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Contents:
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MCC
Great Lakes Peace and Justice Newsletter
January,
2003
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Centering thought
Dear Friends,
It’s a new year. With all that is happening and all that we hope
does not happen, what is it that we as peacemakers are willing to commit
to? New relationships? More letter writing? More phone calls to congressional
leaders or the White House? More involvement in the local community with
concerns that call for reconciliation and justice? More listening to what
the Prince of Peace may be speaking to us? Anita and I continue to put
this newsletter together with the hope and prayer that it is helpful to
individuals and congregations as you are peacemakers in your families
and communities and as you are a voice in this world for those who know
injustice and have little opportunity to raise their voice.
‘Lord, may your kingdom come among us.’ ~ LH
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Upcoming Events:
A cloud of gray haired witnesses March 29, 2003 -The MCC Peace
and Justice office invites you to consider participating in the following
event. We are looking for people who want to help plan for a charter bus
full of folks from this area to travel to Washington DC for the March
29 event. If you are interested and would like more information contact
the MCC Great Lakes Peace and Justice office - (574) 537-939
Can we get a wittness? Contact SpiritHouse at 202-548-7640, spirithousedc@aol.com
The Jonathan Daniels and Samuel Younge, Forum for Justice and Every Church
A Peace Church, invites gray haired witnesses forty years and older of
all backgrounds and experiences to come to Washington, DC on March 29th
at Freedom Plaza. We will lift our voices to make visible our disapproval
of the possible war on Iraq, US militarism, a prison state, poverty, despair
and a government that uses our resources, power and gifts to bully, terrorize
and manipulate poor communities around the globe and at home.
We will gather for a press conference, peace and justice service, public
witnessing and an all night vigil. Freedom Plaza is located at 14th and
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. The press conference will begin at 1pm. Please
bring a sign/testimony that is a visual representation of your witness.
The all night vigil begins at 7pm on Saturday, March 29th and ends Sunday,
March 30th at 9am. We also invite our younger allies to stand with us
throughout the day and during the night vigil. Without you, our work loses
meaning. You are an important part of this work. A successful movement
for justice must be inter-generational. ~Folks at SpiritHouse
Seeing the Face of God; Healthy Conflict Skills for the Churches:
A Conflict Transformation Ministry Team. In living with other people,
conflict presents us with both dangers of broken relationships and opportunities
for growth and learning. Negative attitudes about conflict and lack of
participatory group process skills have contributed to bad experiences
with conflict in churches. Where’s the Good News in conflict?
The Conflict Transformation Ministry Team will lead eight 1-day workshops
from northern Michigan to southern Indiana. Six students from Goshen College
and Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary and one Senior for Peace with
congregational leadership experience will design and lead workshops using
creative, interactive teaching methods for understanding conflict principles
and skills. At each workshop, members of area churches will be invited
to reflect on how we view conflict and to practice constructive ways of
dealing with it. The emphasis will be on interpersonal conflict and conflict
within the congregation or local community. This team is available between
February 1 and April 6, 2003. If you are interested in learning the specific
locations for these workshops please call Rich Meyer at (574)202-3920
MCC U.S. Washington Office seminar to highlight care for creation
The Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office will hold its annual
spring seminar April 6 to 8. "The Earth is the Lord's: Public
Policy that Honors Creation" will look at current policies in
light of the biblical call to care for the earth. Lawrence Hart, a member
of the MCC U.S. board and executive director of the Cheyenne Cultural
Center, will open the seminar by laying the biblical foundation for caring
for God's creation. A representative from the Union of Concerned Scientists
will look at current energy policy and suggest a cleaner, greener path
forward. Senator Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Environment
and Public Works Committee, has been invited to give a congressional perspective
on the environment.
Workshops will examine mining in Appalachia, sustainable agriculture,
over-consumption and lifestyle, environmental health risks facing children
of color, the impact of economic globalization and the environmental legacy
of war.
Participants will have an opportunity to share what their local congregations
are doing to be stewards of the earth and will visit their members of
Congress or staff. The seminar is open to all. Registration is $60 U.S.
per person prior to March 7 and $75 thereafter. A limited number of scholarships
are available in cases of financial need. For registration materials or
additional information, contact the MCC U.S. Washington Office at (202)
544-6564 or mccwash@mcc.org.
Resources:
A resource that may be helpful if you are considering communicating with
folks in your community whose experience with war has been that of a participant
can be found at http://www.veteransforpeace.org.
‘Veterans for Peace, Inc. (VFP) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational
and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolishment of war. VFP
was founded in 1985 by ex-service members committed to sharing the horrors
they experienced. We know the consequences of American foreign policy
because once, at a time in our lives, so many of us carried it out. We
find it sad that war seems so delightful, so often, to those that have
no knowledge of it. We will proudly, and patriotically, continue to denounce
war despite whatever misguided sense of euphoria supports it. Wage Peace!’
