Campaign Nonviolence events are also being planned in San Francisco and San Jose (and all 50 states, too). Watch here for forthcoming information. Nonviolence IS traveling, and as Gandhi said, it WILL become a miracle. Become a part of the miracle!
First Day of Rosh Hashanah Speaker Rae Abileah (Code Pink) on Palestine/Israel Conflict: Thursday, Sept. 25, 9am-1pm Morning Service with Torah Reading, Teaching, and Shofar Blowing at Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in Berkeley. Click here for location and details.
Paths to Just Peace with Kathy Kelly and Stephen Zunes: Friday, Sept. 26, 6pm at Unitarian Universalist Center in San Francisco. Click here to download flyer with details.
Plan to join the Candlelight Vigil in Palo Alto on Friday, Sept 20 to launch our local week of events.
Invite your congregation, community or organization to participate during the week of Sept. 21-28 with a forum, worship, prayer or action or by flying a Campaign Nonviolence banner. Contact Diana Gibson (diana@multifaithpeace.org) for more information.
Click here to download a Campaign Nonviolence brochure.
Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice is excited to join Campaign Nonviolence (CNV), inviting people of faith, conscience and good will to build a movement for peace, justice, and environmental healing. Campaign Nonviolence is endorsed by Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire, and the late civil rights leader Vincent Harding. Beginning on September 21, the International Day of Peace, CNV will launch a nationwide week of study, action, and peaceful public witness, calling for concrete changes toward reversing the climate crisis, ending poverty and abolishing war.
MVPJ is encouraging and coordinating local groups to participate in CNV, each in their own way. During the week of September 20-28, many Peninsula congregations will spotlight concerns about peace, justice or environmental healing through worship, prayers, forums, youth and adult education, film nights, and service or advocacy projects. Topics chosen already range from climate change to gun control. MVPJ will help communities with ideas and resources (films, speakers, material), publicity and media coverage, and we will host a peaceful public witness event at the end of the week.
Will you join us? Contact Diana Gibson at diana@multifaithpeace.org for more details or to let us know how your faith community will be participating.
“The choice is no longer between violence and nonviolence, it’s nonviolence or non-existence”
Our colleagues and friends at the Silicon Valley Interreligious Council (SiVIC) issued an important and thoughtful statement regarding the Gaza Conflict. With their permission, we share an excerpt here. Go to the end of this article for a link to their website where you can read the full statement.
On the Gaza Conflict
Regardless of our individual stances, we share a recognition of our common humanity and a conviction that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must cease, that there is no violent solution to that conflict, that all human life is valued, and that all parties must cooperate to achieve a just and lasting peace on behalf of God’s children who reside in the land that many of us call holy.
On April 24th, the Marshall Islands filed landmark cases in the International Court of Justice and U.S. Federal District Court.
The Claim: The nine nuclear-armed nations have failed to comply with their obligations, under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty and customary international law, to pursue negotiations for the worldwide elimination of nuclear weapons. This unprecedented lawsuit seeks to hold the United States government (and the other eight nuclear weapon states that were signatories to the NPT) accountable for flagrantly violating the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Take A Stand: Everyone has a stake in this. Let world leaders know that it is the will of the seven billion of us who live on this planet to end the threat of nuclear weapons hanging over all of creation. Click here to sign the petition now!
To learn more, visit the petition website at www.nuclearzero.org/, full of important history and information!
Former military chaplain Steve Torgerson objects to Palin's description of waterboarding as baptism (see article below) in this brief but compelling "Perspective" from KQED. Click here to listen.
WASHINGTON – Today, religious leaders sent letters to the National Rifle Association and Sarah Palin, asking them to denounce torture and to apologize to the U.S. Muslim and Christian communities for statements made by Palin at the NRA’s Annual Meeting in Indianapolis this past weekend.... “For Christians, baptism is a profoundly holy act. It is in stark contrast to the abhorrent act of waterboarding. Equating baptism to an act of torture like waterboarding is sacrilegious – and particularly surprising coming from a person who prides herself on her Christian faith.”
Click here to read the full press release from NRCAT.
To sign a petition from Faithful America denouncing her remarks, and "setting the record straight about baptism, torture and violence," click here.
We thank the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) for reminding us where our tax dollars go. About 40 cents of every dollar of federal income tax we pay goes to current and past wars! As we approach April 15th, it is a good time to express our concern to members of Congress. While taxes are an important way that we contribute to the common good, tell Congress that we want our money directed to important, life-giving needs, and not to the death-dealing destruction of war. Click here to read more from FCLN. Consider writing a letter to the editor about this!
The MVPJ Steering Committee watched this documentary at our April 2014 meeting. We found it quite compelling. It not only introduces and explains the egrecious nature of U.S. use of drones, but tells true and personal stories of people affected by them. We highly recommend this film!
We thank the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) for reminding us where our tax dollars go. About 40 cents of every dollar of federal income tax we pay goes to current and past wars! As we approach April 15th, it is a good time to express our concern to members of Congress. While taxes are an important way that we contribute to the common good, tell Congress that we want our money directed to important, life-giving needs, and not to the death-dealing destruction of war. 