staff and volunteers did parts and sent me things.’

The book is mostly a literature review of many sources related to avoiding violence — 'Evidence and techniques you can use right now'. The research team examined publications in psychology, anthropology and sociology of peace, mostly focusing on cultural ‘interpersonal peace issues’, not inter-government politics.

The author presents many tips for avoiding personal conflict and misunderstandings in daily living, but little about preventing WW3. The intent was to examine what is known about ‘hate and division’ in society. A very challenging aspect of war prevention!

In 24 short chapters, each ending with helpful tips, the author attempts to reach people with different educational, political, religious and cultural backgrounds. The result is a comprehensive text with many insights into the fundamental issues of hate and division, without a guarantee of what will work or not work. Although very useful as an academic study, in my opinion it fails to be a practical guide to action.


Positives

Gems I found especially useful and noteworthy:

1. Equality is a useful ingredient in respecting people and countries. Trying to be overly superior to others will not lead us to a peaceful world. We need to acknowledge that we are all part of one world community and need to work together to survive.
2. The understanding of ‘power over’ and ‘power-from-within’ are useful concepts in avoiding exploitation and violence (pages 23-24). Working together for a ‘win-win’ outcome would also help. 
3. ‘....The peace virus can demand patience and perseverance, and the way we live it out makes a difference to the results we get’ (page 49). Peace virus is transmitted to children through modelling (page 126). Parents and teachers, please take note and be a model for living.
4. The ‘creative power of silence’ can be used to begin a meeting (page 44), as is done effectively in many Quaker meetings. This is mindfulness at work.
5. Among the communication skills, try communication instead of changing someone’s beliefs by shooting down our opponent (page. 56). Recognize, acknowledge, and even respect other views. Work together on common ground issues such as climate change, disarmament, etc.
6. Emotions are contagious — treat them with care (p. 84). We can all be manipulated towards goodness or violence. Psychologists tell us that our interdependence and malleability shapes what we think and do. Beware of psychological warfare (page 79).
7. Effective communication involves shared values of rapport building, careful listening and observing, and seeking truths (page 94). Take note of body language. Use humour when appropriate, but avoid humiliation (page 90).
8. War ‘is not natural’ (page 124), but is a learned behaviour. It follows that we can learn to create a peaceful world.
9. There is a problem today with mainstream media where the bias is towards sensationalism, such as the bomb. How about seeking good news stories?
10. Establishing Ministries of Peace around the world is ‘an intriguing idea for improving the capacity and will to engage in prevention’ (page 228).

Negatives

The 327 pages of fine print, of which 52 pages are end-notes and index with even finer print makes it very difficult to read.

Though over 1,000 books and articles are listed, many important items for peacemaking familiar to me were not listed. It appears that the author and his team did not look at my website and blog which are full of valuable aides for peacemaking. I suggest adding these 7 missing items/topics.

1. The Center for Citizen Initiatives in California has escorted groups of “citizen diplomats” (mostly Americans) to Russia since 1984 to engage in personal dialog. President Sharon Tennison has visited Russia for 35 years and rejects the war propaganda. “Misunderstandings, fallacious accusations, flare ups and demonizing ... we see the need and possibility for changing this situation. When real people in large numbers get involved, amazing things begin to happen. Join us!” Next trip: June 2020.
2. In June 1895 my ancestors burnt their guns as a public resolve to get rid of wars. The war / peace issue is very much part of the Doukhobor movement, and I continue to be part of that movement to create a world without wars. Since the 1950s, I have been working steadily on a study of Spirit Wrestlers / Doukhobors with connections to the wider peace movement. A dozen books have been published and countless articles are in print and many more are steadily being produced in my Spirit-Wrestlers website and blog.
3. 'A Study of Russian Organizations in the Greater Vancouver Area', 1963, my MA thesis in anthropology and sociology. During the first Cold War, I attended the University of British Columbia and studied the issues of what brings people together and what splits them apart. I found that both hot and cold wars split societies apart and cause undue suffering to humanity. If   we are to achieve a sustainable nonkilling society, this means we urgently need to get rid of the ‘scourge of war’ and make war a crime against humanity!
4. ‘Opening Doors For Survival: A Handbook on Soviet-West Initiatives’, 1986. I produced this unpublished practical manuscript which was expanded and published in very limited numbers in 1991 by Peace Train Foundation in Ottawa, Canada as Discovering Soviet-West Cooperation. A Handbook on Soviet-West Bridge-Building Initiatives. The insights into peace-making are as valid today as they were in the 1980s.
5. 'Doukhobor — Quaker Connections : Talk with Young Friends in Ottawa', December 6, 2009 Presentation Outline, Comments (updated 2019). Includes useful suggestions of what young Friends can do to make a contribution to society. The article also includes the story of effective peace manifestations  in Western Canada in the 1960s involving Doukhobors, Quakers, Mennonites, Fellowship of Reconciliation, and other groups. 
6. Dr. Glenn D. Paige’s book Nonkilling Global Political Science, (2002), advanced the thesis that it is possible for humans to stop killing each other. The thesis supports the conclusion of the World Report on Violence and Health (Geneva, 2002) that human violence is a ‘preventable disease’. In November 2007, Dr. Page organized the First Global Nonkilling Leadership Forum, Hawaii, at which I presented my paper: ‘Tolstoy and the Doukhobors’. Wisdom people from around the world united to create a Nonkilling Society. The forum launched the Centre for Global Nonkilling ‘to promote change for a killing-free society’. While killing is deeply entrenched in world culture, it is not universal. Nonkilling is a new paradigm for a brave new world. The wider peace community should take note.
7. 150 Canadian Stories for Peace — An Anthology, 2017. One of my contributions here was 'Opening Doors for Survival during the Cold War' (pages 101-102). In 1984-1985 I held 17 living room discussions on East-West bridge-building. My article concludes: ’With fake news in today’s Cold War world, are we not repeating again the dangerous lies about our northern Russian neighbours and others? When will we ever learn?’

