WFWP USA President, Mrs. Kaeleigh Moffitt introduced the main points of Mother Moon’s peace philosophy:
Written By: Yumi Willett
On September 21, 2023, in commemoration of the International Day of Peace, WFWP hosted a Global Women’s Peace Network (GWPN) webinar on the theme “Transforming PeaceBuilding: The Impact of the Mother of Peace.”
Three women explained their life's work in creating peace through their endeavors and the impact of the “Mother of Peace” memoir as a shared central point for continual discussions about peace.
WFWP USA President, Mrs. Kaeleigh Moffitt introduced the main points of Mother Moon’s peace philosophy:
1. Have a global perspective and become people who live for the sake of others.
2. Peace requires not only structural elements, but also human agency and the application of true love.
3. Women are great peacemakers because they have the capacity to embrace people and the ability to digest difficult circumstances and go forward.
The first speaker was Dr. Ester Davis, host and TV producer of the Ester Davis Television Show, and staff writer for the Dallas Post Tribune. Dr. Davis began by sharing a past experience with one of her grandsons in which they worked together in spite of the long distance and expensive telephone bill to improve his school grades so he could play basketball.
This she said is the heart of a mother:
“Mothers are natural born peacemakers, peace givers. You can make an impact. There is no little impact and there is no big impact. If we are born to be peacebuilders in the 21st Century, you can start your own simple program and you can master it in your neighborhood, home or church which you can follow and if you do that you are building your destiny and dynasty.”
Mrs. Gloria Petersen was the next presenter. She is the Founder and Director of Global Protocol Academy LLC, and a HerStory Award Recipient. In her local GWPN book club she was able to read Mother Moon’s entire memoir which was eye-opening. She highlighted a passage from the memoir:
“God’s dream is for all people in the world to live with gratitude in the peaceful, happy realm of God’s love.” (Mother of Peace memoir, p133).
This inspired her to write a journal on gratitude MINDFULNESS & HEALTH WATCH: YOUR 2023 WEEKLY JOURNAL.
Through continual study of the “Mother of Peace” memoir, Mrs. Petersen concluded: “To really focus on peace and to engage in peace and serve the world in a peaceful way, we have to override the hate mindset, the bully mindset. We cannot change people but we can influence them with our words, behavior and example.”
Glenda Lambert, Instructional Services Coordinator, Tutoring and Service Learning at Gateway Community College continued the conversation. She believes peace starts with her. She mentioned that she did her job so structurally and was successful at it but at the same time she realized that she looked at being a teacher as a job instead of it being a mission to transform the hearts and minds of students. She decided to focus on character and connection more than just academics. She expressed her philosophy as: “My door is always open when you really want to talk. Learning is really fun and we can learn together. My kids needed a growth mindset and not a fixed mindset. This was a wonderful atmosphere akin to a culture of peace.”
Reading Mother Moon’s book during the pandemic was the inspiration she needed to keep going. “Her book was a lifesaver to me and pushed me back into action. Her tremendous mindset in handling challenges, her persistent, resilient, going above and beyond, strong focus, all done with the heart and love of a global mother truly impressed on my heart. Reading her book has transformed me into being a better teacher.”
On the International Day of Peace we heard from women who embodied the motto: “Peace Starts with Me” and how they used their agency to create peace and connection in their own communities. There can only be peace if we each love and care for those around us and as Gloria Petersen said “override the hate mindset.”
