Steve Gillman’s From Within Shalom (1984) is a granite sculpture installed outside St. James Lutheran Church, which owns the work. Although it sits on the sidewalk, it is considered part of Peace Plaza, which you can see off to the right of the photo. It was donated by Generations of Peace and Douglas Strain in memory of Cora Lee Beard Whiteneck, the mother of The Rev. Dr. John Whiteneck, a pastor in the Church of the Brethren and founder of Generations for Peace.
The poem, “Harmony and Peace,” by the Rev. Whiteneck is:
Let the whole world hear your message,
Stately trees broadcast the ominous warning,
The sickness of war threatens to be terminal,
Little children suffer nightmare dreams,
Cut off from hope for the future,
Dewdrops, rain, and tears of praying mothers,
Wash away the stain of hate, violence, greed.
Gentle breezes whisper to the grass and flowers.,
Flowing rivers take up the future song,
Reverberating thunder i the mountains declare it.
Harmonizing the human spirit with the Divine:
Love for all the family of earth,
Freedom, justice, survival, peace.
