New Ideas for Peace

Are you ready to Connect, Inspire, and Co-Create a More Peaceful World? Join Servas International Peace Secretaries, Francisco Salomón Luna Aburto (México) and Mei Wang (Taiwan) for the upcoming quarterly Servas Peace Forum.

This online gathering is a space for Servas members from every corner of the globe to share perspectives, spark fresh dialogue, and build lasting connections. Put on your thinking cap, bring your passion for peace, and explore new horizons together.  

 This online event takes place on May 24^th, 9-10:30 am EDT. Here is a link to REGISTER and to learn more about this Servas International event.

US Servas 2026 Peace Award

The US Servas Peace Award is a fabulous way to support a Peace & Justice NGO in which you are personally and actively involved. Why not nominate your group for an award so that they might be awarded a $5,000 grant from US Servas.

In recognition of the exceptional defense of peace and justice demonstrated by our neighbors in Minneapolis-Saint Paul this winter, and because the US Servas National Conference will take place in Minneapolis, MN the weekend of August 8-9,the US Servas Peace Team has decided to focus our 2026 Peace Award on a Twin Cities-focused organization, and invites Servas members to nominate one they feel worthy of this $5,000 award. Nominations are now open (APPLY HERE). Nominations will close June 1, 2026.

The nominee must be a non-religious-based 501(c)3 organization working to advance peace and justice in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Acknowledging that there are many ways to promote these goals, we invite nominators to “make the case” for how their nominee builds peace, justice, or sustainability.

US Servas will award the recipient organization $5,000 to help forward their work. This represents both a substantial increase from our previous Peace Award, as well as a focus shift from an individual award recipient to an organization.

The US Servas Peace Team will present the award at our August 2026 National Conference in Minneapolis. A representative of the selected organization will be invited to speak at the conference.

Any current member of US Servas, whether Friend or Host/Traveler, may nominate an organization. The Peace Team will review nominations in early June and inform the award-winner by mid-June.

Servas connects people working for a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world. Knowing that many or even most of our members are dedicated servants of this vision, we look forward to receiving your nominations. ~US Servas Peace Team

by Lilly Lombard

For Christmas this year, my botanist daughter offered me a sweet little book by fellow American botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry. Already familiar with Kimmerer’s poetic style, talent as a scientific educator, and indigenous perspective of humans as part of rather than separate from nature, I read The Serviceberry with slow pleasure. From its pages, I drew inescapable parallels between the serviceberry (genus Amelanchier, a native, flowering shrub that produces abundant berries) within nature’s “gift economy,” and my experience within Servas.

In the book, Kimmerer details the interdependence within which the serviceberry has evolved–enjoying diverse relationships with other plants, fungi, insects, and humans/animals. Some of its partners consume the shrub’s nectar and fruit while helping to pollinate or disperse its seeds. Below ground microorganisms and fungi feed on serviceberry sugars. They also provide micronutrients, enhance soil, and transport excess sugar from plant to plant. The symbioses are myriad, complex, self-correcting, and about as far from capitalism’s tendency toward hoarding and greed as our imaginations could conjure.

Kimmerer calls this exquisite web of resource exchange “the gift economy.” In the gift economy, one-for-one transactions are not the norm, and unidirectional extraction or exploitation proves nonadaptive over time. Rather, generosity is widely practiced, and abundance is shared because it improves the whole. A stronger, more interdependent community is a more stable and resilient one. Kimmerer laments how far modern capitalism has deviated from nature’s principles of the gift economy, and the extent to which unrestrained exploitation threatens all of Earth’s inhabitants.

I’ll bet the parallels between nature’s gift economy and Servas are jumping out at you. Servas was born out of World War II, when attempts to brutally subjugate and exploit some by others upended global stability, led to acute horrors and widespread suffering, and ultimately failed to improve any lives. Servas founders envisioned a more peaceful global community nourished by diversity, cross-cultural sharing, mutual reliance, respect, and trust. They encouraged relationship-building, one meal, one conversation, one act of kindness, and one song at a time.

Over 75 years, and continuing, Servas has cultivated a worldwide network for greeting and harboring curious and humble travelers with no money-exchange involved. Everything offered was in the spirit of “gift” and “abundance.” The currency of Servas has always been friendship. Personally, I have never considered whether participation in Servas was a financially “good deal.” Priceless memories, friendships, tolerance, and insight spring from my participation. I imagine the same is true for thousands of members.

