Members of a group of South and Central Whidbey residents still interested in pushing for peace say they want to keep talking about peace even as the United States officially finished its war in Iraq this week.

The Whidbey Peace and Reconciliation Network, a group of more than dozen people who, for the most part, opposed the war in Iraq, are not yet ready to drop the peace banners carried by hundreds of islanders over the past months. Currently in the midst of an eight-week public program called “From Protest to Resistance,” the group has started to teach a message of non-violent action. At the same time, the network has scheduled community forums at which even the most ardent supports of the recent war can voice their opinions and be part of a conversation, not a shouting match.

The Rev. David Vergin, who has volunteered the Langley Methodist Church at which he is pastor as the host location for Peace and Reconciliation Network functions, said last week that peace — and war — are subjects that need to be discussed not just when U.S. troops are fighting.

“The war was a wakeup call,” he said. “We want to help a conversation between all viewpoints.”

This doesn’t mean the network itself represents all viewpoints. On its Web site, the Peace and Reconciliation Network lists as goals working to end the Iraq war, discussing alternatives to war, and challenging restrictions on civil liberties, such as those laid out in the federal Patriot Act. Vergin said this is all in line with what he sees as a global movement of people wanting peace. Demonstrations around the world over the war in Iraq were the largest ever opposing a war, Vergin said.

Kurt Hoelting, a member of the group, said the first conversation the group held was, ironically, on the night President George Bush declared victory in Iraq. The event attracted about 30 people, he said, and gave the Peace and Reconciliation Network multiple projects. It was apparent after the get together that conversation might not be enough for some.

“Some people want action, not just to feel better,” Hoelting said.

Members of the group are largely anti-war, protective of their civil liberties, and involved in anti-war protests around the island. Linda Morris, a network member and a regular at weekly protests at the Bayview Park and Ride, said the group is necessary to continue what protesting has started. With the war at an end, those interested in peace need direction and reasons other than conflict to keep talking about it.

“What do you put on your signs if you’re still protesting?” she said.

At a network organizing meeting last week, Barbara Lamb said she sees the group as a way to get people on opposite sides of the issue to talk despite their differences. Already, she said, she’s seen divisions setting up in families and on South Whidbey.

“The community large and small is collapsing,” she said.

At the moment, the group is trying to include more people with more viewpoints. Group members said that while some peace-oriented churches on South Whidbey — such as the Langley Methodist Church — are involved with group, others are not interested. Last week, there was also a suggestion that the Peace and Reconciliation Network hold an activity at the South Whidbey American Legion Post to bring more people to talk and to avoid being shunned by people who do not agree with the network’s message.

What the future weeks or months hold for the group is still undecided. The network sponsors regular conversation forums at the church on Thursday nights and is showing a video series on the practice of non-violent resistance. What members do promise is that network forums are places where anyone can speak without fear.

“This is safe,” Hoelting said.