Quakers urge ‘waging peace’ for Christmas goodwill
-09/12/05
The American Friends Se
Quakers urge ‘waging peace’ for Christmas goodwill
-09/12/05
The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization that works with people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service, is urging Christians and those of good will to ìwage peaceî for Christmas.
The group has suggested ten things citizens can do as an alternative to the usual commercial scramble, all based on faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. Their focus is especially on conflict, the Iraq situation and security.
The suggestions (abbreviated, and modified for a wider audience) are:
1. Call or write to your MP or Congress representative. Encourage political leaders to seek diplomatic international solutions to conflict, not continuing occupation and escalating violence. Make this a real season of goodwill.
2. Voice your opinion. Write letters to the editor and send them to your local paper. Call for a change in Iraq policy. Don’t forget to call radio talk shows and attend public forums and tell others what you think. If you participate in opinion polls, be sure to suggest diplomacy or other peaceful alternatives to war as an option, since those categories are usually not available.
3. Encourage young people and children to express their opinions and feelings about a better world, especially through art.
4. Support public witness. Organize a vigil for peace with faith-based or other groups in your community.
5. Learn all you can about the Islamic faith, particularly the positive dimension of Islam on peace and non-violence.
6. Commit to work against violence aimed at others because of race, creed, colour, gender, religion or nation of origin – especially those perceived as Muslim or Arab. Contact a local mosque or civic organization to express your support and identify ways you can help.
7. Learn about those countries which Western governments hold accountable for terrorist acts. Knowing the history, the geography, accomplishments and problems facing countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq will help us let others see the peaceful majorities that live in these countries.
8. Hold the media accountable for biased reporting. Don’t hesitate to call a local media outlet if you see evidence of unfair or slanted reporting.
9. Insist maintaining and defending civil liberties: the right to speak freely, to associate freely, to assemble in lawful groups to express opinions, and, at the same time, the right to privacy. Working in your communities to use and protect these rights in the weeks ahead will guarantee that terrorism has not destroyed the fabric of liberty.
10. Educate yourself on alternatives to war. A Declaration of Peace, a dialogue on the morality of war, grounded in a vision common to all Christian communions, is available from AFSC’s on-line store.
Backed by an 87-year history working for peace, justice and reconciliation in troubled areas of the world, the American Friends Service Committee is a faith-based organization grounded in Quaker beliefs respecting the dignity and worth of every person.
Best known for organizing massive programs to feed millions of starving children in post-war Germany, the Service Committee has offices across the United States and in 22 countries of the world.
The search for regional peace has been a major focus of AFSC’s work for peace and reconciliation in an atmosphere of war. During World War II, the Service Committee provided temporary aid, housing and other assistance to Japanese-Americans in efforts to get them out of internment camps.
On behalf of the United Nations, AFSC administered relief for over 200,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip in the 1940s. In 1947, the AFSC and the British Friends Service Council received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends for humanitarian service, work for reconciliation and the spirit in which these were carried out.
AFSC has conducted relief work inside Iraq for more than a decade, helping rehabilitate a water treatment plant, northeast of Baghdad that served thousands of people in several villages before the war.
[Peacemaking resources from Ekklesia: Patricia Gates-Brown (ed.), Getting in the Way: Stories from Christian Peacemaker Teams, Herald Press; other titles – War on Terror and the Terror of God; Demanding Peace: Christian Responses to War and Violence; The Way of Peace: Peace Meditations and Prayers from Around the World; Pardon and Peace: Making of the Peace Process in Ireland; Iraq: Searching for Hope; War And Faith in Sudan; Problems in Theology : War and Peace]
Quakers urge ‘waging peace’ for Christmas goodwill
-09/12/05
The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization that works with people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service, is urging Christians and those of good will to ‘wage peace’ for Christmas.
The group has suggested ten things citizens can do as an alternative to the usual commercial scramble, all based on faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. Their focus is especially on conflict, the Iraq situation and security.
The suggestions (abbreviated, and modified for a wider audience) are:
1. Call or write to your MP or Congress representative. Encourage political leaders to seek diplomatic international solutions to conflict, not continuing occupation and escalating violence. Make this a real season of goodwill.
2. Voice your opinion. Write letters to the editor and send them to your local paper. Call for a change in Iraq policy. Don’t forget to call radio talk shows and attend public forums and tell others what you think. If you participate in opinion polls, be sure to suggest diplomacy or other peaceful alternatives to war as an option, since those categories are usually not available.
3. Encourage young people and children to express their opinions and feelings about a better world, especially through art.
4. Support public witness. Organize a vigil for peace with faith-based or other groups in your community.
5. Learn all you can about the Islamic faith, particularly the positive dimension of Islam on peace and non-violence.
6. Commit to work against violence aimed at others because of race, creed, colour, gender, religion or nation of origin – especially those perceived as Muslim or Arab. Contact a local mosque or civic organization to express your support and identify ways you can help.
7. Learn about those countries which Western governments hold accountable for terrorist acts. Knowing the history, the geography, accomplishments and problems facing countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq will help us let others see the peaceful majorities that live in these countries.
8. Hold the media accountable for biased reporting. Don’t hesitate to call a local media outlet if you see evidence of unfair or slanted reporting.
9. Insist maintaining and defending civil liberties: the right to speak freely, to associate freely, to assemble in lawful groups to express opinions, and, at the same time, the right to privacy. Working in your communities to use and protect these rights in the weeks ahead will guarantee that terrorism has not destroyed the fabric of liberty.
10. Educate yourself on alternatives to war. A Declaration of Peace, a dialogue on the morality of war, grounded in a vision common to all Christian communions, is available from AFSC’s on-line store.
Backed by an 87-year history working for peace, justice and reconciliation in troubled areas of the world, the American Friends Service Committee is a faith-based organization grounded in Quaker beliefs respecting the dignity and worth of every person.
Best known for organizing massive programs to feed millions of starving children in post-war Germany, the Service Committee has offices across the United States and in 22 countries of the world.
The search for regional peace has been a major focus of AFSC’s work for peace and reconciliation in an atmosphere of war. During World War II, the Service Committee provided temporary aid, housing and other assistance to Japanese-Americans in efforts to get them out of internment camps.
On behalf of the United Nations, AFSC administered relief for over 200,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip in the 1940s. In 1947, the AFSC and the British Friends Service Council received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends for humanitarian service, work for reconciliation and the spirit in which these were carried out.
AFSC has conducted relief work inside Iraq for more than a decade, helping rehabilitate a water treatment plant, northeast of Baghdad that served thousands of people in several villages before the war.
[Peacemaking resources from Ekklesia: Patricia Gates-Brown (ed.), Getting in the Way: Stories from Christian Peacemaker Teams, Herald Press; other titles – War on Terror and the Terror of God; Demanding Peace: Christian Responses to War and Violence; The Way of Peace: Peace Meditations and Prayers from Around the World; Pardon and Peace: Making of the Peace Process in Ireland; Iraq: Searching for Hope; War And Faith in Sudan; Problems in Theology : War and Peace]