Contact the author Matthew Legge at Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC, Quakers), 60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 1C7, Canada. Phone: 416-920-5213 Web: quakerservice.ca. Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @CFSCQuakers. Get a free chapter of CFSC's book at: AreWeDoneFighting.com


More reviews

• Keira Mann. ‘CFSC launches Are We Done Fighting?’, Quaker Concern, vol. 45, no. 2, Spring 2019: pages 1, 3.
• Linda Taffs. ‘Are We Done Fighting? Building Understanding in a World of Hate and Division’. Transcend Media Service, 17 June 2019.
• Matthew Legge. ‘Working for Peace in a Violent World’. When the need for large-scale solutions is so dire, it can be challenging to focus on individual actions. Yes Magazine, 15 July 2019.
• Are We Done Fighting? Toronto based author Matthew Legge is coming to Kamloops, Kamloops Coffee Talk, November 1, 2019 — Quotations and announcement.

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Tribute to ‘Jack’ McIntosh (1940–2019)

John Duncan Lawrence "Jack" McINTOSH

Born: September 19, 1940 — Whitewood, SK

Died: May 29, 2019 — Richmond, BC — Age 79, cancer.

This shy bibliographer from the University of British Columbia (UBC) was a brilliant and generous scholar that many of us will miss. He was a friendly soul who wished the best for each of us regardless of our religion, politics, or education.

He was born in Saskatchewan and raised in the Castlegar area of British Columbia among Doukhobors, where he began to learn Russian from classmates at Stanley Humphries Secondary School. After studying Russian for two years at UBC, Jack studied in Russia where he attended Baptist meetings with former Molokane. Upon returning to Canada, he got ‘great on-the-job training’ translating for government, journals and the Soviet press.

His best friend from high school, Gerald (Jerry) D. Palsson (see comment below) had become a librarian and encouraged Jack to do the same. Jack entered the Librarian program at UBC, where he was employed, excelled, retired in 2001, and continued to volunteer to the end. He managed the UBC Doukhobor Collection and was a tremendous aide to Canadian Doukhobors.

Jack and I exchanged historic materials on the Doukhobors, Lev N. Tolstoy, and peace-making since the 1960s. He gifted me a copy of his 416-page 'Expanded Bibliography on the Doukhobors' that he hoped to get published, but never did. The Bibliography served me well. Whenever I needed some important source, he always mailed me a photocopy, and later emailed a file. See a sample draft page from the 1960s.

In the early 1980s, Jack was invited to interpret and participate in the Expanded Kootenay Committee on Intergroup Relations (EKCIR). We trusted him due to his honesty and many years of personal exposure to and knowledge of Doukhobors. Recently, Jack was impressed with Ashleigh Androsoff's observations and conclusions of the hearings. See her 2011 PhD thesis: Spirit Wrestling Identity Conflict and the Canadian “Doukhobor Problem,” 1899-1999 (pages 386, 390-392; and search for 'EKCIR').

In the early 1990s Jack was our guest during a Learned Societies conference held here in Ottawa. He soon was in our basement looking over my history collection, and I recall how elated he was to find material for his current study.

It is remarkable that a Scottish-Canadian lad learned Russian so well, and that he boldly shared insights that others did not. In the special issue of the Canadian Ethnic Studies in 1995 about Doukhobors, he challenged the accuracy of George Woodcock’s publications.

Jack was sensitive to the oral history of the Doukhobors, and drew on his wide readings to distinguish fact from fiction. His transliteration skills were precise: borshch, pirogi, sobranie, Petrov Den’, stikhi, etc. He wrote with dedication and thoroughness.

When I needed help with the creation of a CD version of Plakun Trava: The Doukhobors, Jack volunteered corrections and suggestions.

Jack helped Jonathan Kalmakoff by translating and/or proofreading at least 19 articles and items for the Doukhobor Genealogy Website (renamed Doukhobor Heritage). 

Jack McIntosh was a dear colleague whom I could trust in time of need. I don’t know of anyone who can fill his void.

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Obituary: 'John McIntosh’, Vancouver Sun, June 8, 2019.

'Witness to the Resurrection: Celebrating the Life of Jack McIntosh, June 22, 2019'.

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By Jack about Doukhobors

Unfortunately, none of his work is online, open source, except for 19 items on the Doukhobor Genealogy Website.

‘Jack McIntosh — Bibliographer (1940-2019)’. In forthcoming eBook by Koozma J. Tarasoff and Andrei Conovaloff, Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers and Friends. Submitted 2018. Proposed publication 2020.

‘Maintaining community among a small, dispersed people: Canadian Doukhobor periodical publications on the wall, in the mail and on the Internet’. In Andrew Donskov, John Woodsworth and Chad Gaffield (eds.), The Doukhobor Centenary in Canada (2000): 277-289.

‘Rarely-Cited “Gems” in the Doukhobor Bibliography: Why So Obscure? What Can be Done?’ In Canadian Ethnic Studies, vol. XXVII, No. 8, 1995: 262-269.

‘Update 1973-1993: Excerpts From the Doukhobor Bibliography, Expanded Updated Edition’. In Koozma J. Tarasoff and Robert B. Klymasz, Spirit Wrestlers. Centennial Papers in Honour of Canada’s Doukhobor Heritage (1995): 187-216.

Horvath’s Doukhobor Bibliography (in Progress). Revised and Expanded. Unpublished 1989 version, 428 pp.

Unpublished papers:

• ‘Maintaining community among a small, dispersed people: Canadian Doukhobor periodical publications on the wall, in the mail and on the Internet', at The Doukhobor Centenary in Canada: a multi-disciplinary perspective on their unity and diversity, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. 1999 October 22-24. — Jack generously gave half of his time to 2 guys not on the program, Jonathan Kalmakoff and Andrei Conovaloff, to show their new web sites.
• ‘The Doukhobor Migration That Never Was’. Panel: ‘Doukhobors in Canada — 100 Years and Beyond’. Canadian Association of Slavists Meeting, Ottawa, Ontario. 1998 June 1.

