By Barb Arland-Fye
Editorial
We may feel powerless, angry and frustrated about the long-drawn-out war that Russia started more than three years ago against Ukraine. We may wonder whether peace will ever come without Russia’s willingness for a ceasefire. We may wonder the same thing about the war between Israel and Hamas. In both wars, the victims continue to suffer immeasurably.
Here in southeast Iowa, we are not participants in peace negotiations, which seem fraught with land mines. However, we can engage in our efforts at peace and reconciliation in our communities and our nation. For starters, we could begin with a ceasefire on vitriol, trash talk, disparaging slogans, memes and posters.
Let us engage in building up community, not tearing it down. NBC Nightly News aired a story Aug. 17 about the nonprofit, Community Plate Story-Sharing Suppers that aims to build community and end loneliness. These potlucks have spread the table across the state of Maine, the inspiration of husband and wife Karl Schatz and Margaret Hathaway who co-founded Community Plate in 2023. They “recognized the social disconnection around them, especially following the pandemic,” wrote Tim Cebula in the Portland Press Herald (11-28-24).
“As a culture, we are not getting together as often as most of us would like,” Hathaway told Cebula. “Getting together for a community potluck doesn’t seem like an essential thing, but it kind of is, because we see what happens when you don’t know the people around you.”
We see evidence of this in Iowa, where some elected officials fear potentially negative reaction from their constituents and thus avoid public town halls, and in letters to the editor that condemn fellow letter writers, among other examples. Have any of them ever walked in the shoes of the other?
At the community potluck suppers in Maine, community members show up with a dish and a story to share. Participants enjoy live storytelling performances and/or readings at the end of the meal, according to Community Plate’s website (communityplate.me). A mini-cookbook is created from the dishes the participants have shared and they take home a copy.
Hathaway sees the nonprofit Community Plate “as a catalyst to encourage people to see it’s not that hard to get together.” The opportunity to “share recipes and stories about yourself and your family,” she told Cebula, “makes you feel heard and seen, which is what we all want.”
Story-sharing potlucks may not stop the wars destroying Ukraine and Gaza or other areas enduring protracted and deadly conflicts, but breaking bread together and sharing stories nourishes body and heart. We find the ultimate expression of this nourishment in our Eucharist. Food and community are essential for the well-being of people and societies. These basic human needs underscore what we hold in common.
On Aug. 17, after Mass, Pope Leo XIV sat down to lunch with people in need and volunteers of Caritas, a charitable organization that assists them. “Before blessing the food, the pope said the setting was a reminder of the beauty of God’s creation, especially God’s creation of human beings in his image and likeness – ‘all of us. Each one of us represents this image of God. How important it is to always remember that we find this presence of God in every person.’ In his homily at the Mass, the pope had said that whether seeking assistance or providing it, in the Church ‘each person is a gift for others. Let us tear down walls’” (OSV, 8-17-25).
Regarding the war in Ukraine, the Holy Father said, “We must always seek a ceasefire. The violence, the many deaths, must stop,” Vatican News reported ahead of the Aug. 15 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We must always seek dialogue, diplomatic efforts, not violence, not weapons,” Pope Leo said (Vatican News 8-13-25).
Dialogue begins at the grassroots level. We need a ceasefire on vitriol, trash talk, disparaging slogans, memes and posters. We need to sit down to a potluck and share the stories of one another’s lives. That’s where peace begins.
Barb Arland-Fye, Editor
arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org
