Fiona Givens and Ian Crookston
FRI FEB 3, 2023 | 7:30-9:00 pm MST
Hear the first-hand front-line accounts of Fiona and fellow ForPEACE team member, Ian while learning some of Ukraine’s history, current heroism, and hopes.
IN-PERSON GATHERING:
Home of Jana and Rob Spangler
2013 E Lincoln Cir,
Holladay, UT 84124
Or your home via Zoom.
Thanks to Jana and Rob for hosting this gathering in their home. And for continuing to host us via Zoom. Below is some helpful info for being part of a Zoom convo. I will also note below the Zoom address so that you can connect. If you are not on my email list then either join at the bottom of this site’s home page or text or call me at 801-695-5036.
I’m delighted that those who can’t attend in person can join us via zoom. I’m sorry I can’t give you the same care and attention given to those in person. But if you ever can join us physically in the same space, then I hope you will. Research shows that being with people who are seen, felt, and heard in person reaps many benefits. We would be blessed by your presence.
THE CONVERSATION:
Fiona and Ian will share their experiences traveling to the frontline in Ukraine for their work with the forPEACE Ukraine Relief Project. Along the way, listeners will learn about democratic Ukraine’s rich and often tragic history, how everyday Ukrainians are banding together to save their communities, and how forPEACE is working with Ukrainians surgeons to bring state-of-the-art trauma care to men, women, and children caught up in the violence of war.
ABOUT FIONA:
Fiona Givens was born in Nairobi, Kenya, educated in British convent schools, and converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. She graduated from the University of Richmond with undergraduate degrees in French and German and a graduate degree in European History while co-raising her six children. Besides working in education, she has worked in translation services, as a lobbyist, and as communications director for a non-profit for fifteen years. She has published in Exponent II, LDS Living, Journal of Mormon History, Dialogue, Kofford Books and Routledge. Fiona is also a frequent speaker on podcasts and at conferences. A longtime collaborator in the books of her husband, Terryl Givens, Fiona is the co-author of The God Who Weeps, Crucible of Doubt and The Christ who Heals published by Deseret Book. Fiona and Terryl’s latest book, All Things New, is published by Faith Matters. She serves as a key team member for ForPEACE.
ABOUT IAN:
Ian Crookston is an expert on the history of international humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Russia after WWI. He has spent several years in the region. He has also worked as an outdoor and backcountry guide in the western US national parks. He received his MA from Harvard and left his PhD program at Stanford in 2022, joining the forPEACE team after Russia’s February invasion.
EXPLORE BEFORE WE MEET:
From Ian Crookston and Fiona:
- Foreign Affairs Podcast Interview with Tim Snyder, How Putin’s Lies Are Driving the War in Ukraine, provides framing for the conflict historically, ideologically, and geopolitically.
- This video by Radio Free Europe demonstrates what things look like on the ground doing humanitarian work. I don’t think there are English subtitles, but it demonstrates the look and sounds of war. The woman introduced at 3:35 is one of our volunteers/partners in Bakhmut and greater Donetsk region.
- Text and pictures from a donor newsletter about our Clean Water Project, which is a good example of how our aid is so effective at getting to frontline communities in need. clean water project thanks – generic – Google Docs
- Our old Information and Impact Brochure from Oct 2022. It has some good general information about our frontline (divided into medical, frontline defensive aid, and general humanitarian aid) information-impact-brochure (2)
- ForPEACE Website for information about the organization and how to support. Check out the social media links at the bottom. For even more understanding, check out Ian Crookston’s twitter and instagram, and forPEACE’s instagram, as well as Britta’s twitter.
- For historical context Serhii Plokkhy, The Gates of Europe, and Tim Snyder’s Bloodlands are good books on Ukrainian history and its importance to Europe and the world.
- Also “Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine” by Anne Applebaum–I have it on Kindle. It’s long but provides an excellent background to the current Russia/Ukraine “relationship.” (Fiona)
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE RECORDED ZOOM CONVERSATION
SHOW NOTES:
A special thanks to Andi Pitcher Davis for her thoughtful and beautiful music/art/thought contribution. You can find a quality recording of that piece here. She explained her choice of this hymn to me this way: “The hymn, How Long Oh Lord Most Holy and True is a uniquely Mormon one, meaning both the text and the melody stem from our own faith tradition, and is not borrowed or carried over from any other religion or immigrant regionalism. The text is by John A. Widtsoe, the scientist and engineer, and the music penned by B. Cecil Gates, grandson of Brigham Young. I do not know if the hymn was directly inspired by the tireless work of Talmage to implore both the leaders of the church as well as the general population of saints to finally support the efforts of those fighting for peace over the course years, but it is clear that the general theme of release from oppression was pervasive throughout our early 20th-century culture. You can find the music and words of the hymn here. And the essay by James E. Talmage of the same name here.
- Click on the Zoom link above.
- When you are connected you will either be waiting in a lobby and will let be in shortly or you will immediately be able to see other participants. Please make sure that you muted and that your video is on if you choose to have it on. (Love to see and hear you live, but we’ll take curious lurkers also.)
- If you can’t hear the host, me, or others, find your settings and make sure you have a working microphone and speaker selected. Also, make sure you have your volume up. OR tell me or others to speak up!
ZOOM ETIQUETTE:
- Please mute your microphone before entering and when you are not speaking so noises are not heard by everyone else.
- Rather than have the whole group watch you try to get your camera or screen positioned, or play with funky green screen backgrounds, feel free to get that figured out prior to when we meet.
- Resist the urge to multitask—be with us fully if at all possible. But we’ll be grateful for whatever presence you are able to offer. Just knowing you are there is nice.
- If you are going to multitask, or wander around a lot, please turn off your video and make sure you are muted. No one wants to be distracted by you eating or using the loo.
- If you are having difficulty with the technology, don’t hold up the meeting by distracting other participants for solutions. Try Googling your problem. I do that with most of life’s problems.
- Speaking of distractions—just as when we used to meet in person in the good old days, let’s be cautious about using the chat for side conversations that may distract others. You can always ask for people’s contact info and continue your conversation—I’d love that to happen. Or, let me know, and I’ll do my darndest to give you a chance to share to the group.
- Please share air time and follow the guidelines under “Intentions” on this website.