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Murray McCheyne Thomson (1922–2019)

Tribute to ‘a renaissance man of peace’

It is sad to hear about the passing at the age of 96 of our dear Friend (Quaker) Murray McCheyne Thomson on May 2nd, 2019, in Ottawa, Ontario.

He was born in China, raised by parents who where Christian missionaries, came to Canada as a child, grew, joined the Society of Friends, and persistently advocated for world peace to the end of his life. I really admired him, as did many here.

I last saw him on March 30, 2019 at the 'Say No to NATO' demonstration in downtown Ottawa during a blizzardy snowy cold day. He came out on his walker. I took pictures of Murray and briefly talked about the Big Issues of society — of disarmament and peace.

We have had a long relationship with Murray over the years. I first met him in Saskatchewan in the early1950s when Murray worked as an adult educator. We met again in the 1970s at the Grindstone Island Peace Education Centre, where Murray was one of the founders. (See his paper below.)

Despite protesting the Canadian military, Murray was decorated as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2001, and the Pearson Medal of Peace in 1990 from the United Nations Association of Canada. He is renowned for co-founding 7 peace organizations from 1976 to 2012.

In 1982 Murray was one of the signatories with me to a UN appeal at the International Doukhobor Intergroup Symposium, Castlegar, BC, sent to the Second Special Session on Disarmament of the United Nations.

In October 2008 we published Murray’s proposal that the traditional Canadian peace groups — Doukhobors, Mennonites and Quakers — unite to stimulate an anti-NATO initiative, to promote a world without wars.

Murray indeed will be missed. He played the violin, had a great connection to people, with lots of enthusiasm and authority as well as humour. He was a renaissance man of peace — and he and his deeds need to be remembered so as to help us save our civilization from the scourge of wars.

I believe we all need to follow his example — stand up and be counted in searching and working for world peace and social justice. With the Doomsday Clock of Scientists at one minute to midnight, the need to speak out today is very urgent!

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Update — On Oct 23, 2019, a 'Celebration of Life' gathering for Murray was held at the First Unitarian Church, Ottawa. I posted 63 photos. Around 200 people turned out including many peace activists, such as Ernie Regehr, Earl Turcotte, Brent Patterson, Ken Kensky Billings, Nick Aplin, Budd Hall, Edward Gertler, Dennis Gruending, Eric Memoria J. Schiller, Matt Legge, Jean Christie, Gordon Breedyk, Evelyn Voigt, Fergus Watt, Randy Weekes, Susan McMaster, Colin Stuart, Debbie Grisdale, Mary Girard, Judith Brown, and Sybil Grace. The program included a Memorial Meeting, Reception, and an evening gathering at a Westboro Pub. The Memorial brought forth many praises to the late Murray Thomson — a 'living legend' who was intellectually committed to peaceful social change in creating a world without wars.  

—  On the loss of Murray Thomson, PeaceQuest.ca,  May 17, 2019 --  'CFSC style Memorial and Celebration of Life for Murray McCheyne Thomson (19 December 1922 Honan, China – 2 May 2019 Ottawa, Canada)

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By and about Murray

Fonds RC0129 - Murray Thomson fonds, 1941-2011 (Creation), Archives and Collections, McMaster University Library, Hamilton, Ontario.

In 1981 he co-founded Peace Brigades International, Wikipedia. — Inspired by Gandhi's peace army in India,

Murray Thomson. ‘The Relevance of our Testimonies to Peace’, Symposium Proceedings: International Doukhobor Intergroup Symposium. Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada, June 25-28, 1982. Pages 58-59. Koozma J. Tarasoff (Coordinator and Editor).

Murray Thomson, Ottawa Quakers active in peace work (a selection), Quaker.org. April 1995.

Murray Thomson. The Grindstone Era: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, The Canadian Quaker History Journal, No. 66, 2001, pages 12-15. — Paper given at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the CFHA

Murray Thomson, Wikipedia, March 2004+

Murray Thomson. Minutes to midnight : Why more than 800 Order of Canada recipients call for nuclear disarmament (PDF). Nuclear Weapons Convention. Ottawa, ON. 2005.

Murray Thomson. ‘Toward a Culture of Peace’, Press Release from the Religious Society of Friends, Spirit Wrestlers website, 30 August 2006 — Announcement for the Gardner Lecture at the Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, Winnipeg, Manitoba, given by Murray: 'Toward a Culture of Peace: Can We Afford to Pay the Price?'

Koozma J. Tarasoff. Ottawa Peace Festival Provides Hope for an Ailing World : 1st Ottawa Peace Festival 2007 Review. Spirit Wrestlers website, October 3, 2007.

Dennis Gruending. Murray Thomson says no to militarism, Peace and Politics blog, October 23, 2008.

Murray Thomson. Traditional Peace Groups Explore Withdrawal from NATO. Spirit Wrestlers website, October 24, 2008.

Dennis Gruending. Murray Thomson book excerpt from Pulpit and Politics, Peace and Politics blog, November 2, 2011. 

Koozma J. Tarasoff. Peacemaker Murray Thomson at 90,  Spirit Wrestlers website, December 10, 2012. — Plus 108 photographs, 55 showing Murray.

Dennis Gruending. Murray Thomson Peace Activist at 90, Peace and Politics blog, December 12, 2012.

‘Age is More : Murray Thompson’ (3.5 min video), The Revera and Reel Youth Age is More Film Project. Youtube, July 3, 2014.

Dennis Gruending. Happy warriors: Order of Canada recipients call for the elimination of nukes, Peace and Politics blog, June 18, 2015.

