Lutheran Peace Fellowship

2011-03-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

Responding to the Earthquake in Japan

On March 11, an earthquake off the Pacific coast of Japan struck with a magnitude of 8.9 -- the fifth largest quake in recorded history. I triggered a tsunami which devastated Japan´s coastal areas with 30-foot waves and seriously damaged nuclear plants which are now threatening to melt down and spread radiation.
Check out the ELCA website for information on how to respond to this disaster and ways to donate and stand in solidarity with the People of Japan.

2011-02-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

Thoughts While Fasting

by Bonnie Block

I went hungry today,

So I remembered of the men at Guantanamo

who’ve been on hunger strikes protesting their unjust imprisonment.

I went hungry today,

So I thought of the people of Gaza and Haiti

who are hungry every day.

I drank only liquids today,

So I was reminded of all the women

who carry their family’s water for miles day after day.

I drank only liquids today,

So I prayed for all the children

who get sick and may die from drinking polluted water.

I had no food today,

So I mourned for the tens of thousands of people in our world

who die from hunger year after year.

I had no food today,

So I considered the families here in Wisconsin

Who have to rely on food pantries that may be empty.

I’ve fasted for twelve days – voluntarily and temporarily

So I know how immensely privileged I am.

Tomorrow thankfully, I’ll eat again

But please oh God,

Keep me hungry for justice,

Make me thirsty for peace.

I wrote this on Jan 21, 2011, the night before the end of a 12 day liquids only Fast for Justice called by Witness Against Torture to get Guantanamo closed, to insure transparency so we know if this monstrous practice continues, and to demand accountability for all those complicit in torture. (www.witnesstorture.org)

2011-02-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

Dietrich Bonhoeffer´s Birthday - February 4

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) is known for his leadership role in the Confessing Church, efforts on behalf of peace and justice, opposition to antisemitism, and writings on theology and ethics that have been influential far beyond his German Lutheran context. He was was hanged by the Nazis on April 6, 1945 in the Flossenburg concentration camp.
In addition to the videos below, you can check out our set of quotes by this Lutheran Hero at:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
24 Quotes

2011-01-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

Peacemaking at School

No Name-Calling Week

No Name-Calling Week, January 24-28, 2011, is an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities.

Visit the No Name-Calling Week website for more information, to join the network and receive anti-bullying resources throughout the year, and to access resources.

National Peace Essay Contest 2011

High school students can win college scholarships up to $10,000.

The United States Institute of Peace is holding its annual NATIONAL PEACE ESSAY CONTEST. This scholarship contest is for high school students who are interested in international issues, conflict resolution, peace studies, justice, and human rights. The 2010-2011 contest's topic is "GOVERNANCE, CORRUPTION, AND CONFLICT." The topic changes every year. The DEADLINE for the 2010-2011 contest is February 1, 2011. Entries must be received by this date.

For more information, visit the United States Institute of Peace website.

LPF Peace Art Contest

We are doing a makeover of the main homepage of the LPF website and want to include pictures of people involved in a variety of peacemaking activities and other images and artwork to illustrate the work of LPF.

Please send us action shots of you and other peacemakers in action and images or artwork of what peacemaking means to you. The best entries will be featured on the LPF website.

Ideas include:

Take action photos of peace related events/activities in your congregation or community.
Sunday school art projects: draw a picture of what peace means to you.
Pick out your favorite peace related bible verse to illustrate.
Download LPF´s Peace Deck and create original artwork based on your favorite quote.
Illustrate the concepts of active nonviolence and conflict resolution in photos or drawings.
Take pictures at your local foodbank or feeding program of people helping people in need.

Please submit entries by email to lutheranpeace@gmail.com (5 mb max per email) along with the author´s name so we can give them credit.

Jan 4, 2011

Jan. 17, birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King quotes reflecting some of the breadth of Dr. King's thought.

Useful as a bulletin insert.

It boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Trumpet of Conscience

2010-12-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

Human Rights Day

December 10, 2010

will focus on human rights defenders
who act to end discrimination.

“Discrimination lies at the root of many of the world’s most pressing human rights problems. No country is immune from this scourge. Eliminating discrimination is a duty of the highest order.”
Navi Pillay
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Discrimination: treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, based on the group, class, or category to which they belong (skin color, religion, sex, etc.) rather than on individual merit: intolerance and prejudice.

videos:

UN Human Rights Chief urges an end to discrimination

Anthony Romero message for Human Rights Day

Robert Archer Interview

Wilder Tayler

Links:

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Human Rights Day 2010

The Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

LPF resource: Addressing Racism: Challenge for Peacemakers

Lutheran Human Relations Association

The Lutheran World Federation - Office for International Affairs and Human Rights

Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service

Lutherans Concerned/ North America

Goodsoil

ELCA:

Human Rights - CSR program

Human Dignity and Human Rights

ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries

Journal of Lutheran Ethics - February 2009 issue - Human Rights and Family

2010-11-15T04:33:00.000-08:00

Save Darfur National Call-In Day

SDC/GI-Net and partners are organizing a national call-in day on November 16th for all activists, faith groups and partner organizations. Participants can call 1-800-genocide and follow a recorded script asking Secretary Clinton to appoint a high-level diplomat for Darfur. Please promote the call to your constituents and networks. To learn more or get help promoting the call, please contact Joe Maddens (joe@savedarfur.org).

2010-11-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

St Martin of Tours - Feast Day

St Martin of Tours is known as the first conscientious objector and a great peacemaker in the Christian church. His feast day of 11 November (or the nearest Sunday) which is also observed as Remembrance Day for remembering those killed in wars (it was called Armistice Day following the First World War).

Lutherans have had a long history of responding to the gospel call to be peacemakers. One of the initial motivations for the formation of a Lutheran peace movement in the US was the need to support those resisting the draft through conscientious objection to military solutions to conflict. LPF traces its roots to this movement dating back to 1940.

For more contemporary information on current issues relating to the military service, see LPF's resource: Youth and the Military

For further information on St Martin of Tours, here are several links:

Martin of Tours

St. Martin's Day

St Martin — patron saint of conscientious objectors

November 11th. St. Martin of Tours.

SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS BISHOP, CONFESSOR—316-400

St. Martin of Tours

2010-10-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

LPF Peace Art Contest

Please send us action shots of you and other peacemakers in action and images or artwork of what peacemaking means to you. The best entries will be featured on the LPF website.

Ideas include:

Take action photos of peace related events/activities in your congregation or community.
Sunday school art projects: draw a picture of what peace means to you.
Pick out your favorite peace related bible verse to illustrate.
Download LPF´s Peace Deck and create original artwork based on your favorite quote.
Illustrate the concepts of active nonviolence and conflict resolution in photos or drawings.
Take pictures at your local foodbank or feeding program of people helping people in need.

Please submit entries by email to lutheranpeace@gmail.com (5 mb max per email) along with the author´s name so we can give them credit.

World Food Day

Saturday, October 16th

The theme of this year’s observance is United against hunger, chosen to recognize the efforts made in the fight against world hunger at national, regional and international levels.

Resources:

LPF Hunger Resources

World Food Day USA

World Food Day UN website
World Food Day - Wikipedia

People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS)

Indigenous Food Systems Network - Food Sovereignty

La Via Campesina

Tierra Viva Bolivia

Organisations working on Food Sovereignty issues

2010-09-02T08:38:00.001-07:00

International Day of Prayer for Peace

The International Day of Peace 2010 and The International Day of Prayer for Peace, are observed widely on Sept. 21 in congregations and at the ELCA Center in Chicago. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has announced that this year’s Peace Day Theme is “Peace, Youth and Development” under the slogan
“Peace = Future”.
LPF and the ELCA offer a variety of peace prayers and other resources that can be used throughout the year. We have suggestions, a bulletin insert, and other resources and activities below to make this a meaningful and useful experience for all. LPF’s director was one of six Lutheran peace leaders whose reflections on peace day were featured on the home page of the ELCA web site in 2009.

more resources:

2010-08-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

August 6 - Hiroshima Day

On this day we remember the anniversary of the atomic the bombing of Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. Remarkably, this is the first time in 65 years that the US has sent an official representative to the city for an event that organizers hope will bolster global efforts toward nuclear disarmament. We invite Christians to pray for peace.

From the LPF Archives

For People of Faith: AN URGENT CALL (2003)

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Day of Prayer for Peace, Bulletin Insert (2005)

Other Resources

US, nuclear powers join Hiroshima memorial for first time, on 65th anniversary

Global Zero – A World Without Nuclear Weapons

Countdown to Zero

Animation of Nuclear History

2010-07-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Simplicity Day

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”
-- Henry David Thoreau

Simplicity Day on July 12th celebrates the birthday of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) who encouraged us to simplify our lives.

Check out the following videos and resources about this remarkable movement:

AFFLUENZA - Soundtrack to VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture.

This video clip is a collage of scenes from the documentary posted next below

Watch the entire documentary:

VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY: The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture documentary explores the philosophy behind Voluntary Simplicity, what potential or significance it has as a quietly emerging social movement and what its limitations might be.

Global Pandemy in its entirety - a 15-year-old documentary about what began as a trend in the US but now has spread all over the world. We are not considered to be citizens any more, we've been turned into simple consumers, with no other rights than the ones that corporations let us have, if so. There's no space for humanitarian behavior or for critical thinking. The greeding controlling minorities have deceived most of us to believe that we're free to choose a better life, and that the so called better life is measured in terms of properties, of things that we own. No matter if we don't have enough money, that's what Credit's been made for. If other people are suffering, we've been trained to ignore it because «That's not our business». Everything is business, and so, that way, we want to reach happiness. But the fact is that there's no happiness in material belongings. That's why we always are looking for more. And it's never enough. When we have reached to that point, then we are doomed, for we have been infected and controlled by this selfish way of surviving. We are not living anymore, we're just surviving, because we're sick. We suffer AFFLUENZA. And man... we DO SUFFER...

Adventures in Simplicity - A video montage created specifically to accompany an audio Plunderphonics track, created in 2008 on the topic of voluntary simplicity.

(Part II: forthcoming)

Simplicity - When we are connected with the Universe, we realize that the small feelings in life are the ones that have the ability to make us happy.

Further Resources from LPF:

LPF Blog Post on The Story of Consumerism

Hunger Awareness Meal - This experiential meal illuminates hunger and poverty in the world.

Treasures in Heaven, Treasures on Earth

Reclaim the Season! - Peace & justice living and giving especially appropriate at Christmas; useful throughout the year.

Other Resources:

Simple Living - defined

Simplicity Day of Event Coordination on Facebook

Alternatives for Simple Living

Simple Living America

The Simplicity Resource Guide

Choosing Voluntary Simplicity

About Simplicity Day

Simplicity Quotes 1, 2

2010-06-30T05:01:00.000-07:00

Quick Action Needed on War Supplemental

War Supplemental Expected in the House This Week
Supplemental spending for the war in Afghanistan will be voted on later this week, perhaps as early as Wednesday. The Majority Whip sent out a whip question Friday asking Democrats whether they would vote in favor of a) the Afghanistan war money, and b) all the other supplemental funding, a sign that a vote is imminent.

Please contact your Representative, and ask him or her to 1) vote "NO" on the war money 2) co-sponsor the McGovern bill and vote for a corresponding amendment, requiring the President to establish a timetable for military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Call:
The Capitol Switchboard is 202-225-3121. Ask to be connected to your Representative's office. Try to get the Foreign Policy Legislative Assistant on the phone; tell whomever you get to speak with that you urge the Representative to vote no on war funding and to co-sponsor McGovern's bill and vote for McGovern's amendment; try to get them to say how the Representative will vote.
Please report back to us any result of your query at the following two places: for LPF, please email ggersmehl@hotmail.com and if you can, also send your email to: www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern

for more information see: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wh0LUZik0%2BkRJ7ICYIHKwyN%2BUO6c5syB
Lutheran Peace Fellowship, www.lutheranpeace.org, Afghan Resources

2010-06-08T06:50:00.000-07:00

World Refugee Day

Now when they had departed, behold,( an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. (Matthew 2:13-15)

World Refugee Day, observed June 20 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

World Refugee Day - UN

World Refugee Day - Wikipedia

TUESDAY, JUNE 01, 2010

Torture Awareness Month

National and Washington State Religious Campaign Against Torture.