‘If our experience and resulting convictions about war and peace
can help our nation and our world, that would be wonderful.’ ~Woody
Powell, Veteran for Peace
Mennonite Media has a CD called ‘A World of Possibilities’.
This CD offers 60 spots for radio that address race, and ‘different
culture’ issues. Might your congregation be interested in sponsoring
these on a radio station in your community? Contact Mennonite Media- info@mennomedia.org
or phone- 800-999-3534
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Issues for Action:
Juvenile justice policy had three important developments that will
need political, financial and community support in the coming year (2003):
Core protections for youth in contact with the criminal/juvenile justice
system (they were renewed by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act becoming law) need funding from the next Congress to ensure states’
prevention and intervention activities.
Recognition and responses to the reality that Latino and Latina youth
(as well as other youth of color) are disproportionally represented in
the U.S. justice system.
Support for growing opposition to the juvenile death penalty. At least
four U.S. Supreme Court justices, several major newspapers, the American
Bar Association, significant public opinion in the United States and abroad,
and long-time advocates are against it.
Please pray and act for the welfare of children -- particularly as they
encounter violence and the criminal justice system, often for non-violent
crime/issues -- preventing their abuse by large systems of government.
Let us encourage restorative interventions.
For more information and reflection regarding juvenile justice, please
consult the December 20th A Wider View-Washington Comment at Mennonite
Media's Third Way Café, "Following Through on Commitment:
Ensuring Juvenile Justice " at: http://www.thirdway.com/wv/article.asp?A_ID=133
From David Whetstone of the MCC Washington office.
Jubilee Network
From the Jubilee USA Network we received the following reminder that
we need to continue to advocate for debt cancellation of the poorest countries.
‘It is midnight all over the world. Violence has erupted in many
corners of the globe, and poverty is claiming the lives of thousands.
The world’s most impoverished nations continue to be denied vital
debt cancellation. Instead the poorest of the poor are paying with their
lives. When a country faces a debt crisis, they sell off the very services
and resources vital to their survival. It is at midnight, however the
stars can be seen most clearly. The rewards of debt cancellation are great!
To date debt cancellation has been used to alleviate poverty in 10 African
nations by: * Increasing health spending by more than 70% and * increasing
education spending from $929 million per year in 1998 to $1306 million
– more than twice that spent on foreign debt service.’ Every
glitter of light is valued but more remains to be done until a true Jubilee
is realized by all. Learn more at www.jubileeusa.org
Middle East - Prayer Requests from Alain Epp Weaver, MCC Country
Reps in Jerusalem.
January 7, 2003 - Returning to Jerusalem from vacation on Sunday, January
5, meant, among other things, a return to the daily discipline of sending
out prayer requests. Reflecting on the past two weeks during which I was
gone, I find it difficult to form the words for prayer. Because I don't
stay away from e-mail on vacation, I got daily reports of Palestinian
deaths, injuries, homes demolished by the Israeli military. There were
names, faces, friends and relatives attached to these people who were
killed, injured, dispossessed. Then on Sunday there was the double suicide
attack in Tel Aviv which claimed the lives of over twenty Israelis and
foreign workers. There were names, faces, friends and relatives attached
to these people. All of these people are worthy of being held up in prayer,
but how to do so in a concrete, not an abstract, way when the numbers
keep increasing, the body toll growing higher? Lord, give us the words
to express our sorrow and lamentation.
January 8, 2003 - Pray for the staff of the Badil Resource Center for
Refugee and Residency Rights in Bethlehem. With MCC support, Badil will
publish a Hebrew-language packet aimed at Israeli audiences (media, the
academy, politicians and activists) addressing the rights of Palestinian
refugees and internally displaced persons. The rights of Palestinian refugees
are the most sensitive issues for Israeli Jews among all of the issues
at stake in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Badil and its staff believe
that even though it will be difficult, a frank and honest dialogue on
refugee rights is essential for a durable peace; addressing Israeli Jewish
audiences in their own language is a key step in this dialogue.
January 9, 2003 - Pray for Palestinians facing even greater restrictions
on their movement. The Israeli military two days ago informed the United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in
Jerusalem that all Palestinian travel in the West Bank between cities
and villages was banned except for Palestinian staff of international
organizations and of "humanitarian cases." Palestinians need
to continue to try to find ways to travel to work, school, and medical
care, even if it means long, circuitous, and physically strenuous journeys.
In another development, Israel has started forbidding Palestinians under
35 from traveling out of the Gaza Strip through the Rafah terminal into
Egypt.
Follow up to last month’s information regarding ‘No Child
Left Behind’ Legislation’. The new law does give students
the right to withhold their records. But school officials are given wide
leeway in how to implement the law, and some are simply handing over student
directories to recruiters without informing anyone -- leaving students
without any say in the matter. Our office has a ‘Request to Withhold
Information’ forum to be used by parents and students who wish to
be exempt from collection by military recruiters. Call the MCC Great Lakes
Peace and Justice office if you would like a copy.
