We are very grateful this year to continue opening
the inner and outer environments of World Hearth.
For those of you who don’t know us,
here are some facts about World Hearth Society.
Here is our history.
We were incorporated as a nonprofit society
in British Columbia, Canada, on June 2, 2003 .
This year, we are 15 years old.
We’ve had a full Board of Directors
and several generous individuals supporting our volunteer efforts.
We wrote our Constitution, By-Laws, and Mission Statement in order to be incorporated.
Here is our mission statement:
World Hearth for Peace and Friendship Society’s purpose and mission is:
1. To intentionally promote a world culture of peace
through genuine interest and friendship
allowing the art of accompaniment
to unite differences in common purpose.
2. To create opportunities for intercultural exchanges
throughout the world honouring daily cultures.
3. To develop and promote educational programs
(academic, artistic, and practical)
which foster genuine interest, personal expression
and mutual sharing in the areas of cultivating a new world culture of peace
dedicated to creating
home, hearth, and sanctuary in daily life for all people.
4. To establish service and relief projects,
and/or, to cooperate with like-minded organizations
to assist and help others in need
locally, regionally and/or internationally
on behalf of living in peace and friendship.
5. To publish educational materials.
For many years, we enjoyed volunteering out this mission
with so much love and enthusiasm, side by side, with others.
For several additional years, we gave our full,
undivided love and attention to our family’s needs.
This year, 2018, we are now preparing
to take World Hearth Society and Community in new directions.
The image we are carrying is a circle of individuals from around the world,
who are taking their seats in an ever -widening circle of friendship,
carrying the intentions to be aware of each other out of genuine interest,
and be available to accompany each other in friendship
when the need arises or through mutual sharing of daily life
through opening our homes, hearths and sanctuaries
in the commitment to cultivating a new world culture of peace,
love, living wisdom, beauty and friendship.
The inside of the circle, the space we are holding open,
the common inner and outer, living environment,
we call World Hearth.
What is a World Hearth?
It is a place to gather where the human heart and home hearth fires
are burning warmly and brightly with intentions.
It’s a space and place to sit and share conversations, hopes and dreams
that allow genuine interest to be the guiding force.
Our nonprofit upholds that where there is genuine interest
in each other’s lives, questions, joys and sorrows,
in each other’s homes, hearths and sanctuaries,
in each other’s families, gardens and daily life,
true friendships can unfold.
And where there are true friendships,
love can be born into the world.
And where there is love, there is peace.
Holding open the inner and outer environments called World Hearth,
allows for all of us to step inside the vibrancy and trust of relationships,
in order to share and listen, be present, accompany each other,
and create a new world culture of peace and friendship that will outlast time, itself.
As this new year progresses, we will create slideshows and commentary about how we opened
our first World Hearth environments with friends
and how we all have grown in those friendships through the years.
We will, also, create a series of written contemplations
surrounding the impulses World Hearth stands in alignment with and arises out of.
In the beginning, as we found our way, we named all of our World Hearth projects and programs.
How did we discover our programs and projects?
–through being present and aware of our surroundings and the individuals we shared them with,
–by allowing questions to arise out of a budding genuine interest
and living experience we were having and awakening to in each moment.
–through holding open the space within ourselves, within our own hearts and souls,
that opened into a larger common landscape we call World Hearth
–and by allowing all of us to willingly choose,
imagine and participate in the art of accompanying daily life together.
In every new circumstance we found ourselves in,
and with every new discovery we made,
our commitment has always been
and always will be to ask the question:
How may we help you?
We are very, very clear that we will not bring our own agenda or thoughts to “solve” problems.
Instead, it is our commitment to enter into the moment, ask questions through mutual dialogue,
and then through the art of accompanying each other, research and discover new inspired ways to
alleviate suffering, bring kindness and genuine interest to everyone involved,
create beauty out of imagination,
finding joy and happiness in living this wisdom together in friendship.
In the beginning we created the following:
In The Moment Programs.
Projects that arose literally as we saw the need. ie. children in need
Lifelong Learning Programs.
Projects that were created out of artistic, practical and/or academic classes and workshops.
ie. teaching and sewing local quilts, creating mosaics, painting and planting family kitchen gardens,
designing and sewing Mexican soft Waldorf dolls, creating local herbal remedies,
and taking family photos and framing them with personalized decoupaged frames.
and, lastly,
The Art of Accompaniment Programs.
Projects and people that captured our hearts through joy and sorrow,
thereby willingly dedicating ourselves to being present, asking questions
and accompanying the families whom we were connected to
out of interest and friendship.
The former projects, as described above, under our various programs ,
came to a conclusion several years ago.
We will discern in the next few months
if we will retain our Program names or if they will be changed.
However, for now, we do want to talk about a new project
we hope to be coordinating with Rosalia from Chemax in Mexico.
The slideshow in our previous post will give you a glimpse
of the dynamic meeting that took place in the town square of Chemax,
with our dear friends, Jose, helping with his wisdom and translation,
and Rosalia, with her inspired passion,
who will be the local coordinator for this project.
Rosalia brought a new friend along who would also like to volunteer
if the project becomes a reality.
As of this moment, this project
is in the research stage, being explored
through conversations, contacts and fundraising efforts.
Here’s a brief sketch of how far we’ve come:
Our new project arises out of Rosalia’s interest to give back
and help others in her local villages
and our continued interest to carry on helping those in dire need
of timely access to proper medical care, when it is not readily available,
one person, one family, one question at a time.
If approved, it will be called:
The Chemax Project,
with
Rosalia as Local World Hearth Project Coordinator
Jill as World Hearth Home Office Project and Fundraising Coordinator,
Rod as World Hearth Home Office Project and Volunteer Coordinator
We will have Rosalia in Chemax being active in the area of discovering
and discerning guidelines for “dire need.”
We will be in the home office setting up systems, paper trails,
request and report forms, and coordinate fundraising efforts.
Volunteers will be available in Chemax
to help from time to time.
We are happy for this new beginning.