The suggested June action is as follows:

(1) Please try to have a table for action set up for every Sunday in June, publicizing it with something like "Torture Is A Moral Issue"

(2) On the table, have an adequate supply of postcards (provided by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture--how many do you need ?)
The message on the card is a request for the International Committee of the Red Cross to be given permission to have access to all prisoners held by USA forces in any country.

(3) Also on the table have a petition to be signed, urging Attorney General Eric Holder to move ahead in appointing a Commission of Inquiry about who ordered/authorized USA forces to use torture and include the option of a prosecutor if crimes have been committed.

(4) Try to arrange the showing of a 20 minute DVD "Ending US-Sponsored Torture Forever." (The DVD is free from NRCAT)

National Religious Campaign Against Torture - http://www.nrcat.org/

Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice

Amnesty International

Torture Awareness

National Religious Campaign Against Torture - Wikipedia

2010-05-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Origins of Mother's Day

It has been 140 years since Mother's Day first came into being, yet few people know that it was originally conceived as a day for mothers to protest injustice and war. Over the years the activist observance of this holiday became squelched by its commercialization by flower and card companies that turned it into billion-dollar industry. There has been a recent movement to return Mother's Day to its original meaning.

The Original Anti-War Mother's Day

Soap to Ploughshares: How to return Mother's Day to its original meaning.

CODEPINK Observes Mother's Day With Protest

Mothers' Day Proclamation: Julia Ward Howe, Boston, 1870

Mother’s Day for Peace: A Dramatic Reading of Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation

Mother's Day Proclamation

Original Mother's Day a war protest

Mothers Acting Up

Conscientious Objectors' Day - May 15th

A conscientious objector (CO) is an “individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion.

Many conscientious objectors can find themselves in a very difficult situation, especially in times of war. One of the initial motivations for the formation of a Lutheran peace movement in the US was the need to support those resisting the draft through conscientious objection to military solutions to conflict. Lutheran Peace Fellowship has a long history of supporting conscientious objectors and traces its roots to this movement dating back to 1940.

for more information:

Conscientious objector - From Wikipedia

Youth and the Military

Soldiers of Conscience
film on moral challenges of military service.
Watch clips on Youtube

International Conscientious Objector Day May 15

History of Conscientious Objectors' Day

St. Martin of Tours Feast Day

2010-03-16T16:00:00.001-07:00

Ideas for Prayers for Peace/Peace Vigils from Lutheran Peace Fellowship

Individuals and congregations are encouraged to show their support for peace this advent/spring. That support for peace can take form in many ways, from a simple prayer during church services to events requiring more planning.

Here are some ideas:

Asking the pastor if he/she would be interested in building on the peace theme of the service on the Sunday after Easter (which has an exceptional peace text in the lectionary) and offering some of the ideas below or on the LPF web site.

A group of members holding candles in silence in the narthex after a Lenten service, with an announcement in or before the service inviting folks to join. Preparation can be as simple as talking to your pastor to get the OK, and calling a few peace people to invite them to be participants.

A public vigil on the street after the service. This would take the above, plus making a sign saying what it is, calling a few more people, perhaps people in or announcements in neighboring congregations.

Both could benefit from picking a simple prayer to end, having a simple handout for participants and folks who show interest (e.g. with a few sentences on the purpose, ending with a few links to religious resources such as prayers, and perhaps a few sources of more info on Iraq/Afghanistan - see LPF website).

Finally, there could be hosting a separate service such as the prayer service planned at Atonement Lutheran Church, Newport Oregon “Prayers for Peace: An Interfaith Candlelight Vigil”
Wednesday, March 24, 7:30 p.m.
.

Here is a prayer from Charlotte Gaddis, Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, Seattle, WA:

We witness daily the chaos and violence that our brothers and sisters are experiencing for over seven years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Families are being torn apart and children see death and suffering all around them. We come together to pray for peace in what ever form [and faith] that might take.

Thanks to our friends at ChristianPeaceWitness.org for the idea.

Anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador. Romero was assassinated while saying mass on March 24, 1980 in a small chapel in a cancer hospital where he lived. I had the honor of visiting this site on an LPF Study Trip to Central America back in 1998. In my account of the trip, I wrote "The assassinations of Archbishop Romero and the Jesuit priests were powerful historical facts to me before this trip, but the experience of visiting the sites of these atrocities was overwhelming. The photographs of the carnage and the victims' blood-stained clothes on display impressed upon me the great sacrifices made here in the struggle for justice and peace." - Alan Forsberg

In the videos and links below, learn more about this remarkable man and how he became the voice of the Salvadoran people when all other channels of expression had been crushed by the repression.

Oscar Romero of El Salvador: informal adult education in a context of violence

Celebrating Monsignor Romero

Oscar Romero - Resources

Archbishop Oscar Romero : Quotes

Remembering the Assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero

Archbishop Oscar Romero - The Last Sermon (1980)

Prophets Of A Future Not Our Own - Prayer

Romero - 1989 film about Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero (youtube part 1 of 11)

Martin Luther King quotes reflecting some of the breadth of Dr. King's thought.

Useful as a bulletin insert.

It boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Trumpet of Conscience

January 3, 2010

Epiphany

Migrants and Refugees

Now when they had departed, behold,( an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. (Matthew 2:13-15)

National Migration Week, will be held January 3 - 9, 2010 and January 17 is the 96th World Day of Migrants and Refugees and this year's theme is “Minor migrants and refugees”. As a child, Jesus himself experienced migration when he had to seek refuge in Egypt together with Joseph and Mary in order to flee the threats of Herod.

How we treat migrants, refugees, and undocumented people in the USA is a hot topic today. Pressure to migrate due to global economic problems, conflict, and climate change mean this will remain a hot topic. Here are a list of websites and resources for understanding the issue from a Christian perspective:

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

ELCA Message on Migration

Immigration: It's Our Community - Friends Committee on National Legislation.

Reform Immigration for America

America's Voice

2009-12-28T04:49:00.000-08:00

World Day of Peace

The 43rd World Day of Peace will be celebrated on 1 January 2010.

The United Nations invited the world to celebrate One Day In Peace - January 1, 2000 - as the beginning of the International Decade for the Culture of Peace & Nonviolence for the Children of the World! Lutheran Peace Fellowship joined with 1000 other organizations in almost 140 nations in this launch for a better world... Throughout the past decade, LPF has developed resources, workshops, and trainings in the effort to create a culture of peace and nonviolent responses to conflict.

links:

International Day of Peace - Wikipedia

Pax Christi - World Day of Peace

USCCB - World Day of Peace

THEME FOR THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 2010

ONE DAY IN PEACE

2009-12-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day
December 25th

It is not always “simple” to live and work for simplicity and sustainability in our world.
This is especially true during the holiday season when consumerism is working overtime.
Here are ideas on simplicity in the way we live, the gifts we give, the time we share, and the ways we prepare to receive the Prince of Peace.
Peacepoints: Reclaim the Season

Success!
LPF´s top program priority last spring was offering information and encouragement to our members to support increased funding for poverty related assistance. We are pleased to report that on December 13, the Senate approved H.R. 3288, a "consolidated" appropriations bill that contains FY 2010 funding for this along with other important priorities. Approved earlier by the House, the bill is now on the President's desk for his signature.
The bill includes funding increases for USAID, Global Health and Child Survival, Development Assistance, Agriculture and Food Security Programs, Basic and Higher Education,, Educational and Cultural Exchanges, Energy and the Environment, Peace Corps, Millennium Challenge Corporation and substantial funding for Improving Access to Safe Drinking Water and Humanitarian Assistance. A complete summary can be found at:
http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/FY10_SFOPS_Conference_Summary.pdf

2009-12-09T04:06:00.000-08:00

Human Rights Day 2009 on December 10

will focus on non-discrimination.

UN Human Rights Chief urges an end to discrimination

Anthony Romero message for Human Rights Day

Robert Archer Interview

Wilder Tayler

Links:

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Human Rights Day 2009

The Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

LPF resource: Addressing Racism: Challenge for Peacemakers

Lutheran Human Relations Association

The Lutheran World Federation - Office for International Affairs and Human Rights

Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service

Lutherans Concerned/ North America

Goodsoil

ELCA:

Human Rights - CSR program

Human Dignity and Human Rights

ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries

Journal of Lutheran Ethics - February 2009 issue - Human Rights and Family

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Atonement Lutheran Church

Reconciling in Christ team presents:

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Dramatic new film

"The End of Poverty?"

nationwide premier

Now Showing in Seattle

for other cities see the full schedule and more details . . .

Interview: Filmmaker Philippe Diaz on “The End of Poverty?”

2009-10-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

New Resources for Parents and Youth

Three new resources offer concise information on several of the most pressing concerns among parents and young people today. Each offers a brief description of the most useful sources, web links, and more than a few little-known gems. Here are the titles:

Resources for Parents, Especially on the New Media

Recommended Computer Games

Finding Good Books for Young People

LPF resources and expertise build on numerous workshops for parents, teachers, and young people in congregations, teacher in-service days, regional events, and national conferences as well as scores of leadership training programs.

2009-10-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

International Day of Nonviolence

International Day of Nonviolence was declared by the United Nations to be marked on October 2nd, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and a pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. Check out our video series on Gandhi's philosophy and its impact.

2009-09-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

Glen Gersmehl featured in an ELCA video

LPF's national coordinator, Glen Gersmehl, is being featured today in a video on the ELCA web site. The ELCA made 3-4 minute videos on peace themes for the week leading up to the International Day of Prayer for Peace.

This video series so far has featured Dennis Frado, director of the Lutheran Center for World Community in NY City, Rev Stephen Bouman who directs the ELCA's unit on Congregational Mission, and Donna Braband, ELCA director of schools. Here's the link to today's video with each of the above underneath. They should all be visible for the whole week, and additional ones will be added in the remaining days before Sept. 21.

Both the ELCA and LPF web sites offer a variety of prayers, litanies and other materials to use in the Sunday before and after the Day of Prayer for Peace. BOth have blurbs at or near the top of the home page: www.lutheranpeace.org and www.elca.org.

Here is the link to the videos:
http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Decade-for-Nonviolence/International-Day-of-Prayer-for-Peace.aspx#video

2009-09-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Army's video game and a
Pulitzer winner's effort to stop it

Protesters say the game misrepresents the experience of war by making it seem like fun, like a game. read more . . .

2009-08-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

Urgent Action: Defend Democracy
in Latin America

The future of democracy in Latin America is at stake.

Please download this article as a pdf and share widely

2009-08-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

LPF Resources for Youth Leaders

Here is a new select list of LPF Resources for Youth Leaders all on one page.

2009-05-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

2009 ELCA

Youth Gathering

New Orleans, July 22-26, 2009

read more . . . print flyer

Volunteer opportunity: Can you help out at the ELCA Youth Gathering? LPF's large exhibit area includes the Path of Hope, peace flag art activity, and resources for action. There are a variety of ways to plug in, and you'll be inspired by meeting lutheran youth and adults, sharing stories, and new peacemaking info. If you're not going, please pass this on to someone you know. Give us a call to talk it over! Rev. Carol Jensen, 425-422-5494, lpfyouth@gmail.com

2009-05-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Lutheran Peace Fellowship trainer inspires young people to action

Lindsey Bulger and LPF were featured in the recent edition of the Metro Lutheran newspaper! Read it below or check it out here.

Lutheran Peace Fellowship trainer inspires young people to action
04/20/09
Bob Hulteen

Lindsey Bulger clearly knows how to think on her feet. Being a visible advocate for peacemaking efforts can often set one up for possible conflict.