Walk with Us, (poster) Ottawa Peace Festival 2015. September 2015.

Nuclear war still threatens world, experts say; disarmament only solution, CBC News, May 17, 2016 — Murray Thomson has over 800 Order of Canada winners supporting disarmament in new book.

Peace activist says it's time to speak up about nuclear disarmament, BC Almanac, Episode 300249841 (22:39 min. audio), CBC Radio, May 16, 2016 — Can Canada help lead the world to nuclear disarmament? An Order of Canada winner says yes — but the people need to speak up, and the politicians need to listen.

150+ Canadians Day 151: Murray Thomson, by Jolene Simko, Peace Quest, (Internet Archive) July 2, 2017. — Refers to book: 150 Canadian Stories of Peace, 2017, with 2 stories about Thomson: 'Murray McCheyne Thomson' (page 70) and, 'Our Mahatma Walks the Walk' (page 189).

Koozma J. Tarasoff. ‘Music Against War’ versus CANSEC — May 30, 2018, Spirit-Wrestlers website. June 4, 2018 — Plus 96 photos, 2 showing Murray. 

Koozma J. Tarasoff. No to NATO and War — Yes to Peace and Progress, Spirit Wrestlers blog. March 30, 2019 — Plus 40 photos, 6 showing Murray, taken in Ottawa, March 3, 2019,

Dennis Gruending. 'Peace activist Murray Thomson dies at 96'. Peace and Politics blog, May 5, 2019.

Murray Thomson, co-founder Project Ploughshares, 1922-2019 : requiescal in pace (Internet Archive), Ploughshares, May 6, 2019.

Cresky, Jim. Murray Thomson: from RCAF pilot to pacifist, The Hill Times, May. 8, 2019

On the loss of Murray Thomson …a fine fellow with a great sense of humour, PeaceQuest, May 17, 2019. — Links to 5 more articles.

Murray Thomson: Peace Warrior: Ploughshares Co-founder 1922-2019, Ploughshares, July 3, 2021.

Suggestions for 'World Beyond War' Conference in Toronto Sept. 21 - 22, 2018

The forthcoming peace conference in Toronto, Canada in September 2018 appears like the ultimate in world peace conferences. Its organizer is David Swanson, founder and Director of World BEYOND War.

The confirmed speakers are impressive, including retired Canadian anthropologist Dr. Saul Arbess, who is currently the Director of the Canadian Peace Initiative (formerly known as the Canadian Dept. of Peace Initiative) that I have been associated with since its birth in 2006.

The conference shows much promise, and these additions would make it more effective.

The Doukhobors should be included under 'War Abolishers' (right column). In 1895, 7,000 Russian pacifists in Russia burned their guns — a public declaration to the world that violence and wars are wrong and that non killing is the way of the future. As a Doukhobor, I have been taught that it is wrong to kill another human being because there is a spark of god/love/beauty in each of us, and war is a crime.

At least three speakers from important organizations should be included in the Speaker's List:

• Prof. Johan Galtung, Transcend Media Service, a peace journalist for over 65 years. He is founder of Transcend International and rector of Transcend Peace University.
• A representative for The Center for Global Nonkilling founded in 2007 by the late Dr. Glenn D. Paige in Hawaii. Its goal: 'to promote change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world'.
• Sharon Tennison of The Center For Citizen Initiatives, California, builds bridges of peace through citizen diplomacy between Russia and the USA.

World BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, activists, and allied organizations advocating for the abolition of the very institution of war. Its success is described as being driven by a people-powered movement. Support their work for a culture of peace. World BEYOND War PO Box 1484 Charlottesville, VA 22902 USA

Next Book Presented

Why I Wrote My Book on Spirit Wrestlers / Doukhobors? was my presentation to 39 people at ‘Arts Night’ in Ottawa on Friday evening October 31st, 2014.

The event was a monthly public educational meeting organized by a local artist for guest artists in literature, visual and music. I was the first of three speakers, each given up to half an hour to present and answer questions. It was a fun and educational experience with a diverse group.

I used my time to educate the audience about Doukhobors, talk about my last book and the next book in-progress — Spirit-Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers and their Friends (2016).

I was pleased that most of the audience had heard of Doukhobors, and three gave rather accurate descriptions. I wanted to deliver what I thought were the most important aspects of the Doukhobor movement before I talked about writing. To save time, I prepared a one-page handout.

I wrote the book for 3 reasons:

• biographies — our people
• misinformation — misconceptions, myths
• posterity — next generations

I gave summaries of 5 Doukhobors as sample biographies from my 2002 book and the update book in-progress.

• Peter Oglow (1913 - 2004)
• Nick Troubetzkoy
• Kim Kanigan
• Jim Deacove
• Elaine and Alfred Podovinikoff

Then I covered two misconceptions, and finished with a case for nurturing and educating our children towards a nonkilling society. We had time for 7 questions, added to the end of my text.

Read the text of my presentation and questions, and click on the images to see what was projected on the large screen. At the end is the handout. And here are 21 photos of this Arts Night.

Remembering Knowlton Nash

The gifted Canadian journalist and author Cyril Knowlton Nash died May 24, 2014 in Ontario at the age of 86.

Many Canadians remember him as 'a cool' news anchor for many years on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's television program The National. Before that, he was a dedicated newspaper and radio journalist, and author of several books. He was known for getting the facts, being fair, and producing a good story.

Few people remember that Mr. Nash wrote an expose article published March 1960 in Maclean's Magazine about the diabolical chemical and biological research that was going on in Suffield, Alberta. Since WWII, the British worked with the Canadian government to set up a bioweapons test range at Suffield, Alberta. The area was empty and isolated, and experiments could be performed with greater safety than in the U. K.

