International Day of Prayer for Peace

What do you think could happen if churches everywhere prayed and acted together to nurture lasting peace? . . . among individuals, families, communities and societies? Well, that opportunity is here! And we invite you to join us in this collective effort, now held annually on and around September 21, and this year, emphasizing climate change.

In 2004, the World Council of Churches and the United Nations proposed the idea of an International Day of Prayer for Peace (IDPP) every September 21. Since then, this has become a special day of festive activity in virtually every denomination worldwide. LPF played a special role from the start: LPF leaders wrote the worship resource for the very first IDPP in 2004, used in 10,000 churches across the globe! From early on, we saw the advantages of getting involved in larger efforts like Campaign Nonviolence that both draw in lots of people, and visibly show the potential of the growing  LPF/religious peace movement.

Campaign Nonviolence reveals a growing sense that it is time to nurture a broader… longer-term… ecumenical movement…  grounded in nonviolence. And we’ve talked a lot about "connecting the dots" --  and bringing together people working on efforts to end war…climate change… violence against women… poverty… racism… and the epidemic of violence (even police violence) in our communities

LPF has ideas and resources to help you and your congregation make the most of this occasion to share in meaningful worship, build understanding and encourage action toward planet nurturing. This year, Sept. 20-27 is: the global week of action around the “Day of Prayer for Peace.” Check out the list of actions happening around the world. Consider organizing one and add it to the list.

A good place to start is to invite your pastor or worship committee to include a prayer in the service on the Sunday before or after Sept. 21. There is a wealth of resources to help.

Another possibility is to invite your social justice committee (or a few members with peace and justice interest) to share advocacy materials during the coffee hour after church. Again there are a variety of options. Here are resources and links on all of the above:

• Many groups are offering prayer and worship resources. Here are a few from several religious traditions: Education for Justice, Climate Crisis Coalition, Climate Prayer, Catholic Climate Covenant, Christian Aid, to mention just a few.
• For the connection between climate change and peacemaking, here’s a link to LPF’s blog on the subject.
• Campaign Nonviolence members are planning actions that connect reversing climate change with ending war and poverty. Actions are planned across the country during the week of Sept. 20-27 … and that's just the start!”
• Lutheran advocacy possibilities: We can start with the ELCA's climate change conversation and urge Lutheran institutions to do what other denominations have done, divest from industries responsible for greenhouse gas emissions tied to global warming. We could also call on our leaders to follow the example of these Swedish Lutheran Archbishops, including their first female archbishop. 

We’d be happy to hear from you to discuss this further. And we’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions. This has considerable potential and offers many opportunities. Let’s make the most of it!

Ferguson, Responding to the Continuing Tragedy

The grand jury has decided to not charge the police officer who shot and killed an unarmed teen in the Ferguson suburb of St. Louis three months ago. The decision and public response reveals a great deal about our broken criminal justice system and skewed media and civic grasp of the incident. A few highlights:

Grand Jury decision: A wide range of critiques are being made of the evidence and the judicial process such as bombarding jurors with mountains of contradictory testimony without any apparent effort to help focus on useful evidence, skewing the results toward dismissing the charges.

Protests: There have been significant numbers of nonviolent protests, largely ignored by the media, in Ferguson and around the country that represent positive responses and hope. The mass media also has seemed incapable of separating nonviolent protest and random violence like looting, and incapable of going beyond that coverage to the real issues of this tragedy such as the four we raised in LPF's blog post on Ferguson, issues that beg for serious attention:

Militarization of police: that separates police from the community and protesters, undercuts legitimate “protect and serve” orientation and programs, and often makes confrontations more lethal;

Racism: such as discriminatory policies in education and jobs, police behavior and incarceration rates; the protests in Ferguson and elsewhere build on decades of marginalization of young people of color and other forms of structural racism;

Skewed budget priorities: that spend money on militarized police and the highest prison rates in the world, instead of addressing the roots of racism;

Stereotypes about nonviolence and inadequate preparation and training in effective protest, especially in a context predisposed to dismiss serious protest and merge it with random violence.

The result has been a minuscule amount of media attention on the important issues like these... attention that might help move the public discussion – and civic action – in productive directions.

It is important that we don’t allow our understandable disappointment, frustration and feelings of powerlessness to get in the way of our thoughtful positive contributions. There are many positive ways we can respond:

- Share helpful information in a thoughtful manner with friends, and in comments on web and media discussions, letters to the editor, etc. (see links in this blog).  You may be surprised at how your sensible comments can stand out!

