WOMEN ARE THE CENTRAL AXIS TO PEACE
On Sunday June 26 in Yuba City, California, the Sutter County Library Literacy Program held a special women's cultural event called Women’s Dance where my daughter, Una, and I represented WFWP. We were invited to speak and have a display table to show what WFWP is doing. So we took our stacks of brochures and Logic of Love newsletters, my business cards and membership forms, and off we went.
My friend, Dr. Mary Alice Shumate, the Sutter County Library Literacy Coordinator, who teaches English to immigrants working towards citizenship, wanted me to speak about WFWP at the event. I had met Dr. Shumate earlier this year at my third annual Martin Luther King interdenominational gathering at Yuba Community College.
The Women’s Dance Festival event was initially started twelve years ago by Dr. Shumate’s Indian students for their own community. It was created to celebrate their heritage but also to provide a relaxing day for women to enjoy themselves. Later the annual event evolved to include women from other ethnic groups as well. It is now open to women from every background, yet the majority of attendees are Indian women and children, and the announcements were mostly in Punjabi.
Una and I were among the small handful of non-Indian people in attendance. However I felt honored by being included. I was especially excited that Dr. Shumate wanted me to be there and to say a few words about Women's Federation.
When it was my turn to speak I said, "In the 21st century women should play a major role in world peace, and women will be the central axis in building a new century characterized by a culture of love and peace." (That is a direct quote from a speech by Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon.) I then directed them to the WFWP website and to our display table; and said that I hoped they would consider joining and working together with our local chapter.
The dancers represented many cultural heritages. There was a group of Hispanic women and children who performed an Aztec dance. There were solo dances by a Korean, a Thai, and a lady from the Philippines. Then there were many groups of Indian dancers as you can see in the photos: boy dancers, girl dancers, and middle-aged women in colorful saris graced the dance floor.
Later, quite a few prominent ladies stopped by the WFWP table and helped themselves to the literature. A couple ladies who I had the pleasure to meet included the new Sutter County District Attorney, Amanda Hopper, who is the first woman district attorney there, and Joyce Pope, a public health nurse and Toastmaster friend.
Women working together can uplift, inspire, and fortify each other to continue to work for a more peaceful world, one family at a time. The very presence of WFWP in a community can give women the support needed to find the strength to continue to smile no matter what the circumstances. The words of our WFWP founders are powerful and visionary. I'm grateful for any opportunity to share their words and their vision to inspire and empower others.
