Dear Friends,

Today, November 23, many of us across the USA will celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. As I have written often, as part an organization with deep roots among the Indigenous Nations of North America and with countless friends with Native American backgrounds, this day is always one of mixed emotions. This year, especially so.

In mid-October, I had the great privilege of accompanying my son & a delegation from my Alma Mater, Gilmour Academy, on an Immersion Experience among the Wabanaki in Maine. Our time with long-time colleagues, friends, youthful activists, and sage elders had a life-changing impact upon the student participants.  Throughout our Immersion, I was reminded just how powerful such shared experiences can be. With humility and gratitude, the students gained a new perspective on the historic oppression & continued suffering of Native communities, gleaned new perspective into the indigenous traditions that provide renewed hope for our Mother Earth, and were challenged to examine their own role in combatting climate change & ensuring environmental justice alongside new-found friends.

Just a few weeks later, I travelled to Kenya with a dear friend—the founder of Inspiring Minds—who is planning a student scholarship delegation for July 2024. Just as during my sojourn among the Wabanaki, we were struck by the legacies of white-settler colonialism, the healing potential of often dismissed African teachings, and by the transformative role young people connecting across borders of culture, faith, and economic circumstance can play in effecting change. Throughout both journeys, I had the keen sense of being home in two distinct, yet similar, places that have helped form my tenure with IPM.

I, like you, will sit down at table with my extended family this Thursday grateful for many things. This year I’ll be heartened by the possibility of an extended peace for the peoples of Israel & Palestine; the joy I feel each time the IPM WhatsApp South Asia Group celebrates Diwali as we did on November 12; the endless laughter that permeated the recent visit of two remarkable Project Partners from Nicaragua & a colleague from El Salvador visiting Northeast Ohio once again; the promise of yet another Student Fellow finding their calling; and, the extraordinary generosity of a number of IPM donors who have stepped up for our 50^th Anniversary Year in 2024, just as IPM is leaning into the promise of a renewed, in-person Immersion Experience Program.

Most of all, I’m grateful to continually find my home as part of this extraordinary IPM Family when so many of our brothers, sisters, & others around the world can’t seem to move beyond division & hatefulness. Whether immersed among the Wabanaki & Kenyans, virtually connected with Indians & Nepalis, or here in Cleveland with Nicaraguans & Salvadorans, those of us in the IPM Family share a love for one another that is counter-cultural & life-giving. The relationships we share are unique—they heal us in times of shared sacrifice and embody hope for our world.

I pray that you will find such joy this extended holiday weekend and may the love we share continue to lighten your way.

Gratefully Yours, Joe