I encourage you all to take some time to contemplate hard questions. JRPC remains committed to peace and is a safe site of powerful communication.

I’m keeping the shiny side up ( except for one parking mishap) and I’m grinning a mile wide being so amazed that I am doing this — balancing on two wheels at high speeds for miles for one and being part of this epic journey celebrating women and all we are capable of.

The US Supreme Court’s recent decisions on voting rights, i.e., approving ballot collection restrictions in Arizona and overturning California’s law to disclose dark money sources, underscore the current dangers to our democracy.

Speaking my truth has become an act of resistance that works to uproot the patriarchy. My voice carries on the work of early suffragists, civil rights activists, multiple waves of feminists, and, as the t-shirt says, “the ancestors of the witches you couldn’t burn.”

On June 21st our community lost a longtime Peace Center supporter and friend to many, the Peace Baker (Shannon Pinkston). Shannon was called the Peace Baker for her years of baking for our events, awardees, and programs. From what I have learned her kindness and peace spreading spirit was in service to the Missoula community and beyond.

After 17 years, I wanted to know that the Center I had spent so much life energy on would continue and thrive. And today, I am beyond thrilled to tell you that we have found someone who sees this work as the same “dream job” I saw so many years ago. Jacqueline Flewellen has the energy, experience and passion to make sure that Missoula will continue to be a beacon of peace. You are going to be as delighted as me when you meet her. Please join me in welcoming her and offering our support.

Tomorrow is the 141st birthday of our namesake, Jeannette Rankin.  Her tireless work for peace and justice and her courage to stand for what is right – even if that meant standing alone, continues to inspire us. But I imagine she would not want us to stop at inspiration alone.

I have been proud to be part of the Peace Center and stand with all people who want peace. Sometimes a situation arises where it seems clear which “side” peace is on. In reality, it isn’t that simple because we all see from our own perspectives and we understand based on our own experiences. From time to time, I have written things here that someone disagrees with. And I appreciate all of you who are willing to speak up and dialogue with me about it because we both grow and get a chance to see the bigger picture.

Here in Montana, many people note with pride how many generations of their family have lived in this state and nurtured a sense of belonging here. We are just beginning to understand the full costs of that belonging to the people who lived on and cared for this land before white Europeans arrived. As I watch the increasing violence in Israel and Palestine, there are similar themes of colonization, oppression and destruction.

It’s no secret to anyone who has spent time in our shop that a large portion of our fair trade inventory comes from India. As a result, I receive emails daily from several of our vendors, keeping us updated about their artisan partners. This morning I received one stating that India literally needs oxygen and other medical supplies to keep up the current COVID surge they are experiencing. 

Twenty years ago this coming Saturday, May 8 the iconic Missoula Peace Sign that adorned our North Hills on a former US West (then Qwest) microwave reflector between 1983 and 2001, came down to the valley floor. Thanks to Bob Oakes, the North Missoula Community Development Center and nine volunteers, the pieces were safeguarded in the hopes of reuniting them one day.

The Missoula Peace Sign is on the path to reunification. It will become permanently installed at the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, at last giving substance to the legend and the long-held community vision that all nine pieces will be reassembled. Once unified, the Missoula Peace Sign will become a monument to resilience and a gathering place for people seeking a reflective moment.