- Participate in and encourage others to support The Week of Action, Dec. 1-5, including moments of silence, vigils, dialogues, and prayers. It is a call from groups such as Hands Up Coalition, Why We Can't Wait, Code Pink, and The Peace and Justice Studies Association.

- Look for opportunities to encourage addressing underlying issues like militarized police and racism in church adult forums, community discussions, upcoming government deliberations on budgets and priorities, etc.;

- Ferguson should serve as an inspiration for us to suggest forums and workshops on nonviolence. LPF has effective, highly-regarded leaders’ guides and other materials on nonviolence. Connect with the inspiration and resources of the Campaign Nonviolence movement of which LPF is part. (See LPF Nonviolence Resources including a Shalom discussion essay, an AV-rich Nonviolence Forum or our highly regarded Budget Priorities computer-based activity. Contact us about longer trainings.)

- In all this, it makes sense to connect with other people who share your views to support one another’s processing this tragedy and its implications, and taking useful next steps.

Blessings and Peace in this worthy effort!

      Additional links to useful material:

Links on the social and historical context surrounding the events in Ferguson assembled by Sociologists for Justice, 1,600 sociologists against police brutality and racism.

“It's not just Ferguson: how the system protects police,” by Chase Madar The Nation magazine, Nov. 24, 2014.

"Will Ferguson be a Moment or a Movement?" by Fredrick Harris, Director of the Center on African American Politics and Society at Columbia University, Washington Post, Aug. 22, 2014.

“The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries,” ELCA Social Statement on Criminal  Justice, includes a study guide 


     a couple newer useful links:

"Ferguson Activists Meet With President Obama to Demand an End to Police Brutality Nationwide," FergusonAction website, Dec. 1, 2014

"Obama resists demands to curtail police militarisation calling instead for improved officer training," by Paul Lewis, The Guardian, 12-1-14

International Day of Prayer for Peace

What do you think could happen if churches everywhere prayed and acted together to nurture lasting peace? . . . among individuals, families, communities and societies? Well, that opportunity is here! And we invite you to join us in this collective effort, now held annually on and around September 21, and this year, emphasizing climate change.

In 2004, the World Council of Churches and the United Nations proposed the idea of an International Day of Prayer for Peace (IDPP) every September 21. Since then, this has become a special day of festive activity in virtually every denomination worldwide. LPF played a special role from the start: LPF leaders wrote the worship resource for the very first IDPP in 2004, used in 10,000 churches across the globe!

LPF has ideas and resources to help you and your congregation make the most of this occasion to share in meaningful worship, build understanding and encourage action toward planet nurturing. This year, Sept. 21 is:

The global “Day of Prayer for Peace” plus “The Largest Climate March in History," and Nonviolent Actions in over 130 communities that connect reversing climate change with ending war and poverty.

The coming together of these efforts offers a significant opportunity to educate and encourage congregation members, and to energize and strengthen efforts on the crucial issues of climate change and peace.

A good place to start is to invite your pastor or worship committee to include a prayer in the service on the Sunday before or after Sept. 21. There is a wealth of resources to help.

Another possibility is to invite your social justice committee (or a few members with peace and justice interest) to share advocacy materials during the coffee hour after church. Again there are a variety of options. Here are resources and links on all of the above:

• Many groups are offering prayer and worship resources. Here are a few from several religious traditions: Education for Justice, Climate Crisis Coalition, Climate Prayer, Catholic Climate Covenant, Christian Aid, to mention just a few.
• The People's Climate March (billed as the "Largest Climate March in History"): they offer posters and other resources and a long list of supportive groups. For the connection between climate change and peacemaking, here’s a link to LPF’s blog on the subject.
• Campaign Nonviolence members are planning actions that connect reversing climate change with ending war and poverty. “Over 110 nonviolent actions are planned across the country during the week of Sept. 21-27 … and that's just the start!”
• Lutheran advocacy possibilities: We can start with the ELCA's climate change conversation and urge Lutheran institutions to do what other denominations have done, divest from industries responsible for greenhouse gas emissions tied to global warming. We could also call on our leaders to follow the example of these Swedish Lutheran Archbishops, including their first female archbishop. 

We’d be happy to hear from you to discuss this further. And we’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions. This has considerable potential and offers many opportunities. Let’s make the most of it!

