Full Article:
Events
God, Gays, and Faith: Journeys in Challenging Terrain, 4/12, 7:30pm, Lexington, MA, A panel featuring three clergy of differing traditions talking about how they experience the intersection of faith and homosexuality; featuring Rabbi Steven Greenberg, Openly gay Orthodox rabbi, author, social activist; Rev. Zina Jacque, Baptist minister, former Executive Director of Boston's Ten Point Coalition, Rev. Walter Cuenin, Roman Catholic chaplain at Brandeis University, Moderated by Maggie Herzig, Public Conversation Project Founder, author, dialogue facilitator; sponsored by the Lexington Respecting Differences Coalition, Hancock United Church of Christ, 1912 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA, Free, 781/862-4220, www.hancockchurch.org [5]
The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, 4/12, 4-6:30pm, Is forgiveness possible after collective violence? Simon Wiesenthal was confronted with this question when, as a Jew imprisoned in a concentration camp, a dying SS officer asked him for forgiveness. In his book The Sunflower, he invited us to reflect on the possibilities and limits of forgiveness. Explore the book and share ways to incorporate it into your classroom. www.facinghistory.org [6]
Iraqi Women between Dictatorships, War, Sanctions, and Occupation, 4/15, 3-5pm, meet feminist, author, and Iraqi women's spokesperson, Nadje Al-Ali, a senior lecturer in social anthropology at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. Author of Iraqi Women: Untold Stories from 1948 to the Present (forthcoming, March 2007, Zed Publishers). MIT Building E51-095, 2 Amherst St. (between Main & Memorial Drive, 2 short blocks from Kendall T), Cambridge, MA; Cambridge Peace Commission, 51 Inman St., Cambridge MA 02139; 617/349-4694; choffman@ci.cambridge.ma.us [7]
March for Jobs and CORI Reform, 4/19, 10am, Roxbury Crossing T-Stop at Columbus & Tremont; March to the Massachusetts State House; rain location: 1pm in the State House; A criminal record too often prevents ex-cons from obtaining jobs, increasing the difficulties of people transitioning from prison; Boston Workers Alliance, 617/427-8108; www.bostonworkersalliance.org [8]
Biojustice 2007, 5/4-5/9, Protest the Biotech Industry Conference, Celebrate Alternatives; 5/4, 7-9 pm, International Farmers Speak Out, with Anna Lappé, Ignacio Chapela, representatives of international farmers' movements, music, Old South Church, Copley Square; 5/5, 11am, Wake up the Earth parade, begins Corner of Centre St. and South Street Adjunct in Jamaica Plain, Boston; 12-5pm, Wake up the Earth Festival in Jamaica Plain (Boylston and Lamartine Sts./Stony Brook T stop), with speakers, music, tables, kids' games; 5/6, 11am-1pm: Environmental Justice tour and puppet parade in Roxbury, with SafetyNet and other local groups; 1-4 pm, Community gathering in Blackstone Park (Roxbury), with festivities, and a panel of speakers on the proposed BU bioweapons lab; 5/7, 9:30am-12:30pm, Volunteering at the Food Project Garden in Dorchester, www.biodev.org [9]
Sister City Delegation from Las Flores, El Salvador visits Cambridge MA, 5/10-5/18, Call to invite the delegation; Concert for Sistering, 5/12, 7pm, Old Cambridge Baptist Church, 1151 Mass. Ave. Cambridge Peace Commission, 51 Inman St., Cambridge MA 02139; 617/349-4694; choffman@ci.cambridge.ma.us [10]
11th annual Mothers Walk for Peace, 5/13, Townfield Park, Fields Corner, Dorchester, MA. A fundraiser to benefit the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. The walk honors families and friends -- particularly mothers -- who have lost children to murder or to prison, affirms its commitment to healing and peace through nonviolence, and celebrates the seeds of positive change at the heart of community. Folks from Boston and beyond are encouraged to participate, getting sponsorship from their workplace or faith community or recruiting their own walk teams. Registration, 7am. The 3.6 mile walk starts promptly at 8:30 and ends by 10:30. Pledge sheets, registration and info about the Institute: www.louisdbrownpeaceinstitute.org [11], or call 617/825-1917
AFSC-CT Annual dinner featuring Anthony Arnove, 5/19, 5:30-9pm, Arnove is the author of Iraq: the logic of Withdrawal; we'll also honor CT activists; Polish National Home, 60 Charter Oak Ave, Hartford, CT, 860/523-1534, connecticut@afsc.org [12], www.afsc.org/ct [13]
The Amazingly Queer Race for Economic Justice in NYC - 5/19, raise awareness and support for Queers for Economic Justice; help further the groundbreaking social and political work we do for low-income New Yorkers. Join us in this race with a cause! www.queersforeconomicjustice.org [14]
The World Says No to Israeli Occupation! 6/10-11; Rally, teach-in, and grassroots lobbying day in Washington, DC; the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and United for Peace and Justice sponsor a two-day mobilization to protest the 40th anniversary of Israel's illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, POB 21539, Washington, DC 20009, 202/332-0994, us_campaign@endtheoccupation.org [18], www.endtheoccupation.org [19]
Gatherings
Achieving Global Energy Security, 4/13, 8:30 am-4 pm; University of Southern Maine, Portland ME; a conference to connect the ork of organizations & individuals concerned about energy policy, nuclear issues, global warming, preemptive war strategy in general and the Iraq War in particular; with Mary-Wynne Ashford, Michael Renner, Catherine Thomasson, & Cameron Wake; for more information or to register in advance, contact the Maine chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, 207/772-6714; www.psrmaine.org [20]
Alternatives to Empire: Latin American Solidarity Conference, 4/14-15; Chicago IL; Latin America Solidarity Coalition, www.lasolidarity.org [21]
13th annual HOPE (Help Organize Peace Earthwide) Festival, 4/21, with sixty organizations, music, children's program, more, 10 AM-4 PM, Memorial Gym Field House, University of Maine, Orono. Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine, 942-9343 or info@peacectr.org [22] or www.peacectr.org [23].
