Peace activist moves into Bush neighborhood

>Archive - PWW Print Edition Archive - 2003 Editions - Apr 19, 2003


 

One of President Bush’s neighbors in Crawford, Texas, is longtime Dallas peace activist Johnny Wolf. Wolf bought a home “smack in the middle” of the tiny Central Texas town and is converting it into the Crawford Peace House. Its grand opening is scheduled for Easter Sunday, April 20.

In its mission statement it says, “Our vision is to make the Crawford Peace House a culturally and religiously diverse center for spiritual growth and intellectual understanding that offers hope to humanity by providing positive alternatives to the cult of war. Our dream is to create beautiful gardens conducive to prayer and meditative reflection, as well as facilities for ecumenical worship and study. With our unique location in a tiny village near the Western White House, we plan to offer a special welcome to representatives of foreign media who visit Crawford when the president is nearby.”

Wolf told the Dallas Committee Against War in Iraq that journalists from Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland have contacted him. All of them, as well as other international journalists, are interested in visiting.

Wolf is quick to point out that Crawford Peace House is a place for meditation and prayer for peace, not a “protest center.” He is working with a board of committed peace leaders, including professors from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, to make sure that the “highest standards” are required of all visitors.

Peace activists from Waco, the closest large town, are helping with the project.

Its web page is: crawfordpeacehouse.org

The author can be reached at pww@pww.org