Noted Doukhobor lawyer and peace activist Peter G. Makaroff brought the article to the attention of the Independent Doukhobors and Saskatchewan Quakers. As a result, on July 5, 1964, some 350 people (most of them Independent Doukhobors) held a peaceful rally at the gates of this Alberta testing centre at the Defence Research Board experimental station — Suffield Experimental Station — 220 km southeast of Calgary, 50 km northwest of Medicine Hat.

This article by Nash revitalized activism among peace groups in Canada. In the 1960's, a series of peace demonstrations were held by Doukhobors, Quakers, Mennonites, and others.

'In the early 1960s, I was one of the core organizers with Peter G. Makaroff (1894-1970) of three peace demonstrations which we called: "A Manifestation for Peace." Peacemaker A.J. Muste from New York spoke at one of these gatherings in Suffield, Alberta, urging governments to cease research and production of chemical, biological and radiological weapons.' (Q52: Tell me about your 1960s experience, 3 December 2012)

'Suffield, Alberta. July 5, 1964. International peacemaker from New York, A. J. Muste, spoke as 350 people protested at the gates of an Alberta centre testing gas, germ and radiological warfare known as the Defence Research Board experimental station at Suffield (Tarasoff, 1969: 267-268).' (Koozma as ‘Human Library’ on Peace at Canadian War Museum, February 27, 2013.)

From my Pictorial History of the Doukhobors (1969), page 267:

'It all started with a national magazine article by C. Knowlton Nash titled "Have Germs Already Made the H-Bomb Obsolete?" [Macleans Magazine, 26 March 1960, pages 13+] This article was translated into Russian by the Doukhobor Society of Canada (formerly the Union of Doukhobors of Canada) and concern began to brew among the USCC and the Independent Doukhobors. A planning committee was established and six months later culminated in the "manifestation".

'Suffield has been used as a centre for "special weapons research" by the Defence Departmemt since World War II. Special weapons is the generic term for chemical, biological and atomic weapons. The Suffield works, of course, is of a classified nature. The following comments, however, [come]…from Knowlton Nash: "The annual expenditure of Canada's Defence Research Board for research and Development is $32,000,000. This covers the cost of maintaining a huge research and testing station at Suffield, Alberta, on which stand 112 miles of fence. In a hangar-like building, according to one visitor, cages of experimental animals line the walls from floor to ceiling and airplane motors circulate experimental gases. Both nerve gases and germs — and possible antidotes — are tested at Suffield."

'Included in the gathering were a group of nine Quakers from the community at Argenta, B.C.; a small delegation from the Edmonton Canadian Universities Committee for Nuclear Disarmament group; a handful of University of British Columbia students; one hitchhiking University of Saskatchewan student; and the rest were Doukhobors from the three western provinces. Their witness at the Suffield gates was that of a fast for ten hours, spent in half hour periods of silent meditations, with a cappella singing and speeches in between. Mr. A. J. Muste, internationally known pacifist from New York was featured speaker.

'Rain came down for a large part of the day, but all stayed. Late in the afternoon, as the welcome sun began to shine, a lengthy address was made by Peter G. Makaroff, a prominent international lawyer and Independent Doukhobor. The following are a few of his comments:

'All through history men have served the cause of peace with fighting. Yet it is a law of nature and of God that you cannot do the right thing by wrong means.

'Modern war is terrible beyond any comparison or any imagining. We look across this fence and ask ourselves, and still in the interests of peace?"

'The atomic deterrent is bad enough — yet, to make doubly sure of world peace, we develop chemical, biological and radiological weapons which are said to be superior because they don't harm property.'

Thank you, Knowlton Nash, for making us aware about the dangers of chemical, biological, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. As concerned citizens of any country yesterday and today, we need to stand up and be counted. We need to call out: 'War is a crime against humanity. Let's stop humanity's greatest scourge — that of war!'

The media, our family, and the military industrial complex are good places to start. Are our leaders listening?

As an old Doukhobor hymn states:

'Wake up new spirits.
The time has long come...
To work for peace and goodness.'

More

• "Chemical and Biological Warfare" and "The Suffield Manifestation," Friends of Peace Pilgrim, Spring/Summer, 1998 — Excerpt from Iskra, 1964.
• Suffield Alberta Chemical Exposure, Canada Veterans Advisory Board, 1 April 2012.

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A Day to Protest Military Spending

Yesterday (14 April 2014) was the Global Day of Action Against Military Spending (GDAMS).

Over 100 organizations around the world have been involved in this vision. This is a wake up call to all of us to convert the yearly $1.7 trillion worldwide on the military into spending that meets our human needs of good health, free education for all, adequate housing, enriched cultural facilities, clean environment, good governance (with Departments of Peace) — the works.



In Canada, Steven Staples (of Rideau Institute and Ceasefire) has urged us to send a letter to the Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver with a message, such as the following.

Dear Minister Oliver,

Today I join with people all over the world seeking a reduction of military spending. I urge you to commit to reducing military spending to pre-September 11, 2001 levels, freeing up $2.5 billion every year to support our social programs.

In committing ourselves to a world without wars, let's remember some of the strong resources that we have to make this change not only possible, but inevitable:

• War is 'the slavery of our times' (Lev N. Tolstoy, 1900), an idea that resonates with the notion of 'the kingdom of God is within you'. Like slavery, war needs to be gotten rid of. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr shared this path.
• 'War is a racket' (Major General Smedley Butler, 1935). 'It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.'
• War is 'learned behaviour' that can be unlearnt (Seville Statement on Violence, 1989). Reason must thrump fear.
• 'Nonkilling society is possible' (Glenn D. Paige, Center for Global Nonkilling, 2002). 'At least 95% of humans have not killed.'
• 'Thou shalt not kill' is a commandment that is shared with Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Humanism, Mennonites, Quakers, and many others. In all societies, murder is disapproved.
• My ancestors, Spirit Wrestlers/Doukhobors, burnt their guns in Tsarist Russia in 1895 because they showed reverence for life from the spirit of Love/Beauty/God within.
• Cooperation is better than conflict.
• Hope is better than fear.