Since reading The Serviceberry, I have reflected on ways to engage more actively in the gift economy, and how to invite newcomers to experience more non-transactional exchanges. To that end, this May I co-hosted a Servas community potluck that reached out, not only to existing members, but potential ones too– curious nearby college students, young families in the neighborhood, and friends. If, like me, you have experienced Servas’ abundance, consider spreading the joy. Host a Servas potluck, walk, tea, or library talk.  Go to our website for ideas and support, and to create and promote your Servas event. Let’s tear a page from The Serviceberry. We can harness Servas’ gift economy to grow peace, community, and joy in the world.

Note: Robin Wall Kimmerer (1953) is a Potawatomi botanist, author, and the former director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF). As a scientist and a Native American, Kimmerer is informed in her work by both Western science and Indigenous environmental knowledge.

by Rachel Elion Baird, Main Representative to the United Nations, New York, Servas International

New York, NY — During the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), Servas members and guests gathered for an evening of connection, dialogue, and shared purpose at the event “Let’s Talk About Peace.”

The gathering, co-sponsored by Servas US, highlighted the organization’s enduring mission to promote peace through intercultural exchange and meaningful human connection.

Servas US, partnering with Servas Women and the SI UN Team, played a key role in making the event a success, supporting promotional outreach, designing and distributing flyers, and providing food for attendees. Their efforts helped bring together a vibrant and diverse group, including Servas members, local New York hosts, and international guests.

The evening quickly became more than a meet-up—it evolved into a dynamic exchange of stories and ideas. Attendees shared personal experiences of hosting and traveling through the Servas network, reflecting on how these connections foster understanding across cultures and borders. Conversations also focused on how to expand Servas’ peace mission in today’s complex global landscape.

Several attendees expressed strong interest in joining Servas, including a diplomat from Turkey, underscoring the organization’s continued relevance and appeal to individuals committed to global peacebuilding.

“Even after the official end time, people stayed,” said Paige LaCombe. “The conversations kept flowing, and no one wanted to leave. It was clear that something meaningful was happening in that space.”

The event also welcomed a distinguished guest, Peter Pressi, President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO), who stopped by to meet attendees and express his support for the Servas community and its mission.

As the evening came to a close, many participants exchanged contact information, preparing the groundwork for future connections and collaborations. The energy and enthusiasm of the gathering reflected the power of grassroots engagement in advancing peace and understanding.

Events like “Let’s Talk About Peace” demonstrate how Servas continues to create spaces where dialogue thrives, relationships are built, and the vision of a more peaceful world is actively nurtured.

by Tim Sullivan

When will we learn acceptance? When will we learn violence and war only lead to more violence and war? When will we learn to elect leaders who are peacemakers and believe in the common good rather than people who believe that power makes right?  

 My impression is that people everywhere are basically good. I've come to this belief based on my experience rubbing shoulders with people who are different from me. Please let me share a few examples.  

 A few years ago, I had the opportunity to volunteer in a shelter on the Mexican side of the border. There, I met two young men about to risk their lives crossing the desert. One of them from Honduras had worked in a banana factory. We had an instant connection because I sold bananas that he boxed. He told me how much he made and how many boxes of bananas he could fill every day. Now I knew why bananas were so cheap. These were good young people trying to improve their lives, the only way they thought was possible. I did my best to talk them out of taking their dangerous journey but I'm sure I didn't succeed. I have no idea if they made it to where they were going alive.  

 At last year's Servas International conference in France, I was fortunate to sit next to the National Secretary from Iran. People had great fun taking pictures of the Iranian National Secretary sitting, talking and smiling with the USA National Secretary. I can tell you he was a good person and just like us proud of his country, proud of his family, and trying to create a good life and peace in our world.  

 And just this week I met a young man, his wife and child who emigrated from Pakistan to Spain where he runs a little produce shop. They were absolutely some of the nicest people I've ever met.  

 With such good people living in them, why then are all four of our countries involved in wars? Is it the leadership of our countries and their desire for power and wealth that lead us to war? Weren’t these people elected? Where is acceptance for others? What will it take to transform a world from acceptance of violence to an ethic of acceptance and peace?  

 Sadly, I have no answers to any of these questions. I have only hope in the common people of all countries, who I know are good people, that they will prevail in the end and make peace possible.   

 For my part, I will continue to plant and care for the trees on our little plot of land. I will help tend our garden so we can eat as much of our own food as possible. I will continue the ministry my spouse and I share with the elderly in our community. I will also keep volunteering for Servas, as it is one small way I can help build acceptance in the world. Thank you all for being part of Servas. I hope you will continue helping Servas foster increased acceptance throughout our world.

by Bill Magargal

Note: The opinions in this article are the author’s only and have not been discussed by the board. Please leave comments to share your thoughts.