Clean Clothes & Fair Food: A Conference to Promote Justice in Factories & Fields, 4/27-29; Columbia Law School, New York City; the conference will provide information & skills to support communities, groups, & individuals in creating more socially responsible economic models that ensure the human rights of workers & respect the environment; learn more & register on-line at www.sweatfree.org [24]
Why Dialogue? (and when, and how, and where?) A Conference for community Groups, Researchers, teachers, Students, & Others, 6/15-16; New York City; We will consider the place of dialogue in democratic & global societies, examine the uses of dialogue in education, negotiation, & conflict resolution, examine the challenges in engaging in dialogue, & provide forum for networking; sponsored by the Network for Peace through Dialogue, 212/426-5818; www.networkforpeace.com [25]
Quaker Initiative to End Torture (QUIT) 2nd Annual Conference, 6/1-3; Greensboro NC; QUIT is the spiritual work of Quakers to end torture. Minutes of support for this new work have come from numerous Monthly and Yearly Meetings to declare that torture is always immoral, illegal, and abhorrent. We began with a conference held in June 2006 for education leading to action. We will begin in the silence of worship, waiting upon that leading to surrender our worldly obstacles, and continue in reverence, as the work is large and will take more than good intentions or a mere generation. Keynote by Alfred McCoy; for more information visit www.quit-torture-now.org [26]
US Social Forum, 6/27-7/1; Atlanta GA; come to connect with others, share your story, gain leadership skills, get inspired, link with a global movement that is changing the world; www.ussf2007.org [27]
Baptist Peace Fellowship Peace Camp, 7/23-7/28, Berea College, Berea, KY, As the Powers Fall: Sustaining Our Faith and One Another as Empire Crumbles, a week of challenge and sustenance, gathering and nurture, training and fun, community and learning, protest and art, music and worship, a wekk to renew your focus, your energy, your work, your spirit; Rev. LeDayne McLeese Polaski, BPFNA, 4800 Wedgewood Drive, Charlotte, NC 28210, 704/521-6051, ledayne@bpfna.org [28], www.bpfna.org [29]
Campaigns
Stop Violence Against Women and Girls, a petition to Fund programs that prevent violence and respond to 1) Fund programs that prevent violence and respond to incidents of rape against women and girls. 2) Support efforts to help women and girls recover their dignity, health, livelihood, and families, 3) Include anti-sexual violence initiatives in relevant international assistance programs, Sponsored by the The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children of the International Rescue Committee; online petition at http://ga3.org/campaign/stopviolence [30],
Opportunities
Patricia Watson Activist Journalism Internship for Young Writers of Color; In memory of our former editor, Patricia Watson, Peacework is pleased to announce a new paid summer internship program for aspiring activism-oriented journalists of color, 18-24 years of age. Send resume and cover letter by May 1, 2007 to Phyllis Cohen, AFSC, 2161 Mass. Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140, pchoen@afsc.org [31]
Study Peace & Conflict Resolution at the European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU), Stadtschlaining, Austria; join a select group of 44 students from around the world in an intensive course in peace and conflict studies; all courses taught in English, by leading specialists in their fields from around the world, including Johan Galtung, one of the founders of the academic discipline of peace research & frequent mediator in international conflicts; applicants should have a BA or equivalent; application deadline for Fall 2007 term is 4/15; for a detailed explanation of the program and a catalogue with course descriptions, visit www.epu.ac.at [32]
Resources
Promising Democracy, Imposing Theocracy: Gender-Based Violence and the US War on Iraq, on-line press packet from MADRE, a re-telling of the Iraq war from the perspective of Iraqi women. Illuminates the strong links between women's human rights and democratic rights. This report is dedicated to the courageous women of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq and to all Iraqis working to build a democratic, secular Iraq free of military occupation and religious coercion, www.madre.org [33]
50 under 30: Masculinity and the War on America's Youth: A Human Rights Report, documents a murderous tide of under-reported, gender-based violence that has claimed more than 50 young lives since 1995, Gender Public Advocacy Coalition, 1743 Connecticut Avenue NW, 4th Fl, Washington, D.C. 20009, 202/462.6610, gpac@gpac.org [34], www.gpac.org [35]