GDAMS as a model for a world without war requires creativity. It challenges us to take money out of the military and funnel it into various human needs based on a culture of peace and nonkilling. This is a call for humanity. Let's get on with it my friends of Planet Earth.

4 For Coffee: a meeting of 4 gods-within us

I could have titled this log an informal gathering, or a meeting of souls, or kindred souls, or walking for peace, or revealing our inner and outer journey to build a war-less world. But this title best summarizes what I learned.

On Tuseday morning, December 10, I met with three friends at a downtown Ottawa cafe for coffee, to trade books and talk. It was International Human Rights Day and the memorial for Nelson Mandela — a fitting time to meet with three people whom I consider to be co-seekers of inner and outer peace.

We are pilgrims with our own histories, dealing with the stark reality of the day, not of this world. We are working towards a common ground approach to a new vision of human development. We each shared the god-within us, which is a concept common to each of our different ancestral cultures from around the world, and even goes way back to ancient Greek times. This day we became much more aware that the god-within each of us was the same.

They are Bill Bhaneja, a retired political scientist, Ottawa, playwright and author of Quest for Gandhi — A Nonkilling Journey (2010), and Troubled Pilgrimage: Passage to Pakistan (2013); and Mony Dojeiji and Alberto Agraso, co-authors of Walking for Peace — an inner journey (2013), and I Am Happy (2013).


Bill and I have known each other since 2006 while planning the Annual Ottawa Peace Festival, which Bill has since dubbed as ‘the longest peace festival in the world’. Also that year, we both attended the First Global Leadership Forum in Nonkilling in Hawaii where I presented a paper on Lev N. Tolstoy and the Doukhobors and their place in the nonkilling leadership paradigm.

Bill's Hindu background gave him a chance to reflect on the impact of Mahatma Gandhi who had chosen to follow the nonviolent path for social justice and nonkilling peace. From his Vedantic spiritual tradition, Bill was able to grasp the notion that 'we are all Gods' and that through sharing our common humanity, there is another path that will bring about a more peaceful and wholesome society on planet earth. His visit to the subcontinent described in his recent book became a pilgrimage to some of the places where Gandhi stayed during the struggle for India's Independence from the British Rule. Bill's wife comes from the Republic of Ireland, which also struggled in turbulence and change.

I met Mony and Alberto at their table display in Ottawa City Hall during Friends for Peace Day. We exchanged books, and met today to trade a few more books. Mony is a young Lebanese lady from Canada with an MBA, and Alberto is a talented artist from Spain.

Their book Walking for Peace documented their 13-month, 5,000-kilometer odyssey across 13 countries to Jerusalem. Most important, they experienced a spiritual journey, finding their true selves. In December 2003, exactly two years after they began walking, a daughter was born. Their journey of peace now continues with her. Their book received a Global eBook Award in 2012 and was a finalist in the 2012 National Indie Excellence Book Awards; and is being considered for a documentary film. This year the Spanish version of I am Happy got 2nd place in the International Latino Book Awards.

During their journey they read Conversations With God, in which the depressed author wrote an angry letter to God asking questions which led him to reconnect  immediately with the divine presence. From the book, Alberto learned to listen carefully, reach out to touch others with his new insights, and began an inner journey of wisdom into himself and the world.

Mony also read Peace Pilgrim, by Mildred Norman who did a 28-year-walk for a meaningful way of life. I told them that in 1957 the Peace Pilgrim stayed at our house in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and I heard her message about working to make North America a more peaceful continent. She walked like a pilgrim with only a tooth brush, comb and a map, wearing the same clothes every day (blue pants and blue tunic that held everything she owned). She never used money. I published two articles about her: Peace Pilgrim Gives a Challenge to Doukhobors, in our Doukhobor magazine The Inquirer, July 1957.

Alberto spoke about his experience with shamans who provided him with magical insights into his search for solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. I shared the same about two elderly Fringe Saulteau Indian medicine men in the Broadview area of Saskatchewan that I met during my research in the 1960s. These men at the age of 90 were real practitioners of healing, finding lost objects, and being trusted as wisdom people for a territory of thousands of kilometers around them. They died sometime after I left the community without sharing their magic with their brothers and sisters. Why? They could not trust most of their tribal members because their 'medicines' were so powerful that they could harm life if not used with care.

I explained that my father's parents came to Canada from Russia in 1899 during the large Russian Doukhobor migration here, while my mother Anastasia arrived 27 years later at the age of 15. She was about to be deported in Quebec City (because she came alone on account of the German couple she travelled with got sick and stayed in Liverpool, England) when a French-Canadian couple travelling beside her said 'she came with us.' The Canadian couple saved the day and Mom continued alone by train to Saskatoon where she met her cousin. She met and married my Dad. My brother John was born in 1928, four years before me.

My Doukhobor (Spirit-Wrestlers) philosophy of love originated on the high steppes of Trans-Caucasia, southern Russia, where on midnight of June 28-29, 1895, 7000 Doukhobors burnt their guns in three locations. My inspiration comes from this first mass world protest against militarism and wars. Lev N. Tolstoy called war 'the slavery of our times' and was in contact with Mennonites, Quakers, Gandhians and the Transcendentalists in the USA, and the arms burning was a sign that the seeds of Jesus Christ were alive and well.

My pacifistic ethic comes from family stories about respecting others as worthy human beings. Though Mom only had three months of schooling, she was learned in the hospitality ethic and knew how to weave rugs, socks, slippers and doilies, make a wonderful garden, as well as to cook delicious meals. From this Slavic heritage I learned about hard work, beauty, nonkilling, creativity and bridge-building across boundaries.