During the past year, I have actively expressed my concern about the the U.S. decline into authoritarianism. I’ve participated in marches, stayed informed, contacted local representatives, and struggled with persistent anxiety about the country’s direction. Reflecting on history, I now understand how ordinary people in Germany could have witnessed the rise of fascism in the thirties without stopping it—the feeling of helplessness is real, and today’s events feel eerily familiar. As Yogi Berra said, “It’s Deja vu all over again.”

We are witnessing the resurgence of figures who promote authoritarian agendas and undermine democracy. As I watch this unfold, my emotions range from anger to hopelessness. I also feel chagrin for not doing more, for not standing up in ways that make a significant difference. I hope for leadership that can guide us out of this crisis, and I look to the upcoming midterm elections as a potential turning point. Yet I worry that these elections could be postponed or their results overturned.

Despite uncertainty, I remain hopeful that we can preserve our democracy. Organizations like Servas, founded on peace and humanitarian values, must move beyond passive concern. We need to transform hope into action, calling for leadership and cooperation to protect the peace and prosperity we’ve enjoyed for decades. Even though the future is uncertain, I believe collective action can make a difference.

It is time for US Servas to act. I know we have never directly engaged in political activism, but I believe this must change. Our leadership should issue a call to action to preserve our democracy and a world order based on laws and international cooperation, which has sustained eighty years of relative peace and thriving economies. I propose establishing and empowering a team of our Peace Secretary and board, and other interested members to address these challenges.

This panel could, among other things, do the following:

I am sure there is much more that can and should be done. Let this be a starting point.

by Elaine Heumann Gurian ( Summarized by Fouzia Bashir Bhat )

Foreword • Deirdre Araujo: Although she is not a Servas member, Elaine Heumann Gurian is part of an overlapping circle of people committed to dialogue, dignity, and peace. I’ve followed her work since her 2012 residency at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and have become a lifelong admirer. During the museum’s move from the Palace of Fine Arts to Piers 15 and 17, which could otherwise have felt overwhelming, her mantra “Done is Good” helped sustain us.

In her essay, Elaine reflects on what she calls the “Carney Plan,” inspired by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s response to coercive politics and economic intimidation. Her central argument is simple but powerful: bullies succeed when others depend on them too heavily. The way to weaken a bully is to identify those points of dependence, reduce the leverage, and build alternative relationships before the threat becomes overwhelming.   

Elaine describes this approach as both strategic and moral. First, she argues for building diverse and flexible alliances so that no single power can dominate the future of a country or institution. She emphasizes that resilience does not come from perfection or total independence, but from reducing vulnerability enough to survive pressure with dignity.   

Second, she highlights the importance of fairness at home. In Elaine’s reading, resistance cannot be only geopolitical or economic; it must also protect ordinary people from bearing the harshest costs. She admires the idea that any response to bullying should preserve social justice, pluralism, and care for communities, including Indigenous communities and working people.   

What makes her essay especially relevant for peace-minded readers is that she does not limit this idea to governments. Elaine suggests that the same method can apply across sectors and communities: predict where pressure may come from, define what is non-negotiable, build unexpected partnerships, and refuse to let institutions or people be isolated and picked off one by one.   

At heart, Elaine’s essay is a call to courage, connectedness, and democratic healing. She writes from deep concern about the current political moment in the United States, yet her message reaches beyond one country. It is about how people and communities can respond to intimidation not with surrender, but with preparation, solidarity, and principled action.

For Servas readers, this resonates with the long tradition of building peace through relationships across borders. If fear isolates, then hospitality reconnects. If coercion depends on dependence, then peace depends on widening circles of trust. That is why Elaine’s voice, though outside Servas formally, feels close to the spirit of our community. Here is a link to Elaine’s full essay Carney Envy – Healing After Trump for those who would like to read it in full.

by Marguerite Hills

Every so often, we interviewers receive a response that captures the spirit of Servas in an especially vivid and meaningful way. I felt compelled to share this one with the rest of our Servas community.

What does peace mean to you? 

To me, peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of genuine human connection and empathy across borders. It is the realization that despite our different backgrounds, languages, or traditions, we share a common humanity and similar aspirations for happiness and security. By opening our homes and sharing our stories, we dismantle the "otherness" that leads to prejudice, replacing it with the kind of friendship that makes global conflict unthinkable. In the context of Servas, peace means being a bridge-builder. Every conversation over a shared meal is an opportunity to cultivate mutual respect. When we travel or host with an open heart, we contribute to a grassroots network of global citizens who value understanding over suspicion, proving that peace is a practice we engage in every time we meet someone new.

