Louise Matthews, director of Bluffton’s Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center works with a group of students.
By Autumn Young
Singing, laughter and eager voices can frequently be heard from just inside the doors of The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center. This campus and community resource hosts thousands of university students, elementary school groups and community members each year to help spread its mission of cultural understanding, peace and nonviolence.
“What can you do as a third grader to make the world better?,” asked Louise Matthews, Lion and Lamb director, as she looked around a room of captivated elementary students, strumming a guitar. “You can do a lot—everyone can make a difference—just by smiling, you can make the world a better place.”
Matthews is a teacher by trade and has worked at the center for 12 years, She starts many of her programs at the Lion and the Lamb in a similar way.
“Even presentations for college classes always incorporate a picture book to lay a foundation for discussion on a topic relevant for the class, singing a song if it’s fitting for the theme and recognizing specific artwork and sculptures with themes of peace.”
The Lion and the Lamb, tucked away in Riley Court, serves not only as a place of education, but also as a resource for educators and community members, according to Matthews. The center has a large collection of music, illustrated books, movies and art that revolve around peace. Most of the resources can be checked out for use.
“I think learning how to incorporate peace themes in the classroom is very helpful, especially with all the violence happening in today’s world,” said Jenna Moreo, a junior education major at Bluffton.
To share peace with communities further than Bluffton’s own boundaries, the Lion and the Lamb has also published a children’s book, entitled Swords to Plowshares, written by Lisa Weaver, a former local author, and illustrated by Amanda Huston, a 2013 graduate of Bluffton.
The book, written from the perspective of a Ukrainian boy in the 1920s and based on a true story, was the recipient of a 2015 Honor Award from Skipping Stones magazine, and focuses on themes of peace in times of struggle. The book can be purchased on the Bluffton website or directly from the Lion and the Lamb. All proceeds from the book go directly towards the center’s mission.
“As educators, we are going to be teaching the next generation. More and more, peace seems to becoming important in our world, to the world of that next generation,” said Moreo. “The more resources we have to incorporate that into our classroom, the better.”
The Lion and the Lamb welcomes visitors Tuesday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.to noon. Evening hours are available Tuesday and Thursday 6 to 8 p.m. and Wednesday 4 to 6 p.m.
