Come to First Presbyterian Church Palo Alto's Fellowship Hall (1140 Cowper Street / Palo Alto) on August 29th from 2pm to 7pm for a fundraiser to help Pakistan's flood victims. This event is sponsored by American Muslim Voice. 

At the event you'll be able to view and buy:

Exquisite hand-made products from India made by organizations supporting income generation for communities will be offered to help raise money for Pakistan flood relief.

Products will include fancy evening handbags of the royal Mughal era, intricately embroidered kantha scarves and bedcovers, Kashmiri scarves, rugs, cushion covers, handbags, and elegant and festive Kurtis.

Proceeds after costs will be given to relief organizations in Pakistan.

Join us on March 21st at 2pm at Lytton Plaza to listen to, and then silently reflect upon the voices of children from war-torn places around the world, as together we pray for peace. Our time together will include music, multifaith prayers, letters from children around the world, and silence.

Click here to download/print a flyer (and please spread the word).

Plan now to join our Multifaith Witness for Peace in Palo Alto on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 9 at 3pm.

The first Mother’s Day was called for by Julia Ward Howe in 1870 with a passionate plea for peace and disarmament. 
Her proclamation reads, in part:

Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears! … 
We, women of one country, will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. …
From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own.  It says, “Disarm, Disarm!” 
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. … 
Let us solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace.

Inspired once again by Ward’s call, we want to gather people of all faiths and spiritual backgrounds for a Multifaith Worship and Public Witness calling ourselves and our nation to turn away from the ways of war and destruction and choose instead the paths which lead to peace, reconciliation and justice. We will include a reading of letters from children in war-torn countries that express their fears and dreams. We intend our witness to be prophetic, courageous, respectful and inspiring! We hope it will lead us all to a deeper commitment to work together for a world that is safe and life-giving for all, especially the children. 

What better way to celebrate Mother’s Day!

David Maguire is a Professor of Moral Theological Ethics at Marquette University, and author of The Horrors We Bless: Rethinking the Just-War Legacy.  This article first appeared in Consortiumnews.com on December 16, 2009.

Opportunity Lost: Obama in Oslo

Whether Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize is not the point. He didn’t. The fact is he got it, and was gifted with the chance of a lifetime to make a classic speech on the politics of peace-making, a speech that in the glare of Nobel could have attained instant biblical standing.

He failed miserably, producing a hodge-podge that resembled the work of a bright but undisciplined sophomore.

He hoisted his petard on the classical "just war theory," a theory that, properly understood, condemns his decision to send yet more kill-power into Afghanistan.

A shorter name - a wider mission!

At our 2009 summer retreat, leaders from diverse peace fellowships and traditions decided that the mission of Christian Peace Witness for Iraq must evolve to meet new challenges - so we shortened our name but broaden our mission by becoming Christian Peace Witness and calling for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the removal of all U.S. troops and military bases.  Visit the updated website to learn more, and click on "Join the Network" (right side of screen) to receive monthly e-newsletters.

MVPJ sponsored this event in 2009:  The Friday night panel was moderated by David DeCosse, Director of Campus Ethics Programs for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.  He began the evening by posing the questions, "How do people of faith speak in the American public square about the issue of torture?  How is it possible to persuade fellow citizens ... that torture is wrong and that the soul of the United States is at stake...?"

"Our nation needs pastors and other religious leaders who are willing to stand up and to speak in a prophetic voice:  'Thus saith the LORD.  Torture is sin.  It's not just illegal under US and international law, it's not just a violation of human rights, it is fundamentally immoral.  Torture is immoral because it violates the image of God in another human being. ... To torture someone is to sin against God, against a fellow human being, and against one's self, so woe unto you who torture,'" declared Rev. Ben Daniel in his address on June 26, as part of the "Torture is a Moral Issue" conference sponsored by Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice and many others.

"Just reading the Constitution brings tears to my eyes.  I have this view of America as trying to get it right," sang John Crigler, using the words of a former Army Interrogator.

"Torture is always and everywhere wrong. ... Still, given the poll taken by the Pew Survey published in April of this year, we still have a long way to go. That survey showed that those who label themselves as religious are more likely to support torture as a national security measure; and that practicing, worshiping believers are most vehement. Friends, I hope we go away from this day with the tools we need to turn this around. We are not in a position to speak the truth to power, unless we first tell it to the not-so-powerful, to ourselves and those standing next us at coffee hour," urged Rev. Carol Wickersham, founder of No2Torture.

"I'm an interrogator.  This is what the face of an interrogation looks like.  I've been not torturing for 16 years. The interrogators I've worked with, the interrogators I've trained, know that torture doesn't work.  They know that torture is counterproductive.  They know that torture is immoral," explained Terrence Karney, a former Army Interrogator and Trainer.  Click here to hear Karney's Friday evening remarks on youtube.

To download copies of their presentations, or access videos, click "read more" below.

On December 3rd, MVPJ joined other organizations led by Peninsula Peace and Justice Center for a gathering outside Rep. Anna Eshoo's office in Palo Alto. Samina Sundas, steering committee member with MVPJ, had contacted Eshoo's office earlier in the day to let them know that we would be there because of the President's speech announcing plans for troop increases in Afghanistan. Shortly after we arrived, Rep. Eshoo's staff came outside to share a statement Rep. Eshoo had just released. (Read the statement below.)

If you live in her district, please contact Rep. Eshoo to thank her for her statement, and urge her to commit now to vote "NO" on any war funding.   Call her local office at 650-323-2984 or 408-245-2339, her Washington D.C. office at 202-225-8104, or send her an email via her website by clicking here.