When you hear “Peace and Understanding through Travel and Hosting” what comes to mind?

I think that means listening closely to others and sharing in respectful ways. When staying in another's home, I would treat it as my own, respectfully, and would like the same in return. When I hear "Peace and Understanding through Travel and Hosting," I think of the transformation of a stranger into a friend. It suggests that peace isn't a political treaty signed by governments, but a grassroots movement fueled by individual hospitality. By stepping into someone else’s home or opening our own, we move past stereotypes and media narratives to discover the shared values—like family, food, and community—that connect us all. This phrase highlights that travel should be an act of learning rather than just sightseeing. It suggests that the act of "hosting" is a powerful form of diplomacy; it creates a safe space for dialogue where we can ask questions and share perspectives. Ultimately, it means that the more of the world we see and the more people we welcome, the smaller and more connected the world feels, making conflict much harder to justify.

By Lilly Lombard, US Servas Peace Secretary

Dear US Servas Community,  

I am writing to you as the newest US Servas Peace Secretary. The decision to accept the role came to me after my closest college friend, a community member and medical doctor in Minneapolis serving immigrant clients–and herself a member of Servas–sent this letter. Her courage moved me, as I hope it does you, to act in solidarity–the greatest tool for peace that humanity has ever known. Please read her exquisite letter.  

In peace and justice,
Lilly Lombard

Letter to the Lilly (Saturday January 17, 2026)
Note: In accordance with norms typical of editorials in the United States, this letter is included its original format with some exceptions for minor grammatical and spelling corrections. 

Good Saturday morning to you all, my family outside of Minnesota,

As I sit down to write to you, my dog runs out to greet the neighbor shoveling my other neighbors' walk. Snow has fallen last night, and I slept fairly well, and the coffee tastes good, and I have all of you, whom I am thinking about, and all the love you showered on us this last week.

Because this is also happening at this moment: masked and heavily armed men roaming our streets, gas stations, schools, smashing windows and pulling people out of cars whose only crime was crossing up to 7 countries on foot in search of work. Many of my neighbors, immigrants from Mexico and Ecuador have not left their homes in 5 weeks, since this campaign of terror began. Some of those homes are two-bedroom apartments, housing up to eight people. Some of those people are newborns, or school age kids who their parents are keeping home as our city has offered online learning to keep them safe.

Eight blocks from where I sit flowers and candles accumulate on the roadside for a neighbor very much like me who was murdered for trying to be a witness. Dozens of parents stand guard outside of our elementary, middle and high schools each school day to protect students, staff and parents. No Spanish speaking patients are coming to my clinic, where 60% of the patients are immigrant and Spanish speaking. My Somali coworker carries her passport to come to work each day.

The business district, only 5 blocks from me, is empty, the stores shuttered, everyone is afraid to go to work and to shop there. My neighbor of 20 years was taken off the street on his way to work 8 blocks from here at a tortilla factory 10 days ago, and his family and lawyer still cannot locate him. I am having increasing virtual visits with my patients who are having constant panic attacks while stuck at home. This is a fraction of what we are witnessing, but I wanted to share with you because very little will make its way into the news. And, so that you can prepare where you live, should this reality come to you next.

So now the beauty: there are dozens and dozens of neighborhood-based efforts to accompany and witness and help folks. We call it mutual aid, because in turn, our immigrant neighbors are offering us a way to preserve our humanity, show up, and meet each other, so that whenever this all ends, we are more connected, more compassionate, more awake to the realities of each other's lives. One family who came over here to do their laundry told me it was the first time in the three years they have lived here that they have ever been in the house of someone “from here.” That is changing, and that is good. Every day in every neighborhood, dozens of neighbors volunteer to drive our more vulnerable neighbors to work to decrease their risk of capture, or bring them food, or shuttle their kids to school, or visit them to look at a rash or examine their sick child... Or post bond for their loved one or neighbor who was abducted without cause.

Yesterday I went down to our federal building to do that. The hallway to the bond office was swarming with cocky flack jacketed and masked ICE agents, cavalierly joking about tear gas and their day. I met a man there, an immigrant from Liberia, who had driven 8 hours to try to pay the bond of his partner, herself a correctional officer for the state, who was taken on her way to work 6 weeks ago. We were both told that despite what the website said, bond could not be paid in person. We then spent the next 6 hours together at my house trying to figure out the online system and get the bond paid. It took us 8 hours to figure it out together. When we called the line for help, there was an option to press a button “if you want to report someone you think is here illegally.” We had his partner on the phone often with us during the day, checking in from her detention facility. (Most folks do not get to do this.) At the end of the day, we were both tired, but grateful for each other, and the solidarity to get through this really frustrating process to pay for the temporary freedom of folks we cared about.