But, even more important for Bulger, her work with young people who can find many unique angles in the effort to deepen a commitment to nonviolence means that she is constantly reinforcing good thoughts and challenging some ideas that might be “out there.” Her own confident and yet humble personality undoubtedly serves her well.

Bulger, originally from St. Paul, and a member at Augustana Lutheran Church, West St. Paul, is the Youth Program Co-coordinator for Lutheran Peace Fellowship. Its Web site describes Lutheran Peace Fellowship (LPF) as “a community of Lutherans across the U.S. and around the globe, responding to the gospel call to be peacemakers and justice seekers.” Based in Seattle since 1994, LPF offers a wide range of expertise, support, and resources for youth and adults.

“The Lutheran Peace Fellowship has great resources to share,” Bulger told Metro Lutheran during an early spring visit to the Twin Cities. “But they are more useful if adapted for your own local needs.” Even in resource development, she clearly thinks that everyone should be involved.

LPF was an ideal placement for me, coming out of Luther College,” Bulger explained. “I had my introduction to peace and justice there. I applied for the Lutheran Volunteer Corps with the intention of temporarily leaving the Midwest, to get outside my comfort zone.”

She now lives in an intentional community of other volunteers in Seattle. She is challenged to live sustainably. And she gets to ”talk about Jesus without feeling like I am stepping on toes” at the same time that she trains people to become active peacemakers. “I believe in the transformative nature of personal relationships, and I have a job that allows for that.”

What about her future? “Some days I don’t want such a public calling, but I do feel some sort of call happening deep in my stomach.” The calling is evident when she is inspiring a group of young people to live out their gospel calling with confidence.

2009-02-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

Workshop: Being a Bridge in a World Full of Walls
February 28, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.,
Augustana Lutheran Church, 1400 S Robert Street, West St. Paul, MN
FREE OF COST

Come and join us in exploring the impact of everyday bigotry while developing and practicing ways to nonviolently respond with peace. Learning how to communicate nonviolently across lines of difference while advocating for justice is central to becoming peacemakers. We will use small group, large group, and individual exercises to keep this workshop highly participatory and engaging for all. While we encourage all interested people to attend, this workshop is geared towards young adult leadership development. All high school or college-aged leaders are highly encouraged to attend.

At 11:00 we will break for lunch (on your own). From 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. we invite you to join us in a discussion of current peace and justice priorities and a chance to learn more about the work of Lutheran Peace Fellowship. For more information, please call Lindsey at 206.720.0313 or email at lpfyouth@gmail.com.

Justice. Leadership. Friends. Skills. Creativity. Peace.
March 2, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Holy Trinity Lutheran, 2730 East 31^st Street, Minneapolis, MN
FREE OF COST

Come join us in exploring the topics of peace and justice, while sharing resources for becoming an agent of change for peace in this world. This gathering is for people of all ages to discuss current priorities and learn more about the work of Lutheran Peace Fellowship. Hosted by the Lutheran Peace Fellowship – Youth Program. For more information call Lindsey at 206.720.0313 or email lpfyouth@gmail.com.

2009-02-17T12:29:00.000-08:00

Lutheran Peace Fellowship is taking the message of peace to the road! We would love to see you along the way. If you have any questions regarding the itinerary or would like to request a stop at your congregation, please call Lindsey at 651.278.3911 or the LPF office at 206.720.0313.

Monday, February 23 – Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, IL - On campus
Saturday, February 28 – Augustana LC, West St. Paul, MN - Workshop and gathering of members/Peace Partners
Sunday, March 1 – Augustana LC, West St. Paul, MN - Youth Forum
Monday, March 2 – Holy Trinity LC, Minneapolis, MN - Gathering of members/Peace Partners
Tuesday, March 3 – Luther College, Decorah, IA - Program with Luther College campus leaders
Wednesday, March 4 – Luther College, Decorah, IA - On campus
Thursday, March 5 – Luther College, Decorah, IA - Chapel Talk
Friday, March 6 – St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN - Peace Fair, Nobel Peace Prize Forum
Saturday, March 7 – St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN - Seminar, Nobel Peace Prize Forum
Monday, March 9 – Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN - On campus

2008-12-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

Focus on Hunger

Whether you feel excited or disappointed with the election results, we know one thing for sure: hunger does not end when elections do.

In a recent poll, half of voters said they live paycheck to paycheck; four out of five think hunger in America is still a problem. But even with the current financial crisis, three out of four voters are willing to spend additional tax dollars to cut hunger in half by 2015.

Clearly, we have a huge task. Hunger will only end when we change policies, programs, and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist.

So get involved! Push your president, governors, city council-members, church leaders, and school clubs to work to make sure we all have the food we need. See Bread for the World, Alliance to End Hunger, LPF's hunger resources.

2008-12-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

Reclaim the Season

Want to celebrate Christmas without "buying in" to the pressure to buy! buy! buy!? Here are some ideas for gift-giving in alternative, sustainable ways.

Be Creative
Make a personalized CD mix
Bake your favorite holiday treat or homemade goodies
Give a donation to LPF or another nonprofit organization in honor of someone you love
Make your own calendar using photos and/or drawings

Give your time
Give a monthly lunch date for an elderly relative or friend
Give coupons for massage, yard work, cooking meals, outings, other services you can offer
Volunteer at a soup kitchen, shelter, or community center

Check out
Alternatives for Simple Living
The Center for the New American Dream
Heifer International

2008-10-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday, November 1st
All Saints Day

"Christianity stands or fails with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness, and pride of power and with its plea for the weak... Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world more, than they are doing." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

As All Saints Day approaches, I am convicted by these words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a hero and martyr of peacemakers. All Saints Day gives us an opportunity to remember the saints and martyrs throughout history whose stories and legacies serve to inspire and encourage us today. Bonhoeffer's story of resistance to the Nazi regime and commitment to the oppressed inspires me to identify my own participation in systems of oppression and conceive of ways to peacefully respond with justice.

Join us on Saturday, November 1st at 7:00 PM at St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, Washington to reflect upon the challenges facing our country as we prepare to participate in the national election. We will join in prayer and song as we remember the witness of saints, both ancient and modern, who inspire and encourage us as we follow the One who proclaimed, "The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoner, recovery of sight for the blind, and release to the oppressed..."

St. Mark's is located at 1245 10th Ave. E. in Seattle, Washington. For more information, call (425) 379-7067, or visit http://kairos-action.org.

2008-10-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

Coleen's Reflections on

Let Justice Roll

The Lutheran Peace Fellowship recently sponsored "Let Justice Roll," an event for peace and justice-minded high school-aged youth. The attending youth were engaging, passionate, and lively. Here are the reflections of one such youth, Coleen Hogan:

My name is Coleen Hogan and I am a senior at Olympia High School and a member of The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepard in Olympia WA. A few weekends ago I was fortunate enough to go on a fun and meaningful retreat up at Holden Village called "Let Justice Roll" to learn and discuss the theme of practicing our faith in the Salmon Nation. The number of people was small but we immediately made connections and became a very close-knit group, sharing fun and faith throughout the weekend.

Our discussions on practicing our faith in the Salmon Nation centered on care of self, care of neighbor, and care of creation, and we explored these topics in different ways using art, games, movies, slideshows, and scripture. In care of self we thought about our self image and the difference between what we want to see in ourselves and what the media wants us to see. In care of neighbor we talked about all the different parts in our communities and how our decisions can affect everything in our world. Our last focus was care of creation where we thought of all the ways we can change and preserve the beautiful gifts God has given us by “going green” or just helping a friend in need. These topics inspired a lot of thought and insight and gave me new ideas on how to live my life in the Salmon Nation.

Throughout this experience it was evident that though we may be talking about the pros and cons of being more eco-friendly, God was ever present in our hearts and minds. It is one thing to discuss “going green” but to talk about it from a Christian standpoint gives new perspective and made me realize that it’s not just an issue of environmental conservation, but of faith and responsibility. For me practicing my faith in the Salmon Nation means learning how to preserve and sustain the beautiful home and people God has given me while educating others as well. Being at Holden was the best part of retreat, with all the quiet beauty around it was easy to feel God’s presence and kept me focused on the theme. All the great ideas against the amazing backdrop of Holden Village is enough to fill a weekend with laughter, song, and fellowship while also restoring and preparing me for my life back home. I came back a little happier, a little wiser, and a little more prepared to go out and practice my faith in the Salmon Nation.

2008-10-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Understanding the Economic Crisis

Economics can be a tough thing to get our head around sometimes. But as with any issue, a good way to start thinking about it is by asking: Who is benefiting? Who is suffering? How can we meet each person's needs? Is there a better way?

Here are some links to help you understand our current economic situation, and think about our role as Christian peacemakers.

Effects on the rest of the world: United Nations discussion.
Lutheran response to the crisis: ELCA action alert.
What you can do for yourself: Smart saving, banking, investing.
Wall street, creating wealth, and money: David Korten column.

2008-10-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Art and Hope! Peace Leadership Training
In this day-long workshop, we'll use the arts and hands-on activities to explore our hopes for our world and how we can make them a reality. You don't have to consider yourself and "artist" to attend- this is "art" for everyone!

During the day, we will spend time doing personal reflection, group discussion exploring peace and justice, learning skills and tools for making change, collaborating and encouraging each other. No matter how much you know about justice, or how much you have been involved in your community, you should expect to find like-minded friends who will inspire you.

We encourage you to register and come with other friends from your school, school club, youth group, or church. Spread the word!

This workshop is sponsored by us at Lutheran Peace Fellowship, but is open to people from all spiritual traditions (or none at all!). We will do all we can to foster a space that is safe for folks of all race, class, ethnic, gender, religious, ability, and sexual identities. The facilitators are Monica Fisk and Lindsey Bulger, youth trainers with LPF.

When: Saturday, December 6th, from 9am- 5pm.
Where: University Friends Meeting, 4001 9th Ave. NE Seattle, 98105 (University District). For directions, click here.
Cost: $25-50 sliding scale, scholarships available.
To register: email lpfyouth@gmail.com, call (206) 720-0313 ask for Monica or Lindsey.

Join our facebook group! Lutheran Peace Fellowship Youth Group

2008-03-21T11:21:00.001-07:00

Come to our spring training:

Peacemaking in the Real World

Leadership Training in Jesus’ Way of Shalom

April 25-26, 2008
(Friday eve., Saturday all day,
optional Sunday session)

Seattle, WA
Central Lutheran Church
1710 Eleventh Ave., free parking

What? Participants will strengthen their leadership in the biblical vision of peacemaking, conflict transformation, and nonviolence in action. You’ll learn how to help others transcend lethal cultural myths about violence and conflict, and take their next step on Jesus’ way of Shalom.

Why? Many Lutherans feel a new sense of urgency for bringing the gospel vision of shalom to the conflicts we face in our family, workplace, congregation, community, and world. This workshop is designed to help congregation and youth leaders respond more effectively to this need.

How? Participants will learn how to present lively and creative exercises, audiovisuals, & small group discussions on peacemaking. They were refined in sixty intensive and 500 shorter LPF workshops. Outstanding resources on key workshop topics will be available for browsing or purchase.

Cost? The participant fee is just $18 to $150 per person, sliding scale. Scholarship help is available for registration, transportation, etc.; no one is turned away for lack of funds. We encourage local congregations to sponsor youth or adult leaders.

Lead Facilitators:
Monica Fisk is LPF’s Youth Program Coordinator and Trainer and has 6 years experience work-ing with youth in experiential education including nearly two years working with overseas volunteers in Namibia.

Glen Gersmehl’s peacemaking experience includes 10 years work in the highest crime areas of NY City and Oakland, a major role in passing a crucial arms control treaty, and service as US delegate to UN Decade for Peace meetings in India. National Director of LPF since 1994, Glen has written for The Lutheran, Journal of Lutheran Ethics, Newsday, Peace Chronicle, Seattle Times…

For more information or to register:

206.720.0313 lpfyouth@gmail.com

2008-01-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

Youth Network Phone Gatherings

Wanna to get to know other Lutherans who care about peace and justice? Want to know more about LPF peacemaking mini-grants? Want to feel connected and supported in your own peacemaking?

