community | A Peace of My Mind

Unplugging…plugging in

October 18, 2020 by johnnoltner

It’s been two weeks since we left our home in Bloomington. We had a few days of planned down time with family in Wisconsin and then a few more days of unplanned down time when a small college engagement in Pennsylvania cancelled due to last-minute COVID restrictions on campus. During the last two weeks, we’ve learned to slow down a little. We no longer have any rooms to paint. No punch lists of repairs to do before selling the house. […]

Categories: Blog, Project Updates • Tags: a peace of my mind, community, community art, parkersburg, storytelling, weaving community, west virginia

Ithaca Remote

October 7, 2020 by johnnoltner

Over the past few weeks, I’ve produced a series of remote portraits with Ithaca College and gathered stories around the question, “What does community and belonging look like for you in this time of pandemic and protests?” It’s something I’ve thought of a lot lately, as we all learn new ways of navigating the world. As Karen and I leave our home of 20 years. As we put physical distance between us and the relationships we cherish. What does it […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: belonging, black and white, community, connection, Ithaca College, photography, portrait photography, storytelling

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Dreamers and planners

October 27, 2018 by johnnoltner

“You do all these inspiring things,” she said. “I’m just a planner.” I thought for a minute. One of the things I love about A Peace of My Mind is that it lets me drop into different communities and spark interesting conversations. I meet new people and I see the creative ways that people work toward positive change in the world. One of the challenges is that I don’t get to stay. Before we get too far into the conversation, […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: APA, community, community development, effective, justice, planning, urban planning

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Andrea Cano

June 29, 2018 by johnnoltner

Andrea Cano trained to be a hospital chaplain in Portland, Oregon after working in journalism and nonprofit administration. She followed her passion to be with people when they are at their most vulnerable, to help them deal with their own suffering and healing. “We become so much about human doings, we forget to be human beings.” We’ve got to stop drawing lines in the sand and find moments of being together. Peacemaking, for a lot of people, is a very […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: brokenness, community, oregon, portland, together, tragedy, vulnerability

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Michael Reid

April 26, 2018 by johnnoltner

Michael Reid played bass in a punk band and became addicted to heroin. He was strung out on the drug for ten years. His days revolved around petty crime to feed his addiction, which eventually landed him in prison for more than a year. After his release, Michael started volunteering at a food pantry. Over time, he was given more responsibility, and now Michael is in charge of a program that feeds more than 400 families each week. “You learn […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: addiction, California, community, drugs, homeless, prison, service

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Deanna Thompson

April 2, 2018 by johnnoltner

Deanna Thompson was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at age 42 that had metastasized to her bones. The doctors told her she had fewer than five years, but when I interviewed her, it was more than six years after her diagnosis. She lives in St. Paul with her husband and two daughters and teaches religion at Hamline University. “Initially, I thought I was on sabbatical to get ready to die. Then it became clear that I wasn’t dying right […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: cancer, community, grace, gratitude, illness, Minnesota, relationship, Saint Paul, St. Paul

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Betsy Mulligan-Dague

March 25, 2018 by johnnoltner

Betsy Mulligan-Dague runs the Jeanette Rankin Peace Center in Missoula, Montana. She is also a Harley Davidson rider, a boxer, and an inventor. She believes it is important to explore different perspectives. Together, with Dan Gallagher, they found a way to bridge the divide that can exist between veterans and peace activists. “We have things that bind us together that we can fall back on when we start talking politics, or something else where we diverge in opinion.” We can only […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: community, division, learning, Missoula, montana, veteran, vietnam, war

Jimmy Ta

December 12, 2017 by johnnoltner

Jimmy Ta moved from Vietnam to the United States with his mother and siblings when he was in elementary school, but his father was unable to join them for another year. Jimmy struggled with the language, the culture, and with a lack of self-confidence. When a teacher invited him to join a mentoring program called Youth Ambassadors, Jimmy learned that everyone has struggles of some sort and he found a deep satisfaction in helping others overcome theirs. “We should remember […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: community, friendship, helping, immigration, kindness, mentor, relationship, seattle, washington, youth

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Leroy Sullivan

June 20, 2017 by johnnoltner

Leroy Sullivan has been the mayor of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, since March 2004. Prior to serving as mayor, Leroy worked at a local chemical plant and was burned over 50 percent of his body in an explosion at the plant. He spent 37 days in a burn unit. Donaldsonville has a population of 7,436, but he says its residents experience the same struggles as larger cities: poverty, drug abuse, violence, and murder. “If we just dare to help one another, to love one another, to treat […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: community, crime, donaldsonville, elders, louisiana, poverty, respect

I wish…

February 6, 2017 by johnnoltner

At the end of our dinner presentation at the Center for Transforming Communities, we closed with one final exercise. After hearing many of the inspiring stories from A Peace of My Mind, people are ready to dream big. We ask everyone in the room to take a piece of paper and finish this phrase: I wish…. They can finish the phrase any way that they like…we encourage them to aim high, and they often do. Everyone in the room feels […]

Categories: Blog, Uncategorized • Tags: art, commitment, community, listen, memphis, peace, transformation, wish

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A Peace of My Mind

Building community and bridging divides through portraits and personal stories.

Tag: community

Unplugging…plugging in

Ithaca Remote

Dreamers and planners

Andrea Cano

Michael Reid

Deanna Thompson

Betsy Mulligan-Dague

Jimmy Ta

Leroy Sullivan

I wish…