To strengthen our planetary network, ZPI will feature newly affiliated groups. Join hive.zenpeacemakers.org to explore some of the offerings of the organizations affiliated with ZPI, and visit here for a full list of these groups. The following is an introduction to Peacemaker-Gemeinschaft Deutschland e.V.
What is your organization’s name?
Peacemaker-Gemeinschaft Deutschland e.V. – Verein für gesellschaftlich engagiertes Zen (Peacemaker Community Germany nonprofit association – Society for socially engaged Zen)
What is your mission?
We are a hub for German Peacemakers and people interested in the practice of the ZenPeacemakers. Members offer Zen, Peacemaker circles, Councils, Days of Reflection, events in their places all over Germany. We also collect donations to support peace-creating projects mainly in the fields of refugee work, reconciliation, and EcoDharma.
Where is your organization based?
Bonn, Germany
How many regular members do you serve?
15
Tell us a bit about how the group was conceived?
There were a couple of committed Zen Peacemakers after the Auschwitz Bearing Witness retreat in 2011 who were trained as Circle Stewards by Barbara Salaam Roshi. We met regularly and contemplated how to support each other and offer new people a structure to get in touch. In 2013, we decided to create the association.
Tell us about one exciting project, retreat or other offering that you are currently working on?
We actually have a few exciting examples! Gabriele in Berlin is working on the German Version of Etty Hillesum Cards; Claudia, Reiner, Manfred and Kathleen are into several EcoDharma activities (like participating in an interreligious week for the environment in Cologne and offering regular walking meditations in nature); Dorle, Reiner and Kathleen are preparing the 2 Peace Days in Buchenwald Memorial; Jörg and Kathleen are offering monthly online Meditation and Council in German; and Cornelius and Georgia are engaged in refugee projects.
How do the Three Tenets inform your social engagement?
When we meet, we usually draw on the Three Tenets as a common base of our connection and action. In events or retreats, they our our basic guidelines.
What is the most meaningful challenge your organization faces?
There are still very few committed Peacemakers in Germany. The challenge we work on these days is to find a way to get in touch with more people who have been on Zen Peacemaker retreats or other events, to create a more energetic field of peacemaking here in our country.
Your main website URL
www.zen-peacemakergemeinschaft.de
Your main contact email address for members
kontakt@zen-peacemakergemeinschaft.de
Learn more about Peacemaker-Gemeinschaft Deutschland e.V. by visiting their website, and visit hive.zenpeacemakers.org to find more great work by our global affiliate network. A complete list of our affiliated groups can be found here.