We have scheduled two phone gatherings of Lutheran college and high school youth from across the country, and would love to have you join us.

The goals for these calls are:
1. To get to know each other.
2. To share about the biggest issues in your schools, and ideas for organizing
3. To hear about how LPF support can help with your expenses for peacemaking events or actions on the war in Iraq.

To attend this phone gathering, dial (605) 990-0700 and enter code 164699# on Tuesday, January 29 at 5 pm Central ST (6pm Eastern, 4pm Mountain, 3pm Pacific) or Thursday, January 31 at 7pm Central ST (8pm Eastern, 6pm Mountain, 5pm Pacific). Both calls will be basically the same, and it doesn’t cost anything over your own phone minutes or long distance.

Please let me know if you are planning on calling in, or if you’d like to know more but can’t make the call. Hope to talk with you soon!

Monica
lpfyouth@gmail.com

2008-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Youth Peacemaking Mini-Grants

Hey there, fellow peacemakers, welcome to 2008! Its going to be a big year, I’m sure. Here at LPF, we want to start it out right by supporting your efforts for peace with both encouragement and some cold, hard cash!

So if you or someone you know wants to host a local action against the war in Iraq, and you need a little financial help with that, contact me at lpfyouth@gmail.com. Details below.

What is the purpose?
The Lutheran Peace Fellowship (LPF) is offering small grants to high school and college students and groups in order to support their local organizing for actions and vigils against the war in Iraq. These actions and vigils will be a part of a nationwide, ecumenical “wave” of Christian witnesses.

What sort of “actions” count?
For the purposes of this grant, LPF will consider any action that is 1. nonviolent and 2. provides a public witness against the war or 3. builds bridges between community/religious/school groups. Some examples are a candlelight vigil in a key intersection, a worship service for peace in your church, a march through your campus or town, a student forum about Iraq. We prefer actions to take place during the Lenten season, and they must happen before the end of the school year.

Who is eligible?
Any youth group, student group, or pair of individuals who are in high school or college can apply. If it is a large group, you should choose one point person to fill out the form and talk with me.

How much?
Each group should ask for the amount they need. Most grants will be up to $35, (in some cases higher), depending on the group’s needs and the LPF funds available.

How does it work?
You fill out the form on the next page and email or mail it to LPF. After reviewing your request, we will contact you about how much money we can offer you. You will front the costs of your project, keeping receipts and records which you will then turn in to LPF for reimbursement. When you send in your receipts for reimbursement, you will also send a short report with photos of your event. Then LPF will mail you a check!

Questions?
If you have any questions, want input about your action idea, or need help filling out the form, contact Monica at LPF. Email me at lpfyouth@gmail.com, or call me at (206) 720-0719 on Tuesdays.

Lutheran Peace Fellowship
www.lutheranpeace.org 1710 11th Ave. Seattle, WA 98122 Phone: (206) 720-0719

2008-01-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

December Peace Newsletter

Sowing Seeds of Peace

Lutheran Peace Fellowship Youth Newsletter

Hunger in the Holidays

This morning I was packing food to take to my family’s house for Christmas— some coffee beans, cheese, and tangerines— and was reminded of how hard it is to reconcile my heart for justice with the Christmas traditions I am used to.

How can I enjoy the good food, people, and gifts that are in my life while still honoring all of those who will go hungry, who may have just lost a loved one, or who live with war every day?

I know that you also struggle with how to make the season meaningful while acting on your values of peacemaking. Our challenge is that we each have to find our own balance. This issue provides resources and ideas for a meaningful Christmas, with a specific eye toward hunger worldwide….

Peace and Justice Gifts

Be creative!

o Personalized mix CDs are always hits!

o Make a video of interview/s with family members talking about their childhood, memories of a specific person, etc.

o Pass along your favorite books to people you know would like them too.

Repaint, refurbish, or decorate used pieces of furniture, picture frames, and other items.

Buy fair trade!

o Lutheran World Relief recommends fair trade: www.equalexchange.com

o Ten Thousand Villages indigenous crafts: thousandvillages.com

o SERRV International: www.serrv.org

o PEOPLink grassroots, handmade gifts: peopleink.org/EN/O.html

o Fair Trade Federation: fairtradefederation.org

Give your time!

o Give a monthly lunch/coffee/pizza date to a friend or relative.

o Give vouchers for hours of your time doing yard work, giving massage, tutoring, babysitting, cleaning or running errands.

o Volunteer together at a soup kitchen or shelter.

Resources for Simplicity

Websites

o Alternatives for Simple Living: www.simpleliving.org

o Center for the New American Dream www.newdream.org

o LPF Peace Points: http://www.lutheranpeace.orgBooks

o Simple Living, Compassionate Life, Michael Schut, ed.

o Unfettered Hope: A Call to Faithful Living in an Affluent Society, Marva Dawn.

o Unplug the Christmas Machine, Jo Robinson and Jean Staeheli.

o Simplify and Celebrate, Michael Crosby, Joan Chittister, and other writers.

Scripture and Quotes

o Parable of the rich fool, Luke 12:13-21, also Deut. 24:14-15, Matthew 6:20-34, John 6:12, Acts 4:32-35, I Timothy 6:6-10

o “Justice is sorting out what belongs to whom and returning it to them.” Walter Brueggemanno “Here [in the West] you have a different kind of poverty, a poverty of the spirit, of loneliness, of being unwanted. And that is the worst disease in the world today.” Mother Teresa

Current News

Africa: rainwater collectionIn Zimbabwe, people collect rainwater to ease water shortages in their city.

World: food stocks dwindle The United Nations warns that our food supply is rapidly dwindling and food prices will continue to rise.

US: farm bill disappointsThe Senate approved a farm bill that continues to subsidize wealthy landowners at the expense of conservation, nutrition, and equity.

WA: farming on roofsAt Start Now Farms, folks grow enough produce on their lot and roofs to feed themselves and to sell at a local farmers’ market.

Youth Organizing

Sharing food, breaking laws- Members of Food Not Bombs share food with hungry people in Orlando’s public parks.

Students against hunger-National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness educates, trains, and organizes national student campaigns.

Christian witness for Iraq- National interfaith movement of peace witness against the Iraq war. Local actions across the nation.

Upcoming Events

Global Day of Action- The 2008 World Social Forum will be a week of creative, independent activities worldwide, with actions on January 26, 2008.

Breaking Out! - 2008LSM’s alternative spring break of theological reflection, discussion, and service around poverty and injustice. March 2-7 or 9-14, 2008.

Peace Prize Forum- 20th annual peace conference- a weekend of speakers, workshops, and networking. Look for LPF! March 7-8, Moorhead, MN.

Youth & Arts in Columbia- Share skills and learn with youth-led peace and justice organizations in Columbia as part of this delegation. March 22-30, 2008.

Peacemaker Training- Challenge yourself, gain knowledge and build community with otherdynamic youth organizers! Start thinking now about summer…

Join the Network!

See www.lutheranpeace.org

To get this newsletter in full color with links, contact Monica: lpfyouth@gmail.com

Lutheran Peace Fellowship 1710 11th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 Phone: (206) 720-0313

2007-11-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

November Peace Newsletter

Sowing Seeds of Peace

"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" - James 3:18

Greetings my fellow peacemakers! Ready for the holidays? Are you looking forward to a break from school, anticipating or dreading those holiday parties with relatives? For me it’s a mixture of emotions. I must say though, that this advent season holds an extra bit of light for me- I’m working with LPF again!

After Allyson Fredericksen finished her time here, LPF invited me (Monica Fisk) back to coordinate the youth program. I had worked with the youth program back in ‘02-’03, and loved doing nonviolence trainings, peace advocacy, and networking with passionate Lutheran students. I’m excited to be back, and look forward to building our network of Christian peacemakers!

Especially now, when many of us are feeling overwhelmed by consumerism, social disparity and war, advent is a reminder that we desperately need another way. Even more, advent is a reminder that with grace and faith, we have the power to bring the world into light!

For me, one of the best gifts of peacemaking is experiencing the power of sharing with each other spiritually, emotionally, and physically. When we work together in community toward our common vision of shalom, we are renewed and blessed. This is why this advent season we are focusing on a campaign of witnessing against war and for peace. I hope that you all will join me in planning and attending local vigils and services for peace (see below).

Get involved, take action, carve out some time in this busy season to connect with other committed peacemakers, re-inspire yourself with the power of people, and pray for shalom!

--Monica Fisk

If you have any comments, questions, or further interest in LPF’s youth program, send an e-mail to lpfyouth@gmail.com or lpf@ecunet.org.

Advocacy Alerts:

This Advent- Witness for peace!

If you want to help bring "Peace on Earth" in a real way, we invite you to join Lutheran youth and adult leaders across the country in our growing ecumenical effort -The Christian Peace Witness for Iraq!

What? This advent season, people of faith are putting Christian peacemaking into action as a part of a nationwide campaign of ecumenical advent witnesses. LPF youth are organizing vigils on their campuses, hosting events in their neighborhoods, and encouraging their pastors to include peace witness in church services.

Why? There are growing numbers of people in our communities who don’t have safe place to discuss or express their feelings about the war in Iraq. At the same time, it is unlikely that the Bush administration will change its course on its own. As Christians, we believe we have a role to play in ending the war in Iraq, and want to increase our strength by creating a strong, visible, ecumenical witness.

Who? You and me! Would you consider helping host a local vigil/witness in Advent in your community or school? No matter your situation or experience, your efforts will have a huge impact!

How? Here at LPF, we will have a conference call after Thanksgiving where you can brainstorm with other youth about your event. We can also link you with other folks in your area, and provide event materials (vigil tips, prayers, posters, buttons, etc). Participants register their vigil or event at the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq website, (where there is lots of useful information): http://www.christianpeacewitness.org/. The LPF website has other useful material: http://www.lutheranpeace.org/.

There are other ways to plug into this ecumenical peace witness:
1. join other conference calls with organizers around the country to coordinate our efforts
2. prepare for a Lenten "wave" of vigils and witness,
3. get ready for t he Washington D.C. Christian Peace Witness for Iraq on March 7, 2008 , and legislative advocacy this summer

To get involved, email Monica, LPF youth coordinator, at lpfyouth@gmail.com.
Read more at: http://www.christianpeacewitness.org/.

Hunger Advocacy- Update on the Farm Bill

After passing through the House, the full Senate began debate on the five-year, $286 billion Farm Bill on November 5. The Senate vote on the farm bill will make a critical difference in whether the 2007 farm bill will include changes that benefit hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world and make programs more fair for U.S. farm and rural families.

Because of procedural disputes, there have been no votes on amendments to the bill so far. Democrats tried to break the impasse with a cloture vote on Nov. 16th but failed, so action is stalled, increasing the possibility that the legislation could be delayed until next year. The Senate is now in recess until December 3rd.

Its not clear when the Senate debate will start up again. Senator Reid may bring the bill to the floor in December, or he might wait until the new year. Whenever the debate resumes, we will still want to push for amendments that would improve the farm bill, including the Lugar/Lautenberg Amendment, Grassley/Dorgan Amendment, Brown/Sununu Amendment, Menendez Amendment, and other amendments that strengthen nutrition programs.

If they can’t reach agreement on a new bill, Congress could extend the current legislation. But that would postpone indefinitely the gains for farmers, food stamp recipients and rural communities contained in the new legislation.

In any case, leading hunger advocate organization Bread for the World is encouraging folks to be ready to take action by contacting their senators as soon as the bill returns. You can keep up to date at http://www.bread.org/.

Hunger Advocacy- Support the World Hunger Appeal

One way you can take action on hunger now is through the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The ELCA is committed to supporting people who live in chronic hunger and poverty around the corner and around the world. They carry out relief, development, education and advocacy to end hunger through the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

You can donate directly online at www.elca.org/hunger/howtogive/index.html, or you can encourage your congregation to designate a collection to their crucial programs. Read more at www.elca.org/hunger.

