NAHANT — The Village Church is debuting a Peace Village for children in grades one through six later this summer, which aims to expose kids to “peaceful practices through fun, outdoor adventures, classes, music, and interfaith stories of peace and fellowship.”
The program will be held Aug. 14 through Aug. 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day on the Flash Road Playground. The program is available to 30 students who must be rising first- through sixth-graders, with a $25 donation to the church required for each child, though scholarships are available if the cost is a hardship. Applications for the program must be submitted to the church by July 17.
The program represents the first time a Peace Village will be held in Massachusetts, the church said in a statement. Rev. Scott Elliott, the church’s pastor and the co-director of the program, served as a co-director of similar programs in Oregon and Ohio, and witnessed the effects of the Peace Village on children as a parent.
“I got my kids involved before I was even involved in the church and they just loved it so much and it was so meaningful to them,” he said. “I… just saw the wonderful stuff that they were being taught and hearing about my kids’ excitement when they came home.”
The program teaches children peace within themselves, with others, and with the world around them, Elliott said, and includes teachings from Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
“This gives the kids the tools, or at least begins to teach them that there are ways to have differences that can be respectful and understanding and thoughtful,” Rev. Elliott said. “And so just because you think X and I think Y doesn’t mean we have to pummel with each other. It means we can have conversations about it, we can listen, and we can be critical thinking at the same time.”
Rev. Elliott said the outdoor setting provides an important opportunity for students to connect with nature in the age of social media and the internet.
While no plans have been finalized, Rev. Elliott said he has already begun thinking about ways to expand the Peace Village and the ideas and skills it teaches.
“I love this program. I’ve often talked to the founder of it about how you could do this once a week on Sundays as your Sunday-school program. You could do this in prisons and jails, you could do this for adults,” he said. “The idea is… everybody could use learning tools to deal peacefully with one another.”
