Mail completed registration form to
Peace Education Institute,
11404 N. Midwest Blvd., Jones, Ok 73049
with your check for $200.00.
Campers gather at 8:30 am on the first morning of Peace Challenge Camp. The first stop is the Oklahoma Memorial Museum where the bombing of the Murrah Building by Timothy McVeigh occurred April 19, 1995. The bombing stands as a good example, if extreme, of how the application of "an eye for an eye" can lead to unspeakable suffering.
Arriving at St. Francis of the Woods Retreat Center, the young people are given their cabin assignments. There are 4 youths, a teen, and an adult in each cabin and this is the team for the week.
Teams cook breakfast and supper in the cabins, working together to share planning and work. Each day, each team tackles two challenge elements, learning communication skills, sharing leadership, and developing their teamwork abilities.
Class time covers such concepts as the causes of hatred & discrimination, the escalation and de-escalation of potentially violent encounters, and forgiveness.
Guest speakers come in at noon to talk about their journey toward reconciliation after experiences of personal violance. These speakers have included Bud Welch, who lost his daughter, Julie, in the Murrah Building bombing, and Cindi Broaddus, who was the victim of a random act of violence in which a container of acid crashed through her windshield one day, scarring her face.
"Tribal events" every evening help the children process the day through drumming, dancing, and art work.
A community art piece is created each year and can be viewed at the Respect Diversity peace art display each year in Oklahoma City.