News Articles and Community Events:

We’ll be back next month with Peace and justice news as well as community events. In the meantime, for current news check out http://www.sojo.net/, http://www.commondreams.org/, http://www.alternet.org/.

Do you know of an upcoming event in your community? Email lpfyouth@gmail.com with details to include it in next month’s issue!

2007-08-09T18:37:00.001-07:00

Youth E-News: Sowing Seeds of Peace
"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" - James 3:18

August 9, 2007
A Publication of Lutheran Peace Fellowship
please share with others who might like to see this!

Welcome

What is peace? In a world where violence is everywhere, how do I live nonviolently? When leaders use their faith to go to war, how do I use my faith to promote peace? How do issues of hunger and poverty relate to peacemaking and to my faith?

These are just a few of the questions that have been running through my head over the past year as LPF’s Youth Program Coordinator. When I began this position last August, I thought that I knew a lot about nonviolence and peace. However, I’ve discovered this year that there is always more to learn and new and creative ways to act that I hadn’t even thought of before. As many violent options as there are, there are endless nonviolent options as well.

Tomorrow will be my last day of work at LPF as my year of Lutheran Volunteer Corps comes to an end. I will be moving to San Francisco to work for the Boys & Girls Clubs and plan to eventually attend grad school in public policy. Though I am leaving, I know that I will carry with me all that I have learned this year and will continue to be motivated toward peaceful living by so many of you who pursue peace daily. Thank you all for inspiring me to follow Jesus’ call to shalom, and may you continue to find ways to live lives of peace.

–Allyson Fredericksen

If you have any comments, questions, or further interest in LPF’s youth program, send an e-mail to lpfyouth@gmail.com or lpf@ecunet.org. If you would like to reach me personally after tomorrow, you can email me at allyson.alive@gmail.com.

Issue Highlights:

- News Articles on Peace and Justice – Get the latest on issues of peace and justice around the globe!

- Advocacy Alerts – Vote Out Poverty, the ONE Campaign, Immigration Reform, and Darfur!

- Community News – Work a Day for Peace, Let Justice Roll, and more!

- Spiritual Reflection – Peace Quotes!

News Articles on Peace and Justice

UN Takes Food Aid to Central Africans in Camaroon - The United Nations on Wednesday began distributing food aid to some 26,000 refugees from Central African Republic who have fled to neighboring Cameroon to escape relentless attacks by rebels and bandits. For more on this, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08258980.htm

UN Urges Sudan to Give Chadians Refugee Status - Sudan should grant refugee status to tens of thousands of mostly Arab Chadians who have fled into Darfur to escape violence in their country, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday. For details, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07686338.htm

More Violence in East Timor After Gusmao Appointment - Violence broke out in several districts in East Timor on Tuesday, a day after the controversial appointment of a new government. For more info, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK137105.htm

For more news articles on peace and justice, visit www.alertnet.org

Advocacy Alerts

Vote Out Poverty: Martin Luther King Jr. famously warned that a "a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." Yet despite King's caution, we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a disastrous war in Iraq while 37 million Americans are living in poverty and 3 billion people worldwide live on less than $2 a day. This election season, we can answer Jesus' call to care for the "least of these" by demanding that candidates go on the record with real plans for addressing poverty in the U.S. and around the world. To sign the pledge and Vote Out Poverty, visit www.sojo.net

ONE Campaign: We can be the generation to end world hunger! Too many in the world continue to suffer from poverty, hunger, and disease, and too few are doing anything to stop it. Join the ONE campaign today and urge the United States government to use our resources to help turn the tide against hunger, poverty, and disease. Together, one by one, we can help bring an end to overwhelming global poverty, disease, and hunger. For action ideas and to learn more, see www.one.org, www.elca.org/advocacy/one and www.bread.org

Immigration Reform: It is a sad day in America when partisan politics can sideline one of the most important pieces of legislation to reach the U.S. Congress in years. Despite much hope for a comprehensive immigration bill, Senate immigration bill S 1639 was defeated. What we saw in the United States Senate reinforces the polarization of our political system and condones xenophobia both in our country’s policies and rhetoric. We saw the defeat of reason, compromise and reconciliation. As a result of these political games, the 12 million immigrants living in the shadows of our nation will continue in limbo, living in fear of deportation and separation from family. The legislation may have been defeated, but the issue is far from dead. Families are still in jeopardy, workers are still being exploited and the border is far from secure. Join with thousands of others to continue to call for fair & compassionate immigration reform. For more information, visit www.sojo.net

Darfur: After months of delay, the White House finally announced implementation of "Plan B" sanctions against Sudan, designed to compel the Sudanese government to bring an end to the violence in the nation’s Darfur region. While this is a step in the right direction, unilateral U.S. sanctions will not be enough if not matched by other countries in multilateral sanctions. Now, President Bush must engage U.S. allies and support the necessary UN resolution at the UN Security Council to put pressure on the Sudanese government through sanctions by other allies. Join with thousands of others in calling on President Bush to actively engage others on the UN Security Council to join in implementing sanctions against Sudan while continuing peacekeeping and humanitarian aid for the thousands displaced by this conflict. For more information and ways to get involved, visit www.savedarfur.org

For more ideas, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org and www.sojo.net

Resources

Budget Priorities Computer Activity: As the war continues in Iraq, just how much of the US budget is being spent on military responses to conflict and how much for programs like the Peace Corps and other peacemaking initiatives? LPF's widely-praised Budget Priorities activity examines how the US budget is spent and explores the question "What Really Brings Security?" through vivid graphics and informative activities.

The activity and resource guide are available via our website at www.LutheranPeace.org; both are also available on a CD with supplementary resources for $10 ($4-$8 for LPF members). To order your copy, email lpf@ecunet.org or call (206) 720-0313.

For additional resources, visit www.LutheranPeace.org

ONE Campaign Update

Last month ONE.org commissioned a survey among likely Democratic and Republican primary voters. Below are some of the results from that survey.

*Nearly all Democrats (97%) and 70% of Republicans agree that America's standing has suffered in recent years. In addition to a strong military, Democrats (91%) and Republicans (78%) agree that the United States also needs to improve diplomatic relations by doing more to help improve health, education and opportunities in the poorest countries around the world. Both Democrats (81%) and Republicans alike (70%) agree that reducing poverty, treating preventable diseases and improving education in poor countries around the world will help make the world safer and the United States more secure.

*Democrats and Republicans agree that America has a moral obligation as a compassionate nation to help the world's poorest people through foreign assistance. More than nine in ten Democrats (93%) and 84% of Republicans agree that when millions of children around the world are dying from preventable diseases and hunger, we have a moral obligation to do what we can to help. Similarly, Democrats (90%) and Republicans (85%) agree that it is in keeping with the country's values and our history of compassion to lead an effort to solve some of the most serious problems facing the world’s poorest people.

*When it comes to addressing these issues, Democrats (86%) and Republicans (67%) agree that it is important for Presidential candidates to discuss their plans for addressing global hunger and poverty issues in this campaign. Additionally, eight in ten Democrats (81%) and Republicans (80%) agree that the next president should keep the commitments made by President Bush to prevent and fight the spread of AIDS in Africa

Community News

Anywhere – Work a Day for Peace (September 11-21): The Nonviolent Peaceforce has since 9/11 commemorated this day with fellowship events and calls for peace making. This year, "Work a Day for Peace stretches from 9/11-9/21. 9/21 is the International Day for Peace. Use your creativity to design an activity for one or more the days between 9/11-9/21 and send any funds raised to Nonviolent Peaceforce, 425 Oak Grove St., Minneapolis, MN 55403. This global organization that trains civilians to do peacekeeping uses donations to better be able to respond to the many groups in conflict areas asking for help and support. So far, NP has trained teams working in Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Guatemala. You can help this work of trained civilians grow into mainstream action for peace.

Seattle, WA – Soldiers of Conscience Screening (Fall 07): From West Point grads to drill sergeants, from Abu Ghraib interrogators to low ranking reservist-mechanics; soldiers in the US Army today reveal their deepest moral concerns about what they are asked to do in war. Their message: every soldier wrestles with his conscience over killing. Although most decide to kill, some refuse. Soldiers of Conscience reveals that far more soldiers refuse to kill than we might expect. A week-long screening of this film is currently being organized. If you are interested in helping plan for this screening, email lpfyouth@gmail.com. For more details on the movie, visit www.socfilm.com

Across the US – Christian Peace Witness for Iraq (September and October): Despite outcry from Americans across the political spectrum, the war in Iraq continues. In September, Christians in communities across the United States will enter into continuous witness and vigil until our government ends the war in Iraq. This witness will also be carried out in Washington D.C. as we organize a discipline of public daily worship and prophetic preaching on or near Capitol Hill. Then, in October, the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq will join our sisters and brothers of other faith traditions for a day of public fasting and prayer and a season of discernment of our role in ending the war in Iraq. If you are interested in joining a few dozen people to offer comments on fall CPWI plans, or to find out how you can be involved in these events, email lpf@ecunet.org.

Chelan, WA – “Don’t Hate, Advocate!” Let Justice Roll 2007 (October 6-8): Join with other high school students from the Pacific Northwest in the pursuit of justice. Through service opportunities, speakers, group activities, and more, learn about not only speaking for those without a voice but helping the poor and oppressed find their own voices through advocacy! Remember, “Don’t Hate, Advocate!” For more details visit www.tlc.edu/letjusticeroll

Middle East – Various Trips sponsored by Middle East Fellowship (October and December): MEF works with various church partners in the Middle East to undertake peacebuilding and advocate nonviolence in all sectors of the region. This year there are a number of opportunities to take part in trips to areas of the Middle East. October 19-November 2 there will be a “Holy Land Pilgrimage” for northwest churches, and December 15^th a two-week “Steps of the Magi” will take place. "Steps" is a 2 week long event commencing December 15th at the baptismal site of Jesus (just east of the Jordan River) with pilgrims daily journeying by land to finally arrive in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve to commemorate the gift of God while also distributing "gifts of the Magi" to those encountered along the way. The latter translates into projects that local churches, adult and youth/children's groups can sponsor as practical expressions of their solidarity with the struggling Arabic-speaking Christians of Palestine and their non-Christian neighbors.. For more details, visit www.middleeastfellowship.org

Tijuana, MX – Developing Hearts that Yearn for Justice (January 08): Speakers will include James Forbes, Richard Rohr, Brian Mclaren, Elsa Tamez, Matthew Fox, and Bishop Samuel Ruiz from Chiapas, Mexico. For more details, contact Bill Radata at twobill@cox.net

Do you know of an upcoming event in your community? Email lpfyouth@gmail.com with details to include it in next month’s issue!

Spiritual Reflection

When violence looms around every corner, sometimes it can help to refer to the words of others urging us on to peace. Below are some of my favorite quotes on peace and peacemaking.

“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.” – Black Elk

“There is no time left for anything but to make peacework a dimension of our every waking activity.” – Elise Boulding

‘Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.” – The XIVth Dalai Lama

“We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but on the positive affirmation of peace.” – Martin Luther King, Jr

“This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.” – Peace Pilgrim

“Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent revolt of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution
of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.” – Bishop Oscar Romero

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” – Mother Theresa

2007-07-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

Youth E-News: Sowing Seeds of Peace
"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" - James 3:18

July 20, 2007
A Publication of Lutheran Peace Fellowship
please share with others who might like to see this!

Welcome

While our leaders debate immigration, work to revise the Farm Bill, and discuss global poverty, hard-working people throughout the world barely make enough money to support themselves and their families. Many of these family farmers have been farmers all their lives (as were their parents before them), and now find themselves facing the choice of giving up the only way of life they know and finding low-paying work somewhere else, selling their land and working on it for very low wages for a corporate farm, or keeping their land, continuing to struggle as their crops provide them with less and less income each year.

