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People of Faith Peacemakers is a resource and support group for those concern PEOPLE OF FAITH PEACEMAKERS

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UPDATED CALENDARSeptember-December 2009

January 13    Just Policing, Not War …

                                  Is the title of Gerald Schlabach’s book in which he proposes that, if the world can address problems of violence through a police model instead of a conventional military model, there may be a peacemaking role for Christians from all traditions—pacifists and just warriors alike.

Dr. Schlabach is Associate Professor of Theology and Director of the Justice and Peace Studies program at the University of St. Thomas.

 

January 27    The Minnesota Health Plan  - Universal and Single Payer Health Care for Minnesota and the Minnesota Health Act  (SF 118/HF135)
                       Presented by Susan Hasti, M.D.,Chair of the Minnesota Universal Health Care Coalition, member of Physicians for a National Health Program

 

February 11 & 24    Immigration Reform

                                  Upcoming Minnesota legislation; no human being is “illegal”; Latino community’s contributions to addressing reform effectively; our drug laws and penal system—all the interrelationships, and mobilizing for just immigration reform.

More information webservant Carol Masters cmasters@bitstream.net

 

www.justviewpoint.org or Eleanor 763-784-5177

 

People of Faith Peacemakers is a resource and support group for those concerned about peace and justice from a faith perspective. Breakfast meetings, which are open to everyone, are 8 to 9:30 am at St Martin's Table, 2001 Riverside, Minneapolis, on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays. The website (www.justviewpoint.org) features the current calendar, related events and actions.

UPDATED CALENDARJuly 2009
  
June 24 – a day at Hospitality Place; focus on “Constantine’s Sword” film and discussion, facilitators Roy Wolff, others from POFP. Begin at 9 am, soup lunch; bring snacks.

Directions from St. Martin’s Table:

1:            Start out going NORTHWEST on RIVERSIDE AVE/CR-48 toward 20TH AVE S.                 0.2 mi

               2:            Turn RIGHT onto CEDAR AVE S/CR-152. Continue to follow CR-152.    0.3 mi    

               3:            Merge onto I-35W N.  12.6 mi          

               4:            Merge onto LAKE DR/CR-23 N via EXIT 31B.             2.1 mi    

               5:            Turn RIGHT onto E GOLDEN LAKE RD.       0.2 mi   

               6:            End at 20 E Golden Lake Rd Circle Pines, MN 55014-1725          

Estimated Time: 20 minutes Estimated Distance: 15.39 miles

 

July 8  - “Reflections on Constantine’s Sword” and other topics from the June 24 retreat. Facilitators are retreat planners

 

July 22 “Sudan” Mary Duvall shares experiences from her recent trip to Sudan. Mary represents Lutheran World Relief, a relief and development organization

 

August 12  to be determined

 

August 26  “Stories from Burma/Myanmar” told by Bernice Johnson, teacher of refugees in Thailand

3,000 years ago the Shan people came south from China and settled in a land now called Burma. The fascinating history of Burma/Myanmar and the current cruel military rule is told in a recently published book by Bernice Johnson, The Shan: Refugees without a Camp, by an English Teacher in Thailand. She will tell her own and Burma’s story.

People of Faith Peacemakers is a resource and support group for those concerned about peace and justice from a faith perspective.  Breakfast meetings, open to everyone, are from 8 to 9:30 am at St Martins Table, 200l Riverside, on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. See:  www.justviewpoint.org. or 763-784-5177

People of Faith may receive this calendar by email. To join this list serve, email cmasters@bitstream.net

Please join us on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month for questions and discussion on these important topics!

 

PEOPLE OF FAITH PEACEMAKERS STATEMENT

on Repentance / Forgiveness among Nations

  in response to the theme of the June 27, 2007 retreat at Hospitality Place

   When individuals, ill physically, mentally, and emotionally, owing to the commission of heinous acts, are in search of wholeness and health they find that the solace they desire and need requires them to examine their past deeds and to seek forgiveness from those whom they have wronged. This same path is essential for nations. In order for the United States to shed its mantle of militarism and be the beacon of hope proclaimed in countless documents, it must examine and atone for the dark transgressions of its past and present.

 

   These transgressions have been many but two committed in the past that must be addressed are: 1) the theft of the land once occupied wholly by the indigenous people of the western continent and the genocide accompanying it and 2) the enslavement, torture and travail visited upon the African people brought to this continent to be sold as slaves. Also included in these past transgressions are countless aggressive actions and wars calling for atonement. The present transgressions are the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and wounded and millions of refugees have been created.

 

   The scripture declares: “Therefore, if thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother has anything against thee, leave thy gift before the altar and go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

 

   As it appears unlikely that any U.S. administration will suggest the need for national repentance and atonement, we members of People of Faith Peacemakers as citizens of this country do offer this statement and encourage other religious bodies to follow suit.

                                         Polly Mann for People of Faith Peacemakers

 

ONGOING  for a Calendar of Peace Events and Meetings: Minneapolis Alliance of Peacemakers www.mapm.org

People of Faith Peacemakers is a MAP member

EVERY WEDNESDAY:7-8 a.m. PEACE VIGIL at Alliant TechSystems 5050 Lincoln Drive Edina <http://www.circlevision.org/alliantaction.html>  

5:00 · 6:00 p.m. Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge · A TWIN CITIES ANTI-WAR TRADITION <http://www.worldwidewamm.org/> 



 

PEOPLE OF FAITH PEACEMAKERS STATEMENT on nuclear weapons

 

People of Faith Peacemakers, an ecumenical group in the Twin Cities, is alarmed at the continued threat posed by the continued development and possible use of nuclear weapons. We believe this to be a crucial time to address this threat, as violence heightens in the Middle East, and other parts of our world, and as nuclear material and weapons in the former Soviet Union continue to be vulnerable to terrorist threats.

Nuclear weapons could destroy not only our present civilization, but with long-term radiation effects and the possibility of nuclear winter, nuclear weapons could destroy the future. Even when unused, their production and deployment cause environmental degradation, divert massive resources from human need, and add destabilizing fear to tense political situations.

Since September 11, 2001, the Bush administration has revealed a plan for the future of this country's nuclear arsenal, which envisions new, specialized nuclear weapons that could be used in a first strike against terrorists and rogue dictators, further increasing the danger.

Therefore, we join with other people of faith in the United States in an "Urgent Call to End the Nuclear Danger," a call adopted by many faith groups as they look to reverse the drift towards catastrophe. We call on our government to

*Permanently end the development, testing, and production of nuclear weapons;

*Seek agreement with Russia on the mutual and verified destruction of nuclear weapons withdrawn under treaties, and increase the resources here and in Russia to secure nuclear warheads and material, and to implement destruction of weapons;

*Strengthen nonproliferation efforts by ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, finalizing a missile ban in North Korea, reducing fissile material worldwide, and negotiating a ban on its production;

* Work toward peaceful negotiations in all cases of tension and crisis.

Contemplating the use of nuclear weapons is an affront to God, the Creator. Preparing to unleash such destructiveness runs counter to the life-giving creativity that comes from God. As people of faith, we affirm life and all that nurtures it. We abhor nuclear weapons and the destruction they portend. As people of faith, we choose life.

Webworker cmasters@bitstream.net