Hand-in-hand with the Pocket Project Trauma Relief Project Now in its 20th year, the Joint Memorial Ceremony organised by Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle - Families Forum is a beacon of hope in the darkness. Through testimonies from bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families, musical performances, and messages of peace from human rights leaders, we explore how, even in the face of unimaginable loss, we can still choose humanity over hatred and hope over despair. The Joint Memorial Ceremony is the largest Israeli-Palestinian peace event in history. This year’s ceremony will be livestreamed on April 29, 2025.Join us at the Pocket Project in solidarity to bear witness and refuse to accept that war is our destiny. We will meet at 19:15 CET/ 1:15pm EST/10:15am PST to arrive together, watch the ceremony in community and have some space afterwards to hear voices. Let’s witness together, rather than alone.Join us to regain hope that humanity can prevail.

This community call will focus on embracing the world through our voices, unpacking the fine details of the creative writing process as a meditation, as an offering to our sacred world.What happens in the midst of mass tragedy in the moments when the bombs strike and life breaks open? These unspeakable horrors are both unbearable and often hidden from a witnessing eye. Is it possible that even through the suffering and death, we can give voice to the words calling forth from these moments? How does the “I” sense, attune to, and communicate with – and within – these situations? In this conversation we will explore the possibility that consciousness, intimacy, and a field of awareness can be accessed through the power of the word. As activists, spiritual practitioners, meditators, we each possess a distinct voice that can enter the collective experience, embrace compassionately those who endure silent horrors, and give voice to the longing we all have for collective healing and restoration as these tragedies continue.In this community call, we will explore:The creative process of witnessing as inspiration for writing poetry and other experimental forms of creative writing during times of crisis How a frequency of unconditional love can inspire the poetic process Foundational practices and exercises that can help expand one's experience as a writer at any level The delicate balance of bringing one's voice and awareness into periods of crisis and mass destruction, while sustaining one's own joy and lightness as a gift to this process Trauma-informed writing: Engaging with traumatic events and those impacted by trauma with authenticity, self-awareness, and sensitivityTo prepare for the call, please read Lori’s poem “Witness: Target = Rubble”