At the same time that these local farmers struggle to get by, big corporate farms make more money than ever. Through measures in the Farm Bill, farms are given subsidies on commodity crops like corn, rice, and wheat, and most of these subsidies end up going to corporate farms. When these farms flood the market with cheap corn and other commodities, prices go down and family farmers lose out.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus teaches us to uplift rather than oppress, doing for the least of these as we would do for him. As Christians and Americans, though, it is difficult to see the least of these when we are going through the aisles at the grocery store, often looking for the best value for our money. However, food doesn’t grow in the grocery store; people work to get that food to each one of us, and depending on what brands and kinds of food we buy, we support the wages of family farmers or we support the ever-expanding profits of agribusiness.

While the road to a world without poverty is a long one, there are things that we can do in the meantime to help pave the way. We must continue to let our representatives know that crop subsidies shouldn’t go to the already rich corporate farms for flooding the markets. When available, we can buy items that are Fair Trade certified or are local, ensuring that the workers who produced those goods actually see a fair part of the profits. And, though it might be difficult to see the least of these when we’re out shopping, let us consider where all of our goods come from and buy in a spirit that will help uplift the hard working least of these.

–Allyson Fredericksen, LPF Youth Trainer and Program Coordinator

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for future issues, e-mail me at lpfyouth@gmail.com. Also, if you are on Myspace, join our Myspace group at www.groups.myspace.com/lutheranpeace or join our Facebook group at www.facebook.com.

For more information on Fair Trade and Fair Trade items, visit Lutheran World Relief at www.lwr.org.

Issue Highlights:

- News Articles on Peace and Justice – Get the latest on issues of peace and justice around the globe!

- Advocacy Alerts – Vote Out Poverty, the ONE Campaign, Immigration Reform, and Darfur!

- Community News – Work a Day for Peace, Let Justice Roll, and more!

- Spiritual Reflection – An excerpt on Fair Trade!

News Articles on Peace and Justice

Afghanistan: Malaria Cases Set to Rise in 2007 - Flooding, armed conflict and population displacements are factors likely to increase malaria cases in Afghanistan this year, public health officials warn. For more on this story, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/f4cdd964e0884f371af4f1ccb06bc056.htm

Bush Says Won’t Send US Troops to Darfur Alone - President George W. Bush, who has been pushing for the United Nations to take stronger action in Darfur, on Thursday said he would not unilaterally send U.S. troops to that region of Sudan. For details, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19242174.htm

World Struggling to Meet HIV-AIDS: Report - Global AIDS treatment will fall far short of a universal target to have five million people being treated by 2010, due to a continued lack of access to drugs by many of the world's impoverished people, said a new report. The report analysing AIDS treatment in 17 countries and titled "Missing the Target" said free HIV treatment was actually not free in many poor countries. For more info, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP88648.htm

For more news articles on peace and justice, visit www.alertnet.org

Advocacy Alerts

For more ideas, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org and www.sojo.net

Resources

For additional resources, visit www.LutheranPeace.org

Community News

Do you know of an upcoming event in your community? Email lpfyouth@gmail.com with details and I will include it in next month’s issue!

Spiritual Reflection

As Christians, we are called to uplift the poor, and with that comes a call to make choices that uplift rather than oppress. The following excerpt from “Check Please!” by Cathleen Hockman-Wert explores one Christian woman’s journey to eat justly.

What’s not to like about cheap food? Here’s the journey one devout penny-pincher made from spending less to spending for a better world.

Food is Food? If one potato, pound of hamburger, or cup of coffee is basically the same as any other, it makes sense for conscientious consumers to choose based on price. Stretching dollars means having more available to help others.

For me the first step away from giving such priority to the cost of food came by seeing that each item has a story – and that the story behind one potato can be very different from another. Some stories are much more in tune with my values.

If we could read the whole story, we’d know where food was grown, by whom, under what conditions, and for whose profit. Chapters would trace the seeds’ origins and describe the transporting, processing, packaging, and marketing of our food. By the end, we would clearly see our food’s impact on environmental health, our local economies, our neighbors who farm, and on people around the world.

…

Who profits? Today’s global food supply is largely controlled by a few giant transnational corporations, such as Altria (Philip Morris), Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, ConAgra, and General Mills. The major role these businesses play in the story of our food is obscured by the variety of brands that appear on a food product’s “cover.”

For example, in shopping for popcorn I might choose among Act II, Orville Redenbacher, Healthy Choice, and Jiffy Pop. Margarine to pour on top might be Blue Bonnet, Move Over butter, or Parkay. All of these – and 60-plus other brands – are owned by ConAgra.

This is just the beginning. To varying degrees, transnational corporations own or have influence in the entire food production chain – farmland and farm finance, seeds and equipment, fertilizers and pesticides, grain collection and milling, livestock production and slaughtering, and more.

This is bad news for farmers. Agribusinesses determine the price growers must pay for essential inputs, such as seed, and set the price they get for their harvest. Between the two, the farmers’ profit margin squeezes hairline thin, while agribusinesses grow richer.

But the toll on the world’s poor is even graver.

Cheap food reduces hunger? This is where the story of food takes a sadly ironic twist for me, because I come from a religious tradition rooted in farming. In the 1870s, Mennonites famously introduced Turkey Red wheat to Kansas, now the “bread basket of the world.” With other people of faith, we long to heed scripture’s call to feed the hungry. You would think a system that produces an abundance of food would ease the suffering of “the least of these.” Unfortunately, reality isn’t that straightforward.

Much of the conventionally grown food from U.S. corporate farms is subsidized by our government in the form of price supports, tax breaks, and direct payments. As a result, staples such as wheat or rice can be sold at less than their cost of production. Corn – the most heavily subsidized American food crop – sells in Mexico for 25 percent less than it costs to grow.

This sounds good for Mexican consumers, but remember than in many developing countries, 60 t 70 percent of the population makes its living off agriculture. If cheap imports undercut local prices, desperate farmers are forced to sell their land and work for agribusinesses, which then control that land. If wages are inadequate, workers leave to seek jobs in urban areas, creating an influx of labor that drives down wages and increases poverty there, too. Hungry people can’t afford to buy the food they need to survive.

As Tina Rosenberg wrote a couple years ago in The New York Times, “Wealthy countries do far more harm to poor nations with these subsidies than they do good with foreign aid.”

…

Everyone Eats. Changing policies may seem beyond what many of us can do. But we all eat. We all make choices about the foods we buy – choices we can make and reshape through our faith.

…

Grocery shopping is becoming a spiritual discipline for me. When I visit a farmer’s market, when I drink a cup of fairly traded coffee, I’m praying for – and directly investing in – a better world.

It’s a new kind of more-with less: Foods that offer a little more connection, and maybe a little less exploitation. More concern for all of God’s creation, and a little less ecological harm. More stable rural communities, and less consolidation of wealth and power. More health for everyone. More gratitude. And even more joy.

When this article appeared, Cathleen Hockman-Wert – co-author, with Mary Beth Lind, of Simply in Season, a cookbook celebrating fresh, local food – lived in Corvallis, Oregon, where she was an enthusiastic farmers market shopper.

--Check Please! By Cathleen Hockman-Wert
Sojourners Magazine, May 2006 (Vol. 35, No. 5, pp 8-12). Features.

2007-06-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Youth E-News: Sowing Seeds of Peace
"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" - James 3:18

June 22, 2007
A Publication of Lutheran Peace Fellowship
please share with others who might like to see this!

Welcome

Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” As Christians, we are called to be the change in our daily lives, to work for change in our communities and schools, and occasionally, to call out with prophetic voices to our leaders, so they might contribute to changing oppressive systems in the community, national, or global arenas.

June 3^rd through 6^th, I had the opportunity to join with Christians from across the country for fellowship, worship, and action at the Sojourners/Call to Renewal “Pentecost 2007: Taking the Vision to the Streets.” The event, complete with a presidential candidates forum on Faith, Values, and Poverty and a march to the capitol building, was an amazing opportunity to join with fellow people of faith who believe that poverty is a moral issue. Together, we lifted our voices in worship and in discussions on how to bring the issue of poverty to the forefront of our churches, then used those same voices to encourage senators and members of congress to take a stand against poverty.

During the Lobby Day portion of the event, we joined with others from our local areas to speak with legislative staff about poverty. We focused on three current legislative issues: children’s healthcare (specifically the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP), fair and compassionate immigration reform, and the Farm Bill. Inspired by a vision of shalom, we lobbied for programs that help families, uplift the poor, and benefit the global community.

The work that we began at this year’s Pentecost event is not finished – each one of us, whether we went to the event in DC or not, is called to be change and proclaim a need for change. As people of faith, we are to bring the gospel to the world, and part of that gospel is uplifting the oppressed and impoverished. Let us, then, bring a vision of shalom to the streets – to our daily lives, our politics, our prayers, and our interactions, and encourage our leaders to do the same.

–Allyson Fredericksen, LPF Youth Trainer and Program Coordinator

For more information on Sojourners/Call to Renewal, the Pentecost 2007 event, and the Vote Out Poverty campaign, visit www.sojo.net.

Issue Highlights:

- News Articles on Peace and Justice – Get the latest on issues of peace and justice around the globe!

- Advocacy Alerts – Vote Out Poverty, the ONE Campaign, Immigration Reform, and Darfur!

- Community News – Work a Day for Peace, Let Justice Roll, and more!

- Spiritual Reflection – Prophetic Voices!

News Articles on Peace and Justice

Last Year One of Worst Ever for Refugees-UNHCR Chief: Last year was one of the worst for refugees and the crisis is deepening in 2007 thanks to conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan's Darfur region, the United Nation's refugee chief said. As refugee numbers rose for the first time in five years, the number of people displaced within their own borders reached a record high -- more than doubling to almost 13 million, UNHCR said. For more information on this story, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20904353.htm

UN Mission Urges Political Solution in East Congo: U.N. Security Council ambassadors called on Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday to work with neighbouring Rwanda to find a political solution to violence in its eastern border region. Fighting between Tutsi-dominated Congolese army brigades and Rwandan Hutu rebels has led to targeted killing of civilians, rape, and the displacement of more than 120,000 people in Congo's troubled eastern Kivu provinces since January. For details, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20930073.htm

China Says Cancels Debt Owed by Iraq: China on Thursday forgave Iraq's debt owed to the Chinese government and pledged to help rebuild the country's war-shattered economy. "China has always been supportive and has participated in the rebuilding of Iraq," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference. For the full story, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP146251.htm

For more news articles on peace and justice, visit www.alertnet.org

Advocacy Alerts

Immigration Reform: With Congress on the verge of rewriting our nation's immigration laws, too many of the loudest voices being heard are politicians and pundits who seek to scapegoat immigrant workers, falsely blaming them for many of our nation's social and economic problems. Tell Congress: immigration reform must be fair and compassionate. Visit www.sojo.net for more details.

Darfur: The people of Darfur have waited far too long for the world community to get tough with Sudan. Although Plan B was developed last year, it has been repeatedly delayed for nearly five months despite Sudan repeatedly missing deadlines to cooperate. The people of Darfur cannot afford further delays. If Plan B is to have any chance at success, President Bush must make the adoption of matching international sanctions a top priority, and that effort must begin at the UN Security Council. Urge President Bush to fully engage America's allies and support the necessary UN resolution at the Security Council. To sign the petition and for more details, visit www.savedarfur.org

For more ideas, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org and www.sojo.net

Resources

Global Directory of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution Programs: The 7th edition of the Global Directory of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution programs is now available in print and as a constantly updated online resource. You can order just the book or the database, or both. This comprehensive guide to peace studies and conflict resolution programs profiles over 450 undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral programs, centers and institutes worldwide. For details, visit http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/globaldirectory/

For additional resources, visit www.LutheranPeace.org

Community News

Middle East – Various Trips sponsored by Middle East Fellowship (Summer and Fall): MEF works with various church partners in the Middle East to undertake
peacebuilding and advocate nonviolence in all sectors of the region. This year there are a number of opportunities to take part in trips to areas of the Middle East. During the summer, month-long “Cultural Connections” trips will take place in Bethlehem and Damascus. October 19-November 2 there will be a “Holy Land Pilgrimage” for northwest churches. For more details, visit www.middleeastfellowship.org

Also, a correction: In last month’s issue, the events from Wake Forest, NC, should have been Wake County, NC. We apologize for the mix-up.

Do you know of an upcoming event in your community? Email lpfyouth@gmail.com with details and I will include it in next month’s issue!

Spiritual Reflection

As Christians, we are called to uplift the poor and oppressed through our actions and, when needed, through prophetic voices. If we are to truly be the change we wish to see in this world, we must act toward making this world a more just place for all. Throughout the centuries, prophets from many cultures have cried out for action and reminded us of our duty to our impoverished sisters and brothers. May the words of these prophets of the past stir in us a fire for action and a compassion for the world.

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Because there is global insecurity, nations are engaged in a mad arms race, spending billions of dollars wastefully on instruments of destruction, when millions are starving. And yet, just a fraction of what is extended so obscenely on defense budgets would make a real difference in enabling God's children to fill their stomachs, be educated, and be given the chance to lead fulfilled and happy lives.” – Desmond Tutu

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” – Elie Wiesel

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life…” – Nelson Mandela

“Oppression can only survive through silence.” – Carmen de Monteflores

“Who can protest and does not, is an accomplice in the act.” – The Talmud

“The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding and the development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share.” – 14^th Dalai Lama

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“This is not about charity, it's about justice... The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty - I didn't say that, Colin Powell said that . . . In these disturbing and distressing times, surely it's cheaper, and smarter, to make friends out of potential enemies than it is to defend yourself against them..Justice is the surest way to get peace.” – Bono

“From the cowardice that dare not face new truth, From the laziness that is contented with half truth, From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth, Good Lord, deliver us.” – Kenyan Prayer

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“True compassion is more than throwing a coin to a beggar. It demands of our humanity that if we live in a society that produces beggars, we are morally commanded to restructure that society.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.” – Leonardo da Vinci

“It would be blasphemy against God and our neighbor to leave the hungry unfed while saying that God is closest to those in deepest need. We break bread with the hungry and share our home with them for the sake of Christ’s love, which belongs to the hungry as much as it does to us. If the hungry do not come to faith, the guilt falls on those who denied them bread. To bring bread to the hungry is preparing the way for the coming of grace.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2007-05-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

Youth E-News: Sowing Seeds of Peace
"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" - James 3:18

May 18, 2007
A Publication of Lutheran Peace Fellowship
please share with others who might like to see this!

Welcome

At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, 189 Heads of Government pledged to end poverty by 2015. They signed the Millennium Declaration, promising to "free men, women and children from the dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty," committing developed and developing countries alike to eight Millennium Development Goals. These goals include:

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce Child Mortality
Improve Maternal Health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability
Create a Global Partnership for Development with targets on aid, debt and trade.

As Christians, Jesus has called us to welcome the oppressed and hungry with respect and compassion, just as we would welcome Jesus. As Jesus said in Matthew 25, "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."

In a world with so much wealth, global poverty is preventable, but we must work together. Through events like info fairs on the Millennium Development Goals, worship services, and workshops, we can help learn more and spread the word. Jesus calls us not only to learn, but to act, and we can act through traditional means such as letter writing campaigns, but also through creating works of art, music, and writing; organizing concerts to support the Goals; or bicycling across the country.

The Millennium Development Goals can become a reality, but to do so we need to join in and take action to welcome our impoverished sisters and brothers to a respected place at the table. As Christians, we are called to see Jesus in the face of each hungry person, and so to welcome and provide for those who hunger as we would provide for Jesus himself.

–Allyson Fredericksen, LPF Youth Trainer and Program Coordinator

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for future issues, e-mail me at lpfyouth@gmail.com. Also, if you are on myspace, join our myspace group at www.groups.myspace.com/lutheranpeace

For more on the Millennium Development Goals and what you an do to act, visit the following links:

www.millenniumcampaign.org

www.one.org

www.elca.org/advocacy

www.bread.org

www.undp.org

Issue Highlights:

- Workshops Available – Bring Peace and Justice to your community!

- News Articles on Peace and Justice – Get the latest on issues of peace and justice around the globe!

- Advocacy Alerts – The ONE Campaign, Darfur, and Making Work Work!

- Community News – Millennium Development Goals Fair, Pentecost 2007, and more!

- Spiritual Reflection – More Than Random Acts of Kindness!

Workshops Available!

Are you interested in hosting an LPF workshop? This year, we are offering workshops on the following:

- Cycles of Violence and Nonviolence
- Christian Peacemaking
- From Violence to Wholeness
- Hunger and Conflict
- How to Be a Bridge in a World Full of Walls
- Breaking the Silence: A Christian Response to Domestic Abuse
- Leadership Training for Peacemakers

Each workshop is highly participatory and activity-based, helping participants gain insight by doing, not only by hearing or reading. We can also help your group plan and lead successful activities or workshops on these and other topics. If you or someone you know are interested, email me at lpfyouth@gmail.com or call the LPF office at 206-720-0313.

News Articles on Peace and Justice

Hunger's Global Hotspots: Ten countries where violence persists and populations live in fear. People in Hunger's Global Hotspots don't know what tomorrow will bring and they often have to rely on WFP for their next meal. For more on this, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/WFP/5546c831f2dd924eabd27084e7385532.htm

"Get Real" and Save Indian Youth from AIDS – Official: Six states in India , which has the most people living with HIV/AIDS in the world, have banned sex education for adolescents or refused to implement the curriculum, saying the course material was too explicit or that it was against Indian culture. For the full story, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP121110.htm

400 Million People Live in "Minefields" – Report: Some 400 million people around the world live and work in what are effectively minefields, at daily risk of death or maiming by cluster bombs, according to a report issued on Wednesday. For details, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16202333.htm

Burundi – Armed Banditry, Sexual Violence Increasing: Human rights violations, including executions by armed bandits and sexual violence against women and children, have continued in Burundi despite an improvement in the political landscape, a national watchdog has said. For more information, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/18f84cc060b12c166be678c76c5698c7.htm

For more news articles on peace and justice, visit www.alertnet.org

Advocacy Alerts

Darfur: More than four months have passed since the original January 1st deadline President Bush set for the Sudanese government to cooperate with efforts to end the genocide and the Sudan has just missed yet another "last chance" deadline. The people of Darfur can't afford any more "last chances" for Sudan. It's time to launch "Plan B!" Urge the White House to enact and enforce the tough sanctions it's been threatening since January without any further delays. To sign the petition and for more details, visit www.savedarfur.org

Make Work "Work:" Increase Minimum Wage: Work must "work" for families, and increasing the minimum wage can help. The House has done its part by passing a bill to increase the minimum wage, and now the issue has moved to the Senate, where a tougher battle is underway. This minimum wage increase for our low-income workers is a moral issue, and it should not be derailed by partisan politics, bad amendments, or delaying tactics. For information on contacting your Senators and other ways you can help, visit www.sojo.net

Justice in the Gulf Coast: The rich have rebuilt in many areas of the Gulf Coast (the casinos, the hotels, restaurants, and the rich people), but those who aren't as wealthy are having great difficulty repairing their house so that is livable! While the federal government neglects its responsibilities, grassroots groups rooted in the Gulf Coast's African-American communities have launched efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast from the ground up. For information on how you can be a part of restoring and rebuilding the Gulf Coast, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3103

For more ideas, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org and www.sojo.net

Resources

Community News

Seattle, WA - U2Charist and Millennium Development Goals Fair (May 27): Hosted by Church of the Apostles at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. At the fair, national and local organizations committed to the Millennium Development Goals will offer information and resources related to their organization and the MDGs. For more details or to find out about how your organization can take part, email Sara Collins at sara@apostleschurch.org

Middle East – Various Trips sponsored by Middle East Fellowship (Summer and Fall): MEF works with various church partners in the Middle East to undertake peacebuilding and advocate nonviolence in all sectors of the region. This year there are a number of opportunities to take part in trips to areas of the Middle East. During the summer, month-long "Cultural Connections" trips will take place in Bethlehem and Damascus . October 19-November 2 there will be a "Holy Land Pilgrimage" for northwest churches. For more details, visit www.middleeastfellowship.org

Tijuana, MX – Developing Hearts that Yearn for Justice (January 08): Speakers will include James Forbes, Richard Rohr, Brian Mclaren, Elsa Tamez, Matthew Fox, and Bishop Samuel Ruiz from Chiapas, Mexico . For more details, contact Bill Radata at twobill@cox.net

Wake Forest, NC – Say No to Torture: The North Carolina Council of Churches is working with NC Stop Torture Now to investigate a CIA-front organization known to operate "torture taxis" to fly people to be tortured outside of the US, as suspects in the "war on terror." A bill allowing a grand jury in NC to investigate the situation there, and forbidding any NC actors from complicity in torture, was heard in the House Judiciary Committee. To find out more about what the NC Council of Churches is doing and how you can help stop torture, visit www.nccouncilofchurches.org.

Wake Forest, NC - Wake Lutheran Peace Fellowship: Wake Lutheran Peace Fellowship has been actively involved with our local CHOICES program. CHOICES is a coalition dedicated to teaching nonviolence and promoting local civilian job opportunities for high school students. They provide an alternative to the active military presence at high schools. They help students to think about their interests, personal strengths, beliefs, and values. CHOICES assists young people as they look at careers, and vocational and educational funding opportunities outside of military service – for example, Job Corps and AmeriCorps – so that they may make informed decisions about their futures. CHOICES has developed a brochure entitled "What's Next After High School" that explores a variety of possible career opportunities.

CHOICES was asked to give guidance to a peace activist in another part of the state. She had tried to distribute information to high school students in her district regarding alternatives to military service on the same basis and to the same extent as military recruiters were being allowed access to students for purposes of recruiting. This person was repeatedly denied access to distribute the information. Just recently there was a successful resolution of a two-year struggle between this dedicated peace activist and her school district when she was finally permitted full and equal access to students in the district's high schools.

CHOICES is making a difference in the lives of students who seek direction as they look at choices after graduation from high school.

Do you know of an upcoming event or other peace-related news in your community? Email lpfyouth@gmail.com with details and I will include it in next month's issue!

Spiritual Reflection

As exclaimed by so many involved in the ONE Campaign and the Millennium Development Goals, we can be the generation to end world hunger, but it will take all of us. The Millennium Development Goals will be achieved, not in the United Nations or even in the halls of Congress, but in the actions of people, individually and in community, who seek peace with justice for each person on God's earth.

The following is an excerpt from Ending Hunger Now: A Challenge to Persons of Faith, by George McGovern, Bob Dole, and Donald E. Messer.

"More Than Random Acts of Kindness"

I know a person who every day prepares two sandwiches for lunch at work. One he eats himself, and the other he gives to the homeless man who sits on the street near his high-rise business complex. I admire his commitment to feeding a hungry person. His family's faithfulness in caring for this individual is commendable, and I am embarrassed by my own lack of systematic personal attention to persons in need.

Without denigrating the sincerity and substance of this genuine and generous approach to sharing, it is yet evident that hunger in the United States and throughout the world requires more than random acts of kindness. However well-intended, this daily gift is a reminder of the disparity of power between the rich and the poor as well as the limits of a society based simply on charity rather than on justice. The right to eat in a world overflowing with God's abundant food ought not to be dependent on random kindness or fortuitous benevolence. No matter how good-hearted the food donor is, the recipient is reduced to five sandwiches a week and none on holidays. Jesus commended the Good Samaritan for his action in providing care for the man who was beaten and left by robbers (Luke 10:25-37). What he did was especially meritorious, considering how priests and Levites were apparently too busy and self-absorbed. Probably they were neither evil people, nor even lacking compassion, but maybe, like me, they tended to be too caught up in their own lives to be concerned about the lives of others. Possibly they were even promoting some grand scheme to save people from abuse along the highways. But in the process they, like some of us, forgot to care for the immediate person in need.

