LPF Launches "Women Nurturing Peace" Action Guide to Celebrate International Women's Day

Who are the special women in your life, past and present, who you hold in your heart with the highest esteem? And when they have faced hurtful, unjust experiences, which issues have most compelled you toward prayer and action?

Lutheran Peace Fellowship's Women's Initiative was created in Fall 2013 to support people of faith who want to protect and affirm women and girls. For March 8, International Women's Day (Theme: Inspire Change), LPF has launched among its Women's Resources a new action guide, "Nurturing Peace: the Gifts of Women." Ideas, quotes, and many weblinks are offered to honor and inspire action with faith-based and community groups.

International Women's Day, a time to honor all women, began during the Industrial Revolution as labor movements rallied for women's rights. (In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter work hours, better pay and the right to vote.) By 1911, marches and strikes in Austria, Denmark Germany and Switzerland led to the founding of the Day.

Later the movement took on the cause of peace as well as women's rights. When a demonstration was organized in 1915 in Bern, Switzerland to urge the end of World War I, women on both sides of the conflict turned out.

In 1975, the United Nations began sponsoring International Women's Day. (Theme: "Equality for women is progress for all.") Issues of focus have included rape as a weapon of war; sexual assault; domestic violence (603 million women live in countries where this is not considered a crime); and physical/sexual violence (up to 70% of women in the world reporting this in their lifetime).

Please join us to inspire change, stop violence and nurture peace with women.

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

February 14: One Billion Rising in 200 Countries To End Violence Against Women

What three words first come to mind when you think of February 14, Valentine's Day? You'd have plenty of company if you said "hearts, flowers, and chocolate." Heart-shaped cards and special gifts are a wonderful way to show our enthusiasm and appreciation for loving relationships.

Now, what if we also celebrated the day by finding ways to express loving support for a world of peace, focusing on "women, survivors, and justice"? What if we added to our observance of Valentine's Day our support for these much-needed efforts?

For example, playwright Eve Ensler and activist Kimberlé Crenshaw tell in a Democracy Now interview about One Billion Rising, a growing movement worldwide to stop violence against women and girls. On February 14, events are being organized in 200+ countries to focus on "justice for all survivors of gender violence and the impunity that protects perpetrators all over the world."

Here is a startling statistic: one in every three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. What's your reaction to this statement? Whether we feel disbelief, anger, or a range of other emotions, the fact remains: women and girls are widely subject to violence in many forms. It is also a fact that there are many efforts organized and being organized to stop it -- efforts that will be stronger if more people join in to help.

Anti-violence work focused on women and girls is sorely needed. The reasons why are spelled out in One Billion Rising, Lutheran Peace Fellowship Women's Peace Resources, and many other places. Such work will also be good for men, boys, families and communities, because promoting peace instead of violence will result in a better world for everyone.

The One Billion Rising video is one of several in LPF's new "Women's Video Gallery." LPF also put together an action guide for churches: "Stopping Violence Against Women and Girls." Please share with us what your congregation has found helpful in LPF's Women's Peace Resources. