Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76Plough Quarterly • Summer 2015 51 bicycle, illuminate with beeswax candles, play live music, dine on wild edibles, and haul trees with horses. Life starts at sunrise with an hour of morning prayer before we move out into creation to get to work. We’re also committed to serving in nursing homes and homeless shelters in our local com- munity. And when our hearts call us to struggle for justice, we also occasionally practice civil disobedience and spend nights in jail. We try to live in the spirit of Wendell Berry’s words: “If we are serious about peace, then we must work for it as ardently, seriously, continuously, carefully, and bravely as we have ever prepared for war.” Why Live Simply? As peacemakers, we strive to understand the roots of war: greed, consumerism, fear, slavery, and power over others. These feed off each other. If we are attached to goods, we will have to defend them or have others defend them for us. Fear and greed lead us to start locking our doors, putting up surveillance systems, and hoarding our treasures on earth. If we call the police to deal with theft, we call upon the violent empire we are trying to move away from, since the police and military both use coercion and lethal weapons to maintain order. To be peacemakers we must systematically remove the seeds of war from every part of our life. In the 1760s, the Quaker leader John Woolman gave up certain belongings of his – a chair, dyed clothing, a silver cup, and sugar – when he realized that their production fueled war and slavery. Woolman challenges us to test “whether the seeds of war have any nourishment in these our possessions.” Having excess is a form of war. While some people have ten times more resources than they need, others are wandering cold, homeless, and hungry. Saint Basil declares, “You with a second coat in your closet, it does not belong to you. Ethan Hughes and his wife Sarah founded Still Waters Sanctuary, a community seeking to live out a “gift economy” that doesn’t rely on money. To get in touch, contact Still Waters Sanctuary, 28408 Frontier Lane, La Plata, Missouri 63549. Community members gather for a shared meal. Because there is no ­refrigerator, the cooks carefully estimate the amounts so that no food goes to waste. Photograph courtesy of Katie Currid