Peacemaking Issues -- 2010

Peacemaking Issues --
2010

Some major areas of concern are:

	The coup in Honduras
	The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
	The terror of Sept. 11 and its aftermath
	The Middle East
	Colombia
	Indonesia
	The U.S. Military School of the Americas Vieques, Puerto Rico Military spending
	Peace force
	Global economic justice

ALSO: The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program provides lots of good resources for study, worship, and action.

For a list of our reports from 2008-09 >>
For an archive of our posts on peacemaking, 2005-07 >>
For an index to peacemaking issues, 2003-2004 >>
And for items from 2001 - 2002 >>

Peace-oriented resources and events
[2-19-10]

Rick Ufford-Chase, co-director of Stony Point Center, and Executive Director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, has sent to members of PPF some information about some good resources and opportunities as we enter into Lent:

	There are two Lenten resources that you might find useful. One is a dvd produced by Christian Peace Witness that contains ten to fifteen minute segments to be used weekly as a tool for reflecting on war, and violence, as we move through Lent. You can order it at christianpeacewitness.org. The second is a series from the folks thinking about “Biblical Feasting” at Stony Point Center to help individuals, families and communities to give up unhealthy and unsustainable eating for Lent. Check it out at stonypointcenter.org.
	Christian Peace Witness is encouraging regional, faith-based witnesses against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan between Easter and Pentecost. Go to christianpeacewitness.org for more information about how to plan and register an event in your area, or to find others who are interested in doing so.
	The Convocation of Peacemakers will take place at Stony Point Center in New York on April 15 to 17. Dr. Obery Hendricks will keynote what we hope will be a deep, thoughtful conversation about what it means to respond to violence, terror and war in our time. There will be worship, workshops and “Open Space” to strategize and plan together about how to impact the Presbyterian Church and the broader world. (Cost is $230 per person – minimal scholarships are available)
	The Luke 6 Project, a nascent, geographically dispersed, Christian Community committed to nonviolence and spiritual discipline practiced in small groups, will meet immediately following the PPF Convocation. Please stay on if you can for this unfolding conversation about the formation of this new community. (Cost is $150 per person)
	General Assembly for the PC(USA) is happening in Minneapolis from July 3 to July 10. Come join the PPF in our witness if you can, which include the Peace Breakfast on Wednesday, July 7th, and the Overtures to end the War in Afghanistan that have now passed in numerous Presbyteries. Let us know if your Presbytery has passed an Overture on Peaceamaking that should be on our radar screen.

Martha Juillerat and Tammy Lindahl invite you:

Send a message of peace to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver

[1-22-10]

We have received an interesting note from Martha Juillerat, who for some years played a vital role in carrying on the Shower of Stoles Project, beginning in the PC(USA) and expanding to gather and display stoles from many denominations that told powerful stories of men and women who believe they are called to ordained ministry, but have been excluded because of their sexual orientation – or who are serving in ministry in spite of that barrier.

Martha and her spouse Tammy now live as a happily married couple in Vancouver, where they own and operate a thrift shop that benefits the Richmond Women's Resource Centre and Alzheimer Society of B.C.

Dear friends,

As you know from our Christmas note, Tammy and I are coordinating the 2010 Peace Project during the upcoming Winter Olympics. The Peace Project is a consortium of people and programs working on issues related to hunger, poverty, equality and the environment, from Western Canada to South Africa and beyond. Our shop, Memories Thrift Store, is right in the middle Olympics action, between the Olympic Speed Skating Oval and the “Ozone” Celebration venue. Given our highly visible location, we decided to give over our storefront to raise awareness of the global need for the things that make for lasting peace: food security, affordable housing, stability, equality, and an end to violence. You can read more about our project at: www.memoriesthriftstore.com/2010_Peace_Project

We need your help with one thing: We are hoping to collect brief messages of peace from around the world. We will print these and post them all over the front of the store, along the street, and throughout the store as well. We don’t need brilliant missives, just a short message from the heart will do. We are hoping that you will forward this request on to your friends, co-workers or families as well (you might want to add a personal note to your forward so they don’t think this is a chain letter or something!) Also, if you belong to a church, Amnesty International group, Sierra Club, local poverty response organization, food bank, human rights organization, or any other group concerned with social justice, please consider asking friends from these groups to send us a message as well. We expect over 25,000 people a day to see our storefront, so the more messages we receive the more of an impact this will have!

The Olympics begin on Feb. 12, so we need these messages as soon as possible! Messages can be emailed to: 2010peaceproject@gmail.com Please include your name (just a first name is okay) and your hometown and country.

Thanks for your help!

Martha Juillerat
Email 2010peaceproject@gmail.com