We spoke about the spirit of love that permeates our lives and gives us meaning as individuals and as a human species. The Spirit Within or the Love Within (as used by Doukhobors), or the Light Within (as used by Quakers) all give us optimism to act as Gods within the confines of a friendly planet. Our intention is to act with passion, but equally to be socially responsible for our actions.

We all seemed to be on the same page when we saw the need to focus on the meaning of life. As photos tell a thousand words, actions are central to our adventure in what we mean by love and understanding. The 'win-win scenario' is required in our search for truth and goodness. We are in this together in the long run.

No one has a monopoly on truth. Keeping ourselves segregated into a sect, a tribe, or a race is too narrow. It took 27 years for Nelson Mandela in prison to eventually transform the narrow thinking of the apartheid regime, resulting in the release of this brave patient man from prison and his eventual win as the first Black president of South Africa in 1994.

It is a tribute to Nelson Mandela that he sought to reconcile the differences between races in his country and to eventually come to the conclusion that there are better alternatives to fear and violence. Love and reconciliation is the dual highway for today and the future. That seems to be the visionary path that the four of us have come to in our respective journeys.

The Power of One is a reminder that we can make a difference in our lives and that of our society. At the same time, 'our relationship to others' gives reality to us as equal social beings. We are part of a larger whole. Because of this connection, we need to learn to live with one another as friends. Here the nonkilling philosophy comes fully into play with the measurable goal of a killing-free world by means open to human creativity in reverence for life. A Department of Peace at the cabinet level would be one of the practical ways to move countries in the direction of a world culture of peace.

We need to allow the freedom of each to 'walk our talk' in our own style, and continue to support the cooperative path in which 'we all win'. The survival of our civilization depends on creating a balance between the 'I' and the 'We'.

Bravo to the Hundred Monkey effect in which a new behaviour or idea is claimed to spread rapidly by unexplained, even supernatural, means from one group to all related groups once a critical number of members of one group exhibit the new behaviour or acknowledge the new idea.

December 10th, 2013 was indeed a remarkable day for me! I was glad to celebrate it with dear friends and I am sharing it with each of you. Peace to the God-within you!

See all my meeting reports.

Human Library on Peace

I had the honour of being a 'Book' in the Human Library Project in Ottawa, Canada. I was one of 25 'Books' who talked to people one-on-one about our diverse experiences in peace at the Canadian War Museum's: Peace —The Exhibition, on Sunday June 9, 2013.

This was the second Human Library project held at the Canadian War Museum.

The Human Library was launched in Denmark in 2000 to focus attention on anti-violence, encourage dialogue and build relations. It has grown in popularity with over 30 countries taking part including Brazil, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Malaysia, South Africa and Australia.

In Canada, 'in January 2012 CBC Radio Ottawa and the Ottawa Public Library held six simultaneous Human Library events at six different branches of the library and there was a special event at the Canadian War Museum. The extensive project inspired other regional radio stations of the CBC to become actively involved in the promotion and implementation of the Human Library in civil society in Canada.

My title was 'Peace Activist'. Other 'Books' were titled:

1. Cold War Researcher/Developer (John Anderson).
2. Ambassador of reconciliation (Cindy Ayala).
3. War Artist (Karen Bailey).
4. National Reporter in CBC's Parliamentary bureau (James Cudmore).
5. Around the World in 42 Years (Richard Evraire, Lieutenant-General Retired).
6. Diplomat, Intelligence Officer, Mediator (John Graham).
7. Mennonite Peace-builder (Paul Heidebrecht).
8. Diplomacy in War and Peace (Glen R. Hodgins).
9. Policing Internationally (Detective Mark Horton).
10. Making a Difference (Ted Itani, retired soldier and Humanitarian Advisor for the Pearson Centre).
11. My family, my people (Viviane Jean-Baptiste).
12. Serviceman on a United Nations mission 1974 (Marcel Lavigne).
13. Mentor to Afghan Police (Reservist Adam Lecierc).
14. In Search of a Home (Francis Kiromera).
15. Social Justice Educator (Lorna McLean, University of Ottawa).
16. Radio Transmitter in the Second World War (Antoni Miszkiel).
17. Ally to War Resisters (Marna Nightingale).
18. Conflict Resolution (Professor Vern Redekop).
19. Medic in Afghanistan (Martin Rouleau).
20. Former MP and International Election Monitor (Doug Rowland).
21. Peace Educator (Jill Strauss).
22. The Polish Underground, 1944 (Irena Szpak).
23. Former War Correspondent (Stephen Thorne).
24. Vietnamese Canadian Leader (Dr. Can D. Le).

With 24 other 'Books' in the Danson Theatre, I had 11 visitors / readers at my table, in sets of one or two, for a maximum of 20 minutes each. My readers were from Canada, USA, Mexico and India. Six were women, five were men. The youngest was 12, the oldest was in the 70s. Readers asked questions about my peace activism, my Doukhobor background and the novelty of this Human Library project. Here are some highlights of their views:

• 'How is peace possible in view of the huge military industrial complex with loads of money'? That is the David and Goliath challenge!
• 'As a child growing up in the USA, I recall hiding under tables during the Cold War. How unreal that was.'
• A former teacher and RCMP recruit: 'I'm impressed by the Human Book project. The people give me insights into my future career.'
• 'We are interested in the early influences of peace activism amongst Quakers, Mennonites and Doukhobors.' In response, I spoke about my living room experiment with Soviet speakers and the public in 1984-1985, as well as bridge-building tours during the Cold War period. See Resources below for more details on my activism for over 55 years.