Today there will be a group of roaming solidarity singers in the streets from 2-3, a silk-screening pop up to raise bond money for folks where you can silk screen shirts saying “migration makes MN Beautiful” and “ICE OUT” (the latter with a picture of a loon spreading its wings.) Rides to work, food delivered, and sidewalks shoveled. There will be gestures small and big of love and care and solidarity.

Thank you for yours: Your texts with heart emojis, your checking in, your rallying your friends to donate to our mutual aid projects, your own donations. Everyone here is pretty exhausted, me included, and so it is hard to respond with much more to each message than a true thanks, and that the situation is horrific here. I wanted to give you more of an idea of the day to day and send love.

If you know of anyone who still wants to help our neighborhood solidarity efforts, they can go to this website: https://www.standwithminnesota.com. The Bancroft school is the elementary school in my neighborhood, and the Calvary food shelf is the place I volunteer and deliver food from. But truly, donate to any of these causes (you will also see their individual petitions from families, and please consider those as well). Please continue to spread the word to your friends, your church, and your workmates. The needs are truly endless. I will try to write next Saturday. Know that your love means so much to us, gives us heart, buoys us when we wake up and can’t believe this is still going on. Thanks, Angels of the Get Through.

XO

By Tim Sullivan 

As we turn the page on 2025, I often hear people say, ‘Thank God.’ Indeed, it was truly a violent year. There is much peacebuilding still needed in our world and in our country. 2026 is starting out with state-sponsored violence in Minneapolis that we could not have imagined. It's hard for me to believe that some people condone this type of violence.  

In response, the people of Minneapolis, Minnesota and elsewhere are demonstrating a type of nonviolent resistance that is certainly inspiring me to do more. At this moment, I believe we are all called to some form of nonviolent resistance. There are many forms of nonviolent action. While we might all like to be in the streets of Minneapolis, it's just not possible for all of us to join them. I suspect that most SERVAS members are engaged in nonviolent peacebuilding in their own communities. I believe being an active member of SERVAS is a form of nonviolent peacebuilding. It's clear our work is still needed, important, and we need to grow our efforts. Despair is not the answer. We must continue to engage with peacebuilding and as our new board member, Jeff says, “Find joy in the beauty of our world”.

I am grateful for all the US Servas volunteers that support our mission. I'm especially thankful for the new team of board members whom you elected this past October. While I'm just getting to know them, my first impression is that this is a talented group of folks who care about peacebuilding. (I am, of course, also thankful for our returning board members who have been working hard).  In our recent retreat we outlined the following priorities for 2026:

1. Advance peace through meaningful people-to-people connection, with clear and measurable impact.
2. Grow membership and engagement in balance with interviewer and host capacity.
3. Strengthen communications, storytelling, and brand clarity.
4. Improve governance, leadership, and organizational capacity.

It seems to me that all our objectives include a foundational emphasis on communication and relationship development in our efforts to build peace. In our first board meeting, I already saw liaisons creating goals to implement these objectives. All members are welcome to join board meetings, which are held on the 4th Monday of the month at 9 a.m. PT, except when they fall on a holiday. Let us know if you would like to join us and we will send you a link.

There's a line in Rumi's poem “The Road Home” that rings true to me. It says: "The essence of every human being can see, and what that essence-eye takes in, the being becomes." Folks become what they experience and what they take in. Travel and actual conversation with the other makes this happen. Isn’t this what Servas does; we transform hearts with the experience of the other through our hospitality.  

A Ken Untener prayer that Archbishop Oscar Romero often used, has been an inspiration to me when I felt my work wasn’t accomplishing enough. Romero was assassinated by the USA supported El Salvador government in 1980. This prayer makes it clear we are not expected to do it all, and we cannot know how our Servas hospitality might change some person’s life. Here is an edited version of the prayer:

"Prophets of a Future Not Our Own"

This is what we are about.
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something and to do it well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders

Your involvement with SERVAS may plant seeds that grow beyond your wildest imagination!  Help us expand the foundation we lay. Invite your neighbors and friends to join us in our nonviolent peacebuilding. And if you're looking for new ways to be more active in peacebuilding, join our volunteer team. We may not be in the streets of Minneapolis, but we are planting seeds of future peace!

Thank you for being a peace worker for US Servas.

Tim