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Wednesday, March 09 2011 @ 09:40 pm
Views: 3,256
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 After more than 7 years in the military and 8 months serving in Iraq, Camilo Mejia applied for Conscientious Objector status and was denied. Convicted and imprisoned by the U.S. military, Mejia was declared a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International. In 2005, while still behind bars, he wrote "Regaining my Humanity" in which he concludes with words that speak urgently to us today:
To those who are still quiet, to those who continue to betray their conscience, to those who are not calling evil more clearly by its name, to those of us who are still not doing enough to refuse and resist, I say "come forward." I say "free your minds." Let us, collectively, free our minds, soften our hearts, comfort the wounded, put down our weapons, and reassert ourselves as human beings by putting an end to war. Join us on the 8th anniversary of the war in Iraq to
reassert ourselves as human beings by putting an end to war!
The War Goes On: Featuring Camilo Mejia
Sunday, March 20, 4pm
Unitarian Universalist Church, 505 E. Charleston Ave., Palo Alto
Click here for more information. |
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Tuesday, March 01 2011 @ 08:04 pm
Views: 4,075
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 This conference, the first of its kind, will explore newly emerging VA research on moral injury and examine effective strategies, theologies and practices in religious communities that can help veterans heal from moral injury and support their families.
Friday's keynote lecture will be given by Dr. Shira Maguen, clinician at San Francisco VA Medical Center and clinical professor at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry. A panel of veterans speaking will include Camilo Mejia and Tyler Boudreau and be moderated by Rev. Herman Keizer, U.S. Army Colonel (ret.). Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Imam Ustadh Abdullah ben Hamid Ali, and Rev. Lizette Larson-Miller will be among the religious leaders presenting faith-based resources to assist in healing moral injury. On Saturday the keynote speaker will be Rev. Kent Drescher, Ph.D., who has 18 years of clinical experience in treating military veterans, and is co-author of "An Exploration of the Viability and Usefulness of the Construct of Moral Injury in War Veterans."
The conference, to be held in Berkeley, begins Friday at 12Noon and concludes Saturday at 5pm. |
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 You are invited to a series of classes taught by MVPJ Steering Committee member Richard Duda.
What: A discussion class on how we can reduce the tremendous risk of nuclear weapons
Who: Dick Duda and Ray Schuster
When: Four Tuesdays: April 5, 12, 19 and 26, 7:00-9:00 PM
Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 East Charleston Road, Palo Alto
The purpose of this class is to recover the Vision of Reykjavik - the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. We will do this by (a) refreshing our memories about nuclear weapons and their history, (b) bringing us up to date on how nuclear proliferation and the emergence of terrorist groups is changing the equation, and (c) addressing the commonly voiced objections to trying to do anything. The main thrust will be in providing the information needed for thinking about the issue, and identifying the things that each of us can do to help reduce the nuclear risk. Click here to download a poster for the event (and post it somewhere!!). Click here to read more for more details.
read more
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Wednesday, February 23 2011 @ 11:52 pm
Views: 3,441
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Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice (MVPJ) objects to the presumption of guilt implicit in Congressional hearings under the title "The Radicalization of Muslim communities in America" being convened by Rep. Peter King (R, NY). Since no religious community can claim exemption from the human tendency to resort to radical violence, it is unfair and very likely unconstitutional for a Congressman to single out Muslims for investigation. MVPJ stands with those who protest the biased McCarthy-like opinions expressed by Sen. King. We are sure that a truthful investigation would reveal that American Muslims are as dismayed and frightened by religion-based violence as American Christians, if not more so.
Working, praying, serving and marching with our Muslim sisters and brothers for the past 8 years, in MVPJ there is no longer an "us" or "them", but only one people, one race, one human family. Together we must show the rest of our nation and world that the friendship and trust we share cannot be divided. |
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Tuesday, February 22 2011 @ 09:54 pm
Views: 3,180
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 Nuclear War and Weapons Profit No One is the title for the public lecture to be delivered by Frida Berrigan on Sunday, March 6, at 2pm. Berrigan, now with the War Resistors' League, was a Senior Program Associate of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. Previously she served for eight years as Deputy Director and Senior Research Associate at the Arms Trade Resource Center at the World Policy Institute at the New School in New York City.
The lecture, to be held at the Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park, is in conjunction with a weekend retreat of the Pacific Life Community. The weekend will culminate in a peaceful witness on the morning of Monday, March 7, at the main gate of Lockheed-Martin in Sunnyvale. The Sunday lecture is free and open to the public, and all who are committed to peace and justice are encouraged to join in the witness Monday morning at 8:30am. |
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Saturday, February 19 2011 @ 12:39 am
Views: 3,635
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 One of the biggest risks of nonviolent protest is that those whom you are protesting might respond with violence. Ask Mohandas Gandhi and those who struggled for India's independence. Ask Martin Luther King, Jr., and other African-Americans who joined in the civil rights movement. Such was the case most recently in Bahrain on the morning of February 17th. Yet in 2011 in the United States of America, if you were to engage in a silent and nonviolent protest in front of a major national leader, say merely turning your back on her while she was giving a speech on, say, the importance of free speech, would you expect to be brutally beaten and jailed by her security detail? Until receiving an email message from Ray McGovern, we would have answered that question with a resounding no. |
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Friday, January 14 2011 @ 10:29 pm
Views: 3,168
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 Photography by
Marie Josee Mont-Reynaud & Randy Mont-Reynaud
December 2010 - January 2010
St. Marks Episcopal Church
600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto
ON DISPLAY in the Parish Hall: Tuesdays-Fridays 12noon-4pm
VIDEO & DISCUSSION: Sunday, January 16th, 12:15pm
CLOSING RECEPTION: Friday, January 28th, 6-8pm
Sponsored by:
If Pigs Could Fly - Helping Hillside Haiti
Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice Download flyers in pdf format:
Click here to download full size flyer for posting.
Click here to download half size flyer with details. |
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This award winning documentary follows the efforts of Palestinian shepherds and several Israelis that ultimately provide electricity for the tent and cave homes in the Palestinian village of Susia, in the Hebron hills. Their ever deepening and transformative relationships form the basis for their work together.
Whose Children Are These?