Four area Rotary Districts came together over this past weekend at Hershey Lodge, along with our ST Rotary Members, Suzi Berry, Liz Herman, Karla Myers, and Darlene Scott. I enjoyed catching up with other Rotary Club Members who are making a difference in their communities but most importantly, I like to hear the larger work of Rotary International.
The focus of this conference was on Rotary’s Peace initiatives.
One of the “key note” speakers was Chris Offer. Chris is currently the chair of the Rotary Peace Major Gifts Initiative Committee. The committee’s goal is to raise $75 million for the Rotary Peace Centers and Rotary’s peace area of focus. Things I learned from his sharing:
- Positive Peace builds long term societal resilience. Positive peace is attitudes, institutions and structures that sustain peace. Negative peace is absence of direct violence. Absence of fear of violence.
- Misunderstandings lead to conflict. How can we work on better communication with one another.
- The Rotary Trustee’s voted to give extra funding to the current Rotary grants with these organizations: Peace Corps, USAID and the World Health Org. As you may have heard, the US Government has changed/eliminated funding streams to these organizations. Further discussion will happen regarding the future of grants with these organizations.
We had the pleasure of hearing from two Rotary Peace Scholars. A RPS is a recipient of a fellowship from The Rotary Foundation, designed to train leaders who will promote peace and conflict resolution through education and practical experience, often leading to a master's degree or professional certificate at a Rotary Peace Center. These scholarships are not open to Rotary Members or their relatives.
Professor Moh Eid actually learned about Rotary as his family was the recipient of a Shelter Box. CLICK HERE to read his amazing story. He currently lives in the US; arriving here in 2017 on a Rotary Peace Fellowship to attend the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Centre. He pursued a graduate degree in Global Studies and International Development, graduating in 2019. Professor Eid’s speech was very deep and thoughtful about pursing peace in relationships with one another.
- How do we talk/help people out of conflict?
- A quote from Lee Ross, “The Fundamental Attribution Error is that we overestimate the power of the person and underestimate the power of the situation.” In other words, we tend to overemphasize the contribution of character, personality, & individual responsibility, and thereby overlook how profoundly the social environment affects what we do and who we are. How does this relate to peace and creating peace in our world
- It’s easy, and often common to self distance ourselves from conflict. We take a “third person” approach instead of taking a more personal, first-person view.
Linda Low, also a Rotary Peace Fellowship recipient shared her story as the child of Chinese immigrants. She currently lives in Seattle WA. CLICK HERE to learn more about her. Recently, Low was chosen by the Rotary from members around the world as one of six “People of Action: Champions of Peace.” She created the program, Community Leadership Dialogues, which brings together people from differing backgrounds—people at odds with each other—and facilitates dialogue. To date, Low has personally facilitated dialogues with over 2,000 people. The program also responds to requests for training so that others can pass along their method in their own organizations and companies. Notes I took during her sharing:
- Advocate for dialogue – what makes effective dialogue?
- Step into another’s shoes
- Conversations we have with each other can change communities
- An activity to try with someone, “Tell me a time you didn’t belong”. Repeat the story back to the person who told it to you, but change the story to the 1st person, make it your story.
Hagir Elsheikh is a Sudanese-American Human Rights/Woman's Rights activist. She shared about the many challenges she had growing up in Sudan. Hagir's work in peacebuilding and democratic empowerment is globally recognized. She collaborates with organizations such as the United Nations, Grand Canyon University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Pennsylvania to promote dialogue and initiatives that foster peace and democratic governance. Her efforts have been instrumental in promoting peace in conflict-affected regions, especially in Sudan. Notes I took from her sharing:
- She explained what a burial shroud was – a piece of cloth wrapped around a body. She reminded us that, “Shrouds have no pockets”. We should be giving what we have while we are living.
These three speakers come from very different backgrounds than most of the people who were listening to them. Suzi Berry stated, “The international connection of each person sharing their story and working towards peace with their communities and their lives is inspiring.”
In the day-to-day support of our club, I often forget the actual guiding principles of Rotary:
- FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
- SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
- THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life;
- FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
It was good to be reminded that working at peace is the heart of Rotary. Thinking back to when Steve Hunsberger invited me to join the club – I recall googling Rotary and reading these guiding principles and thought how true these resonated with my own beliefs. As a Anabaptist (Mennonite) I not only believe in adult baptism, pacifism, and the separation of church and state, I also strive to follow Jesus in everyday life, with a focus on community, nonviolence, and service to others. I enjoyed the weekend hearing from others who have definitely come from more challenging circumstances yet have become leaders in peace building. It was very motivating for me on my own personal journey.
CLICK HERE to read how our Interact student Julia Blair took home to top prize at the District 7430’s Four Way Speech Contest.
But…the weekend was not all seriousness. We had a good time singing karaoke, and sharing the dance floor with the Rotary Exchange Students.
The weekend wrapped up with a memorial service for Rotary members who recently passed away. Our club had the most members listed, Mitchell Abrams, Al Engel and Marcus Rosenberger.
If this conference looks like something you would like to attend - save April 17 - 19, 2026! The conference will be with SEVEN other districts (lots of Rotary Members!) and will be held in Gettysburg PA. CLICK HERE to preregister!
In Rotary
Sarah Bergin
President-Elect
PS - Make sure you look at the souvenir I brought back for my dog!
