Reading, Pennsylvania, United States

Reading, Pennsylvania, United States: International City of Peace

We welcome Swamini Shraddhananda Saraswati and Administrative Assistant DJ Plante, both of the Kula Kamala Foundation and Yoga Ashram, who are coordinating a community-wide effort to establish Reading, Pennsylvania in the United States as an International City of Peace.

Reading has a population of nearly 100,000 residents, with over 420,000 in the wider area. The Kula Kamala Foundation has many initiatives and partners in the general area to cultivate a community culture of peace. They are now creating a Community Interfaith Action Council (CIAC) to “bring about nonsectarian collaboration and teamwork among and between local churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, as well as organizations and social leaders.”

Note: Introduction page with information primarily at the time of joining International Cities of Peace. For updates, please contact the liaison.

VISION

To cultivate, encourage, and advance peace as a social initiative and value-added way of life in Reading, Pennsylvania and beyond.

MISSION

To organize an alliance of citizens and leaders, from all backgrounds, for the purpose of collaboration and cooperation, public outreach and education, creative problem-solving, human and ecological reconciliation, encouragement, all in order to advance peace as a social initiative and value-added way of life in Reading, Pennsylvania and beyond.

GOALS

• Organize an alliance of citizens and leaders, representative of the greater Reading population, who are dedicated to working for peace
• Provide resources and education to better understand the value-added nature of peace as a way of life, as a community value, and as a personal choice.
• Build a non-partisan and unbiased resource committed to greater unity through peace in the Reading area.
• Distribute non-partisan and nonsecular information on local and global issues and advances concerning peace.
• Unite and consolidate the efforts of people, leaders, and organizations working for peace in the Reading area.
• Chronicle the ongoing process of peace-building in the Reading area.
• Advocate for a greater peace in the Reading area and beyond, for the sake of the human species, for the wellbeing of all species, and for the health of the planet we all call home.

PEACE STATEMENT

With these vision, mission, and goals at the heart of our commitment, we maintain our stride and our dedication to:

• reach out to all in our shared community, recognizing that our peace building efforts are best approached together.
• build the necessary dialogue within and between all sectors of our city and surrounding towns (the arts, education, policing, faith-based organizations, health and wellness, and civic organizations, etc.) through which needs, concerns, and problems are made known, and solutions discovered and achieved through collaboration and cooperation.

Though Kula Kamala Foundation is a nonprofit organization, we have generously supported other smaller local nonprofits that serve the needs of the marginalized and under-served in our area, and we will continue to do so.

Additionally, in keeping with our tradition of non-violence, we teach and uphold the value of nonviolent communication and nonviolent action.
We are now in the process of creating a Community Interfaith Action Council (CIAC) to bring about nonsectarian collaboration and teamwork among and between local churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, as well as organizations and social leaders.

We understand that practical engagement is required to move toward peace, and that our peace building efforts must be a collaborative effort. As such, we hope to work with residents, civic and social leaders, and organizations of our city, in conjunction with the its government offices and officials, in order to bring about security, equity, and wellbeing to all members of our community.