Sierra Interfaith Action for Peace Records

Sierra Interfaith Action for Peace (SIAP) is a non-profit, public benefit corporation of Washoe County, Nevada. It was organized largely through the efforts of William and Ann Scott in 1986 and incorporated in 1987. Its general purpose is to work together for peace and justice at home and throughout the world. Specific goals are:

To present to the public, speakers, workshops and educational forums concerning peace. To renew, strengthen, and inspire peacemaking efforts through interfaith worship services. To coordinate and participate with other groups in offering opportunities to witness peace. To encourage development of educational resources and training in non-violent conflict resolution. To provide assistance to religious groups seeking to explore the relation between peacemaking and their own faith by providing resource persons and or educational materials. SIAP works together with the Reno-Sparks Metro Ministry, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, individual church leaders, and other northern and southern Nevada organizations toward their peace and justice goals. Specific issues around which SIAP has focused have included the Nevada nuclear test site, the Gulf War (1990), and conflicts in Central America. Vigils, protest marches, picnics, pot lucks, tree plantings, lectures, pre-Lenten interfaith worship services, retreats, and workshops are examples of their activities. SIAP publishes a monthly newsletter called Peace Calendar; the first issue was dated May 31, 1987.

SIAP is not a membership organization but over one hundred individuals take part in their activities. Financial support comes from donations and sales of items at a yearly gift bazaar called "Joyful Alternatives."

Sierra Interfaith Action for Peace was predated by a small peace organization which centered around a core group of instructors and students at the University of Nevada, Reno, called the Campus Peace Studies Group. This group, which was active in about 1983-1984, sponsored a weekly series of informal lecture-discussion meetings and worked toward establishing an interdisciplinary course-for-credit in peace studies. William Scott was very active in that organization.