A Good Samaritan in our era must not only give personal attention to the wounded, but be committed to finding practical personal and political ways of preventing highway muggings. When it comes to ending hunger in our time, Good Samaritans must not only share something specific and personal, but also be involved socially and politically. Only then can love and justice appropriately be expressed. As television journalist and social commentator Bill Moyers observes:

Charity is commendable; everyone should be charitable. But justice aims to create a social order in which, if individuals choose not to be charitable, people still don't go hungry, unschooled, or sick without care. Charity depends on the vicissitudes of whim and personal wealth; justice depends on commitment instead of circumstance. Faith-based charity provides crumbs from the table; faith-based justice offers a place at the table.

2007-04-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

Youth E-News: Sowing Seeds of Peace
"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" - James 3:18

April 25, 2007
A Publication of Lutheran Peace Fellowship
please share with others who might like to see this!

Welcome

Violence is all around us. Just over a week ago, the campus of Virginia Tech was swarmed by violence as 32 students and faculty members were shot by a student who then took his own life. In the days since, discussions of violence on campuses and on gun violence have led the news as questions of “how can we better protect ourselves?” and “who do we blame?” became top stories. As the largest shooting in the United States, the shooting at Virginia Tech brought a human face as loved ones remembered their friends and family lost.

This past week, the news also brought us stories of violence in other parts of the world: bombings throughout the Middle East, continued fighting in Iraq, a suspension of aid in parts of Darfur because of increased violence, among others. In these stories of violence, however, there were few faces to connect the stories with humanity, and those killed only added to the existing death tolls as mere statistics.

On Wednesday, I was at a college campus in Southern California to take part in their annual Take Back the Night, an event protesting domestic violence and sexual assault. In our discussions on Christian responses to domestic violence and how campuses can help minimize domestic abuse, examples of violence such as hitting, yelling, and strangling came easily to mind. As we looked deeper, however, other images of domestic violence became more clear: needing to always be right, reacting to being hurt by desiring to “teach them a lesson,” ignoring a partner or immediately changing the subject, complete economic control by one person, making one partner always feel guilty. The face of domestic abuse that most of us recognize is that of a bruised and battered woman; in our discussions, however, we found that most domestic violence leaves no physical scars and can be nearly silent. We realized that many of us taking part in the discussion knew someone or perhaps had even been in a relationship that would qualify as violent with these new definitions: in fact, the face of domestic violence was nearly everywhere we looked.

There is little denying that we live in a violent world; when we look at expanded definitions of violence that include more than physical assault, we see that the violence in the world around us is even more prevalent than we first thought. This thought can be overwhelming, especially when we include the violence of choosing who gets resources and who does not or which countries get to choose. However, in this expanded notion, there is hope: just as violence is broader than we might think, nonviolence and constructive programs to stem violence are also broader than simply trying to stop someone with a gun or a bomb.

As Christians, we are also encouraged by the message of shalom brought by Jesus. We are called to welcome the outcast and the beggar, to help stop physical violence before it begins. Following Jesus’ example, we can use creative nonviolence and look to the needs of our fellow humanity, building up relationships and calling out injustice everywhere so that no children of God are left wanting. Through participation in events like the Global Days for Darfur, to conversations with those with whom we disagree, to helping ensure that no one is without food or clean water, to anything that helps build community and not walls, we can follow in Jesus’ way of shalom and help bring about a more peaceful and less violent world.

“The followers of Christ have been called to peace. And they must not only have peace, but also make it. To that end they renounce all violence. In the case of Christ nothing is gained by such methods. His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering rather than inflict it n others, renounce hatred, maintain fellowship where others would break it off. In so doing they overcome evil with good and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

–Allyson Fredericksen, LPF Youth Trainer and Program Coordinator

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for future issues, e-mail me at lpfyouth@gmail.com. Also, if you are on myspace, join our myspace group at www.groups.myspace.com/lutheranpeace

Issue Highlights:

- Workshops Available – Bring Peace and Justice to your community!

- News Articles on Peace and Justice – Get the latest on issues of peace and justice around the globe!

- Advocacy Alerts - Find out how you can get involved in putting an end to the Darfur conflict, raising the minimum wage in the US, and helping put an end to world hunger!

- Community News – Global Days for Darfur, Pentecost 2007, and more!

- Spiritual Reflection – Live the call for shalom!

Workshops Available!

Are you interested in hosting an LPF workshop? This year, we are offering workshops on the following:

News Articles on Peace and Justice

Aid Groups Halt Work in Western Darfur Border Area: Several international aid agencies said on Monday they were suspending their work in the town of Um Dukhun in Sudan's troubled Darfur region because of attacks on them…. the decision would disrupt services to some 100,000 people in the area near the border with Chad and Central African Republic. For more on this, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23207135.htm

Thousands of Desperate Somalis Fleeing Mogadishu as Aid Agencies Struggle to Meet Needs: Describing a scene of growing chaos, a UNHCR staff member in Afgooye, 30 kms west of Mogadishu, said a road linking the two areas had reopened on Monday morning and was filled with a continuous flow of displaced people. He said the Afgooye area was jammed with more than 41,000 displaced people, and hungry and thirsty crowds were becoming increasingly difficult to control. For details, visit http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/UNHCR/2417e8e9a356f6270fd22349f6eef4fe.htm

South Korean Aid to North Korea Conditional on Disarmament Moves: South Korea's top official on North Korea stressed Monday that delivery of promised rice aid to Pyongyang depends on whether the communist nation lives up to its commitment to start dismantling its nuclear weapons program. For the whole story, visit http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/04/23/koreas.nuclear.ap/index.html

For more news articles on peace and justice, visit www.alertnet.org

Advocacy Alerts

A Week of Events for Darfur: Activists across the world have come together to plan "Global Days for Darfur III" - a week of rallies, marches, vigils and other events designed to make it clear that "time has run out" for the people of Darfur. Will you please join us and thousands of committed Darfur activists the week of April 23rd - 30^th? We must call attention to the escalating violence and the continued failure of the international community to adequately respond to this crisis. To find an event near you or on information for creating your own event, as well as details on the ongoing crisis in Darfur, visit www.savedarfur.org

Make Work “Work:” Increase Minimum Wage: Work must "work" for families, and increasing the minimum wage can help. The House has done its part by passing a bill to increase the minimum wage, and now the issue has moved to the Senate, where a tougher battle is underway. This minimum wage increase for our low-income workers is a moral issue, and it should not be derailed by partisan politics, bad amendments, or delaying tactics. For information on contacting your Senators and other ways you can help, visit www.sojo.net

ONE Campaign: Once you have heard about the ONE campaign, visited the website, and bought the bracelet, don’t forget about it! Too many in the world continue to suffer from poverty, hunger, and disease, and too few are doing anything to stop it. Join the ONE campaign today and urge the United States government to use our resources to help turn the tide against hunger, poverty, and disease. Together, one by one, we can help bring an end to overwhelming global poverty, disease, and hunger. For action ideas and to learn more, see www.one.org, www.elca.org/advocacy/one and www.bread.org

For more ideas, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org and www.sojo.net

Resources

Community News

Seattle, WA – Lutheran Volunteer Corps Puget Sound Office Has Moved!:

New address is 911 Stewart St, Seattle, WA 98117. Phone # 206-709-8690 and email pugetsound@lutheranvolunteercorps.org remain the same.

Around the World - Global Days for Darfur III (April 23^rd – 30^th): We must call attention to the escalating violence and the continued failure of the international community to adequately respond to this crisis. To find an event near you or on information for creating your own event, as well as details on the ongoing crisis in Darfur, visit www.savedarfur.org

Bellingham, WA – Join Hands Day at Camp Lutherwood (May 5):
Saturday, May 5^th, 2007 from 9am – 5pm, bring your work gloves and favorite tools. Lutherwood will be providing a free BBQ lunch to all volunteers. All ages and skill levels are welcomed. This is a great opportunity for families, students, retirees and friends to connect and serve together. Call Bob Merrill, Camp Director at 360-303-7930 or the office at 360-734-7652 for more information. www.camplutherwood.org 1185 Roy Road, Bellingham WA 98229.

Chelan, WA –Youth Weekends at Holden Village (May): Registration for this coming May's Holden Youth Weekends is now open. The theme for the weekends is Christian Service (part of which is advocacy). Registration information is available at www.tlc.edu/cyfcenter or call 425-961-5544.

Seattle, WA - U2Charist and Millennium Development Goals Fair (May 27): Hosted by Church of the Apostles at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. At the fair, national and local organizations committed to the Millennium Development Goals will offer information and resources related to their organization and the MDGs. For more details or to find out about how your organization can take part, email Sara Collins at sara@apostleschurch.org

Washington, DC – Pentecost 2007: Taking Vision to the Streets (June 3-6): At this Pentecost gathering, we want to move boldly against poverty by calling together new partners and seizing new opportunities for the implementation of our initiative: the Covenant for a New America. The covenant is an anti-poverty platform and vision that calls our elected leaders and political candidates to enact solutions that transcend ideology–that stress both personal and social responsibility and insist that overcoming poverty must become a non-partisan issue and a bi-partisan cause. For more details, visit http://go.sojo.net/sojourners/events/Pentecost/details.tcl

Local and National Opportunities to Serve

Lutheran Volunteer Corps: The Lutheran Volunteer Corps is a one-year, full-time domestic volunteer program that offers people a challenging year of spiritual and personal exploration while working for social justice, living in intentional community and simplifying their lifestyles.

Volunteers provide direct service to people in need, organize their communities for social and political change, and advocate for better policies on a wide variety of issues. Most positions are entry level and require little or no previous experience except a passion for social justice, flexibility, and a sense of humor!

LVC is on a Journey to an Inclusive Community, forming and strengthening alliances among people of many cultures and communities, and intentionally dismantling racism within LVC, the church and society. As a Reconciling in Christ organization, LVC welcomes and encourages the participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in all aspects of LVC. LVC volunteers come from a wide variety of faith backgrounds, and do not need to be Lutheran. Married and committed partners are welcome to apply. While there is no upper age limit, volunteers should be at least 21 to participate. The program begins in late August of each year. The next application deadline is May 1st. Contact Kelly Shinn, Recruitment Coordinator, at 202-387-3222 or lvcrecruitment@lutheranvolunteercorps.org for more information.

Lutherwood Join Hands Day: Join hands with your neighbors and friends on Saturday, May 5^th, for Join Hands Day at Lutherwood Camp and Retreat Center near Bellingham, WA. Help prepare the facility for the hundreds of kids who will come to camp this summer.

Join Hands Day is a national day of volunteerism that encourages people to connect with their neighbors through service, giving back for a good cause. Join Hands Day is sponsored by fraternal organizations, including Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

Please join Lutherwood for this wonderful opportunity to give back to the community. Call Bob Merrill, Camp Director at 360-303-7930 or the office at 360-734-7652 for more information. www.camplutherwood.org 1185 Roy Road, Bellingham WA 98229.

Spiritual Reflection

Violence is not only shooting, bombing, or strangling; likewise, peace is more than just the absence of such physical acts. Christ calls us to a greater level of peace: that of shalom, including community, relationships, and respect, as well as peace with justice. While in Washington, DC, for Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, we handed out thousands of small cards with quotes and bible verses on peace and nonviolence (as well as statistics on the war in Iraq). Below are some of the quotes and verses included in those cards. In a world so saturated with violence, let us not give up hope, but instead find and build lasting peace through the example of Jesus.

“There remains an experience of incomparable value…to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective of the outcast, the suspects, ,the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed, the reviled – in short, from the perspective of those who suffer…to look with new eyes on matters great and small.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Where love is, what can be wanting? Where it is not, what can possibly be profitable?” – St. Augustine

“You have heard that it was said, ‘love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’” – Matthew 5:43-48

“I have called you and given you power to see that justice is done on earth.” – Isaiah 42:6

“Love must be learned again and again; there is no end to it. Hate needs no instruction, but waits only to be provoked.” – Katherine Anne Porter

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you would like a complete set of all of our Peace Cards, call the LPF office at 206-323-7007 or email lpfyouth@gmail.com