A mother and daughter from Quebec suggested a series of candid ideas for beginning a public conversation on war and peace. Here are some of their ideas:

• Prepare a graph showing the cost of war vs. the cost of peace. e.g. battleships and fighter planes vs education, health care, public infrastructure, and culture.
• 'The monies saved from severance pay as compared to the cost of billion dollar F-35 stealth fighters is a drop in the bucket. Let's be transparent.' The context of this question comes from the fact that the present Harper government in Canada has begun cuts to civil servants, including their severance pay.
• 'The costs of the military college in Kingston, Ontario is horrendous, especially when we add the fat pensions for the instructors.' Presently military spending trumps all other spending in our society — a situation that needs to change.
• 'Make peace mandatory! Once this is done, then the designation of military becomes connected to war as being a crime against humanity. By asking for peace, we do not dishonour our war vets. Rather we respect all those people for their sacrifices, but we go on record in saying that "War ought to be no more" and that "Peace is the Way of the Future".'
• 'What is the cost of Cadets to Canada? Why not use these tax dollars for peace making, violence prevention, and peace education in public schools? Today we urgently need a Kids Program for Peace.'

As Peace Activist, my main expectation from the Human Library project was to discover ways of beginning a public conversation on killing and nonkilling with the intent of creating a world without wars. Granted, this is a Big Task. But it is an idea whose time has long come. The Canadian War Museum, with its Peace Exhibition followed by its Human Library Project is a good beginning. See the nice YouTube video clip advertising the event.

In looking around the room of the Theatre, it was very clear that the Human Library Project could accommodate many more people. Several of the 'Books' were laying idle, awaiting the curious reader. Why not bring in a bus load of Grade X students and let them loose to explore the books before them? This could be a mutual learning experience for all and the beginning of new discoveries about creating a better world. It would be a good way to involve young people in the discussion.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ought to be involved in the next Human Library project, as it had done successfully in 2012. Publicity is a vital ingredient in ensuring that the public knows the schedule of an important event.

As we mark the fifth anniversary of the Canadian War Museum in its new location, let us reflect how it defines Canada's role in world affairs. Not only is it about military heritage, preserving artifacts of national significance and a look at the service of our veterans, but it is also about the importance of peace (in reality, the word 'peace' ought to have a legitimate place in the Museum's title).

In the eye of the storm (the Canadian War Museum), so to speak, this is a good place to start in seeing things clearly. Visit the Peace Exhibit before it closes on January 5, 2014. Most important, dream a little and imagine a better world without wars. Make your voice known on the most important question — the survival of our civilization including our own lives. Let's begin the discussion....

Resources

• Koozma as ‘Human Library’ on Peace at Canadian War Museum — my outline summary of peace activism since the 1950s.
• Human Library Peace Stories, June 2013, 12-page booklet. 

Q57: Myth of Biblical Christianity

From: Teresa Gardiner, Vancouver, British Columbia

Several years ago, I had a vision to help the Doukhobor youth not just to understand the spiritual underpinnings of their culture, but to know how to live from the heart. I've been working on how to present this, ever since. I think The Doukhobor Book of Life (Zhivotnaya Kniga Dukhobortsev) is a good place to start, since it is one of the seminal documents of our people.

I was going to email you this morning to ask you about a couple of the Myths you've written about.

The first is myth #5. I grew up hearing the explanation you give about Jesus just being a man who did good deeds. However, in examining the psalms in the Book of Life, I'm not so sure that this is true. Many of the psalms are very biblical in nature and Jesus is referred to as God, certainly as part of the trinity. Where did your explanation come from?

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Answer

From: Popular Myths and Fallacies About the Doukhobors, in Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers' Strategies for Living (2002), pages 379-384.

Myth #5 appears often in Doukhobor conversation. It needs to be evaluated and corrected so as to arrive at a new understanding that describes the Movement more accurately.

Myth No. 5: Doukhobors are Christians and believe in the Bible (as the supernatural, "holy" creation representing God) and Jesus Christ (who is said to have died for our sins and was born from a virgin). For most Doukhobors, these notions are parables of an earlier form of Biblical Christianity. Three hundred years ago many Russian peasants rejected the Church as being exploitative of innocent peoples throughout the mechanism of fear. Instead, they chose the "voice of God within" as being accessible to all and central to their way of thinking. They consider the Bible as a good book. But as with any good book, they say, it must be approached with discretion, judgment, and common sense, not just swallowed whole in an act of blind faith. In fact, most Doukhobors read the Bible as a form of literature, not a sacred script. Jesus Christ is considered to be a good man, a human being who performed good acts. Sin and "salvation through the blood of Christ" are notions foreign to them. Doing good, according to the Doukhobors, is the way of being good, rather than speaking about it. There is an old saying, Bog da Bog, da Bog, no ti ne budi plokh [You may speak of God all you like, but behave yourself.]. Good behaviour is of central importance to the meaning of being Doukhobor.

For a more complete look at the wider meaning of the Doukhobor Movement, see pages 375 - 377 on the explanation of The Spirit Within. Herein, I show how Doukhobor beliefs can be distilled into seven propositions. These seven gems are the result of over 55 years of research and observation. Below I cite the first sentence of each proposition (go to the original source to see the full text).

1. Because we all have the abode of God within us, it is wrong to kill another human being....
2. The Bible's many sacred narratives are simple moral allegories....
3. There are no corporate creeds to adopt except the principle of hard work, kindness towards others and hospitality....
4. Doukhobors do not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ....
5. Heaven for Doukhobors is synonymous with virtue, while hell is a metaphor for bad deeds....
6. They do not believe in the existence of a personal self-sustaining supernatural God in heaven....
7. When applied to individual behaviour, a case can be made that Doukhobor is a humanistic religion....

These seven propositions of the Doukhobor Movement may shock some observers, especially orthodox theologians. However, these views are the collective invention of a group of Russian peasants several centuries back who in their wisdom or by accident rejected the whole structure of churchism. In so doing, they were ahead of their time, so to speak, in laying the groundwork for a real reform within the institution of the church (a reform that is long overdue). In this journey, they are very much in the spirit of Lev N. Tolstoy, the Society of Friends (Quakers) and Unitarians.

More: Questions and Answers, Comments