Photo:  From left, Flo Freshman, Cynthia Bennekaa, Marge Thornton, and Barbara Reed sharing stories of remembrance. Credit: Michael Taft, videographer.

By Barbara Taft, Greater Phoenix Branch

The Greater Phoenix Branch decided to reconceive Memorial Day, May 30, 2016, making it something unique—a day to celebrate those in the peace movement who have gone before us. While everyone else was celebrating warriors and the war dead, a remembrance of those who have lived conversation was held at the Tempe Friends Meeting House.

Everyone was invited to bring to a special Greater Phoenix WILPF potluck a paragraph or more about someone who worked for peace and justice during her or his lifetime. We listened to some poetry honoring peacemaking, and then we heard from members about those who have gone on. This gave us a chance to focus on what is important to us and encouraged us in our work.

Most of those remembered had links to WILPF. We included men whose lives had touched us, and who had lived in a way that exemplified peace and justice.