New LPF Resource Offers Inspiration from Women

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." 

Proverbs 25:11 (NRSV) 

King Solomon, author of Proverbs, wanted his people to "be understanding, just and fair in everything they did." (Proverbs 1:2,3, Living Bible). In this spirit, LPF's Women Initiative has compiled a new four-page resource, "Inspiration from Women." It is the final resource of five proposed for the Women's Resources series launched in mid-2013. Along with two litanies, it includes quotes such as:

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Effective people rarely sit back and let things happen.
 They go out and happen to things.
 Elinor Smith

Collecting encouraging quotes is an LPF tradition (see our Peace Deck). As LPF coordinator Glen Gersmehl says, "Quotes are helpful when they speak of truths that might be easily lost in our busy lives. They are brief, clever and/or witty enough to stand out and to remember later. I like to think about them in otherwise wasted moments, like waiting in a grocery or bank line. And they can remind us that we share visions for peace and justice with a whole community of people."

-- Lily R. Wu, LPF board member for the Women's Initiative

P.S. It's hard not to keep noticing concise insights even when our resources have gone to press. Here's another, from MORE magazine (Dec 2013/Jan 2014): British Journalist Caitlin Moran gives this advice to her daughter on the eve of her 13th birthday. "Life divides into amazing, enjoyable times -- and appalling experiences that will make future amazing stories."

Giving up War for Peace, Worship and Nonviolent Action at Beale Air Force Base, CA

Are you "giving anything up" for Lent this year?  A group of Christian peacemakers in California took action in an Ash Wednesday civil disobedience to urge the U.S. to give up drones for peace. To turn away from war to work for peace, justice, and the healing of the earth.

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“My body is tired but my soul is rested.”

Former LPF Board Chair, retired Lutheran pastor and former U.S. Marine Jerry Pedersen participated in the interfaith worship service and was arrested during the nonviolent direct action against drones at the gate of Beale Air Force Base. Military drones which are remotely controlled by satellite from bases in the US have repeatedly killed and injured scores of civilians abroad.

Actions of faith and conscience are good for the soul.  Rev. Sharon Delgado reports:

"We were quickly detained by Beale officers, taken to the guard station, cited, and released. When entering the station I greeted the officers with the words, 'Peace be with you.' We all treated each other respectfully and with good humor, with the understanding that they were doing their job and we were doing ours." 

"The young guards were impressed with Jerry's military card, which shows that he was part of the Honor Guard on the U.S.S. Missouri during the WWII surrender of the Japanese. As we were arrested, supporters were singing 'I'll be rested when the roll is called,' with the names of people who have worked for peace and justice through the ages. May it be so for all of us. May we find rest for our souls in the midst of the violence of our times."

You can read more about this Ash Wednesday Anti-Drone Protest and Arrest and statements of the issues here: http://sharondelgado.org/tag/beale-air-force-base/, also see KCRA’s coverage of the service here, and a video of the arrests below:



Rev. Sharon Delgado speaks:


see also these resources from LPF:
Resources about Nonviolence
Peace Resource Lists
Peace Links

International Day of Prayer for Peace

What do you think could happen if churches everywhere prayed and acted together to nurture lasting peace? . . . among individuals, families, communities and societies? Well, that opportunity is here! And we invite you to join us in this collective effort, now held annually on and around September 21.

In 2004, the World Council of Churches and the United Nations proposed the idea of an International Day of Prayer for Peace (IDPP) every September 21.  Since then, this has become a special day of festive activity in virtually every denomination worldwide.

This celebration runs alongside the Sept. 21 observance of the UN International Day of Peace (IDP).  The UN day calls for cease-fires in armed conflict, commitments to non-violence, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. This year's theme is "Education for Peace."  Creative plans include festivals, concerts, and a global Peace Wave with moments of silence at noon in every time zone. How might you and your congregation take part?

One place to start is to use LPF's peace prayers, which include a bulletin insert for the Day of Prayer for Peace. (This is a revision of the worship resource for the inaugural IDPP in 2004, used all over the world, that was written by LPF leaders.)  More links are offered below to help congregations and groups make Sept. 21 -- and the Sunday before or after -- a meaningful experience for all.

Resources:

Bulletin insert for the International Day of Prayer for Peace

ELCA webpage with Worship Resources for the International Day of Prayer for Peace, featuring links to the rich spectrum of prayers and worship materials from the World Council of Churches, as well as LPF.  Click here for further LPF Worship Resources. 

