Please join us to hear Vera Maloff speak of the Doukhobor tradition of non-violence, and in particular, of the story of her grandfather Peter. Vera will tell us about his life, as he conscientiously strove to live a life of nonviolence, often paying a heavy price for himself and his family. Peter’s lifelong commitment to peace continues to resonate to us today, as an example of a person who stood firm as a peacemaker, despite challenging consequences. Vera wrote, in her 2020 book entitled “Our Backs Warmed by the Sun: Memories of a Doukhobor Life,” that “Perhaps here, as Doukhobor peace seekers, we have contributed towards our communities.” Their example inspires hope for communities everywhere who also wish for a world at peace.
Vera Maloff was born into a Doukhobor family in the Kootenay valley of British Columbia. Her book, “Our Backs Warmed by the Sun: Memories of a Doukhobor Life” was published in 2020 . In it, she reflected on the lives of her grandparents, who were active in the peace movement. After retiring from a career in teaching, Vera began to record family stories passed down from generations. Her essays have been published in the Doukhobor magazine Iskra, in the West Kootenay Journal and in The New Orphic Review.
“Do we think to overcome this worldwide crisis by using the same old outworn methods: bigger armies, navies, air force, hydrogen bombs, poison gases and all our other confused values? I myself doubt it. I stand for creative intelligence which is distinctly distilled in the unchanging truth of that one cosmic law: ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill.’”Peter Maloff, speaking to the Rotary Club of Trail BC, in 1968