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What You are Doing:
Dave Schrock Shenk is inviting folks to join the January Peace Blitz.
Questions? contact him at Dschrockshenk@aol.com
January Peace Blitz - In this time when many voices are presenting
a war against the people of Iraq as the only logical way to deal with
the very real threat posed by Saddam Hussein, you are invited to commit
to 10 actions during the month of January designed to avert this war.
You are one of thousands of who have made this commitment.
January is a critical month in determining if our nation will wage war
against the people of Iraq. This is a critical time to temper the public
debate by raising our voices to say war is neither inevitable nor an appropriate
way to deal with Iraq, to let our national leaders know there is a strong
constituency for peace, and to bolster our own spirits and energy.
We do not know if it is possible to avert this war. It seems clear that
without strong and vocal opposition, there will be a war. So we commit
ourselves to raise our individual voice, knowing that we are one of a
massive chorus calling for peace. Following the schedule below allows
our individual voices to be heard with great effectiveness in both our
local areas and on the national stage. Choose those actions that fit what
you are able to do.
January 1 - 10 Focus on the media. Local and national media are full of
voices "explaining" that war against Iraq is inevitable and
unavoidable. Part of our work this month is to deepen the public debate
at both the local and national level.
Write a letter to your local paper. Explain your convictions that waging
war to address the threat of whatever weapons Hussein has is one choice
of several, and not a good choice. Let our local papers be full of voices
calling for peace.
Write to the New York Times and the Washington Post. Ask them to contribute
to the national debate by fully addressing this question in their news
and editorial pages: "Who will pay for a war against Iraq?"
Ask them to investigate and publish the projections of the number of people
who would die during a military campaign, and the projected financial
cost of both a war and a reconstruction campaign. Ask them to insist that
our national leaders go on record with firm plans to pay for the cost
of any war.
The number for the Washington Post is (202-334-6000) The National Editor,
Michael Abramowitz, receives email at abramowitz@washpost.com
The New York Times invites comments and suggestions about news coverage
through email at nytnews@nytimes.com
or by leaving a message at 1-888-698-6397.
January 11 - 20 Focus on the legislative branch. With the elections over,
and resolutions passed supporting a potential war against the people of
Iraq, many in Congress feel they have "put this issue behind them."
We will call them this month to insist that they continue to engage this
issue. Call or write your two senators and your representative. Explain
your own reasons for continuing to oppose a war against the people of
Iraq. Ask them not to consider war a foregone conclusion, but to continue
to exercise their leadership in pursuing the existing alternatives to
war. Call (202)-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator and Representative.
Call or write the new Republican Majority Leader, Senator Bill Frist.
Ask him, as a surgeon trained to preserve life, and as a man who has seen
first hand the urgent needs of Africa during his own service there, to
exercise his new leadership position to avoid the deliberate taking of
life, and to use the many resources of this nation to bring health and
wholeness to those in this country and around the world. Senator Bill
Frist, (R.TN) (202) 224-3344 E-mail: frist.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Call or write the Democratic Minority Leader, Senator Tom Daschle. Ask
him, as a participant in a vibrant democracy, to continue to raise strong
questions about the seeming rush to war. Senator Thomas Daschle (202)
224-2321 daschle.senate.gov/webform.html
January 21 - 25 Call President Bush During his State of the Union Address
on January 28, President Bush will address the possibility of war against
the people of Iraq. Call the White House comment line the days before
this speech (if the line is busy, keep trying!) to express your opposition
to a war. Our calls are counted and reported: let a tide of voices for
peace wash over the White House on this day. Let the President be told
that a mountain of dissent towers over his plans. White House comment
line: (202) 456-1111; Email at president@whitehouse.gov
January 21 - 27 Call or write Colin Powell The UN weapons inspectors will
report to the UN on January 27. In the week leading up to this report,
call Secretary Powell to support his role as the official voice of diplomacy
in this country. Ask him to keep talking, and keep talking, and keep talking.
Addressing the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons through negotiations
is tiring, arduous, uncertain, messy, and full of ambiguity. So is war:
negotiations are preferable. To contact Secretary Powell, go to http://contact-us.state.gov/
This is truly a grassroots campaign. There is no one to call for instructions
- and no one to report to. Thank you for participating, and for joining
your own individual creativity and initiative with so many others. May
our collective efforts for peace be blessed.
Service Opportunities
Interested in a hands on service experience? Check out www.mcc.org/service
for up to date job openings and descriptions.
Remembering the words of Jesus to his followers as recorded by Matthew.
‘Go.....And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
May you know peace within and without.
Anita Barahona Oliver and Lois Hess Nafziger
Peace & Justice Educator/Advoctaes for MCC Great Lakes
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