Pope Francis will speak to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, September 24.  Join the studio audience with local and national religious and environmental activists to discuss his address.

Thursday, Sept. 24, 12 Noon
Midpeninsula Media Center
900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto

Local panelists in the studio will include Debbie Mytels, Peninsula Interfaith Climate Action; Katia Reeves, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish Green Committee; and Paul George, Peninsula Peace and Justice Center.  Live reports from Washington D.C. will come via Skype or conference calls with members of the "Catholic Climate Covenant" and "Moral Action for Climate" directly following the Pope's address.

Pope Francis' encyclical on ecology, Laudato Si, challenges us all to hear both "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." 

"The entire material universe speaks of God's love....  Soil, water, mountains - everything is, as it were, a caress of God." 

Friday, September 25, 12Noon
Lockheed Space Systems in Sunnyvale
Mathilda Avenue and Lockheed Martin Way, Sunnyvale

September's Week of Action will see hundreds of Campaign Nonviolence actions across the nation. Those of us who live near San Francisco need look no further than Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale to find one of the world's deadliest purveyors of destruction - the largest manufacturer and exporter of military weapons, proudly providing the tools necessary for today's "warfighter."

The Pacific Life Community, Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice and others invite you to attend this vigil where people will silently and nonviolently stand in witness against the violence, destruction and death perpetrated from this place. 

Click here to download a flyer with more information.

As part of Campaign Nonviolence Week of Action join people around the world in celebrating the vision of a nuclear weapons free world, raising awareness and calling on our leaders to advance nuclear disarmament.

Established by the United Nations General Assembly, the aim of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is to enhance "public awareness and education about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the necessity for their total elimination, in order to mobilize international efforts towards achieving the common goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world."

This year, on Sept. 26, the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND) will present a statement calling for A Nuclear-Weapon-Free-World: Our Common Good, endorsed by parliamentarians, mayors and religious leaders to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the onset of the nuclear age and the foundation of the United Nations.

"Nearly 16,000 nuclear weapons remain in the world's arsenals costing $100 billion annually - funds that could instead be used to implement the Sustainable Development Goals," said Mr. Saber Chowdhurgy MP, Co-President of PNND. "We reaffirm UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's description of the abolition of nuclear weapons as a "common good of the highest order."

Campaign Nonviolence (CNV) 2015 Week of Action now has over 285 events taking place around the world. CNV actions are planned in each of the 50 states plus Afghanistan, Colombia, Canada and beyond. Click here to learn about local, mid-peninsula events.

Global Opportunites to Mainstream Nonviolence include (but are NOT limited to!):
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, September 26 - Spread the word about this day through social media, letters to the editor, and telling your friends, family and faith communities!  Invite your local mayor or religious leader to sign the joint statement on A Nuclear-Weapon-Free-World: Our Common Good.

#Enough: Follow the lead of the Afghan Peace Volunteers as together we build a critical mass of nonviolent relationships for a green and equal world without war.

Tell President Obama to recommend unarmed approaches to conflict: Email or call the White House and tell the President that you want the Peacekeeping Summit which he will convene on Sept. 28 to take seriously the recommendations of the U.N. panel that unarmed civilian protection be a prominant aspect of U.N. Peace Operations. Click here for background from "Nonviolent Peaceforce", and then send a message to the White House.

Take the Campaign Nonviolence Pledge to strive to practice nonviolence toward yourself, others, and to join the global movement.

Regional opportunites also include:
Evening of Prayer for Victims of Violence, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 7:30pm, Cathedral Basilical of St. Joseph, 80 South Market St., San Jose

I solemnly swear to take a stand against violence and
help build a culture of active nonviolence.
I will strive to:
practice nonviolence toward myself;
practice nonviolence toward all others;
practice nonviolence by joining the global movement to
abolish war,
end poverty,
stop the destruction of the earth and
foster a just and peaceful world for all.

Click here to sign the Campaign Nonviolence pledge, and join the movement to build a peaceful world for all! 

Campaign Nonviolence 2015

Abolish war
End Poverty and Racism
Reverse the Climate Change
Mainstream Active Nonviolence

And start here!

Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice will join Campaign Nonviolence again this year.  If your congregation, organization or a community would like to participate, please contact diana@multifaithpeace.org.

Marches or prayer vigils, studies or drama, let us work together to build a world of active, creative, challenging and audacious nonviolence!

Campaign Nonviolence Week of Action events will take place in each of the 50 states as well as several other countries.

"After years spent teetering on the brink of war, the diplomatic agreement with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action offers an unprecendented opportunity for a peaceful settlement to concerns about Iran's nuclear program." 

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (quoted above) has posted a wealth of resources for people of faith and good will to understand and support the Iran Deal.  Their post on "Understanding the Iran Deal" is very helpful. 

In August 340 rabbis (including our own local Rabbi Sheldon Lewis) from all streams of Judaism sent a letter to all Members of Congress urging that they support the international community agreement and Iran. Read the statement of 53 Christian leaders urging Congress to support the agreement.  The Jewish Exponent posted a thoughtful article on why "The Iran Agreement is Good for America."    

The Afghan Peace Volunteers invite us to join
#Enough! A campaign to abolish war and build a green and equal world
Join them TODAY!

Join the Afghan Peace Volunteers and Kabul street kids Zarghuna, Muheb, Barath, Mursal, Inam, Deeba and Zahra, to say #Enough!

On Sept. 21st, the International Day of Peace and beginning of the Campaign Nonviolence Week of Action, 100 Afghan street kids will cook and serve a meal for 100 Afghan labourers to launch #Enough!

TODAY you can join the Afghan Peace Volunteers, a grassroots group started by youth in Kabul, Afghanistan, by signing "The People's Agreement to Abolish War."  Help generate the critical mass of friends needed to build a better world.

Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire and Prof. Noam Chomsky have already endorsed this campaign.  You can join them by http://enough.ourjourneytosmile.com/ signing the Agreement TODAY! 

The Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers (now Afghan Peace Volunteers) was started by youth living in Kabul, Afghanistan. Having lived in the midst of war their entire lives, these young people insist that "war has not worked," and ask for international friendship and solidarity. The group has worked together for several years now. They create videos and blogs to expose both the hopes and pains of life in Afghanistan, host "Global Listening Days" for skype or phone conversations with anyone around the world, partner with youth in other war-torn places, organize the Duvet (Blanket) Peace project which gave Afghan women employment to make much needed blankets for Afghan refugees in the winter, and have founded the Borderfree Center for Nonviolence which sponsors programs on nonviolence, environment, social economic issues and international issues, language and math classes for local "street kids."  

Click here to download a copy of The People's Agreement to Abolish War.