LPF Peace Education Resources include a variety of leaders’ guides for adult and youth forums, a one-page overview for “Encouraging Shalom in the Congregation,” as well as guides to many other resources from LPF and elsewhere.

LPF's "Path of Hope" shares brief descriptions of more than 140 peace and justice events and movements throughout history in which everyday people have been successful in bringing about peace and social change by nonviolent means.

United Nations: International Day of Peace is the official UN site with links to other resources and organizations.

On Earth Peace is an initiative from the Church of the Brethren, offering a variety of resources.

Videos:

Gather Round for Peace with Justice

We have some wonderful news! In two months, LPF members from across the U.S. will come together for discussion and fellowship, renewal and fun.

The National LPF Gathering will take place this July 4-7, and you are invited! Enjoy a variety of workshops, great speakers, music, fun, and fellowship in a delightful natural setting -- along a beautiful lagoon, surrounded by trees and flowers, with the Olympic Mountains as backdrop.

Join us for three days of learning, sharing, and support as we examine peacemaking strategies and vision, encourage one another, strengthen our network, and explore the potential of nonviolence — how it can be used to confront injustice, and express our compassion toward all. This coming together of LPF members will be enriched by being held with the annual northwest Fellowship of Reconciliation gathering. LPF members who have gone to this event for years say it is one of the most inspiring and effective peace and justice experiences they know of.

"So many things about the event are noteworthy – an LPF-led plenary panel on peace efforts in religious communities, a wonderful array of 21 workshops, terrific music, and time to enjoy one of the most beautiful landscapes imaginable: charming cottages and meeting spaces, summer colors at their peak, mountains rising above the water to the west.

Join us as we strengthen and renew our commitment and understanding to continue this important work. Other features of the event include a half dozen activities in the arts, great meals including a salmon bake, and a room filled with peace books, crafts, and music. We can help with rides from the airport and scholarship assistance. (In fact, if you can't go yourself, there may be someone in your congregation or network who could do so, and come back and share what they've learned.  And you and a few others could help them with their travel and  registration costs if needed.)

Interested in joining us? For more information, you can contact our national coordinator Glen Gersmehl: ggersmehl@hotmail.com or 206-349-2501. Click on the following words for further information on speakers, workshop descriptions, the schedule, or logistics, as well as the registration form (in Word, pdf, or online), accomodations & services available, and directions to Seabeck. For general information, go to www.wwfor.org and click on Seabeck, then on the underlined topic you wish to explore.

Please share this information with others who might be interested, and please, consider being part of this extraordinary event!

Workshop descriptions: www.wwfor.org/projects/seabeck-conference-workshops/

Conference schedule: www.wwfor.org/projects/seabeck-conference-schedule-of-events/

General info with more links: www.wwfor.org/projects/seabeck-conference-2013/

Pastoral Letter on Violence

by MDC Synod Communications on Mar 11, 2013

“Every faithful caregiver who sits with victims of violence knows what we know – as God’s church, we are called to reduce violence and should, in most cases, restrain ourselves from using violence. Whether or not statistics show that overall violence has declined in recent years, every person wounded or killed is a precious child of God.

“As bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we lament the tragedy of gun violence in our country. We are grieved by the way violence threatens and destroys life. We affirm the current soul searching and shared striving to find a way to a better future.”

These are the opening sentences of A Pastoral Letter on Violence adopted by the ELCA Conference of Bishops, adopted on March 4, 2013. The Rev. Richard H. Graham, bishop of the Metro D.C. Synod, is in the conference. Read and download the full letter (pdf file) on the MDC Synod website, or read online on the ELCA Web site.

“This letter intends to encourage conversation and common reflection,” said Bishop Graham when forwarding it to rostered leaders in the Metro D.C. Synod and recommending circulation.

“The ELCA has already made significant statements on violence, and we wanted to call attention to what our church has already said. But we also wanted to be able to make a statement as a Conference of Bishops in response to a culture of violence,” said the Rev. Jessica R. Crist, bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod and chair of the conference (ELCA News Service, 3/8/13). “The letter was carefully crafted and re-crafted, debated and prayed about. We commend it to the church.”

Find a list of related ELCA resources at the end of the “Pastoral Letter on Violence.”
See also: LPF's list of resources on gun violence