Notes from a Field Officer: Impacting Community through Peacemaking in Florida

Recently, members of Preemptive Love’s Community team ventured into new territory, eager for a new peacemaking adventure. Saadia (Gathering Coordinator) and I (Nick–Workshops Coordinator) attended a new member interest meeting for a local Chamber of Commerce. At this meeting, we connected with business owners from around the area and shared who we are, what we do, and what we’re dreaming to do.

[If you’ve taken part in any of the opportunities we’ve hosted between people whose lives would not normally overlap, for the purpose of growing in empathy, understanding, and peace, then you’ve experienced the work of our Community team. Whether a gathering, workshop, or student activity, it’s all part of our work to create the most diverse community of peacemakers on the planet and end the next war before it even begins.]

Our message and hearts were very well received, with many business owners collecting our cards/information and the chamber showing interest in us joining them in making the community a healthier place where we all rise together. It is our hope that by joining the city leaders we can get to the heart of the city and center peacemaking as the glue that holds all of the businesses and city members together. 

Saadia and Nick, Florida residents, know that having peace-filled neighborhoods means investing personally in their community.

What does it look like to have peacemakers calling upon city members/businesses to love anyway in their community? What does it look like to remind an entire community that we belong to each other? I think it begins to build what Dr. Martin Luthur King Jr. referred to as the “beloved community.” 

Community takes time though, and we are eager to see what kind of transformation and community is built over time through this new venture. We will continue to provide wins, losses, and updates as we continue waging peace on the frontlines of our own neighborhoods in the United States!

[In case you think peacemaking efforts are misplaced in the United States and only needed in countries like Colombia or Iraq, it’s easy to see what happens when we forget that we belong to each other. Too many communities experience mass shootings. Central Florida sees regular pro-Nazi rallies. Small, yet highly visible, they are a tangible reminder that this work is needed everywhere.]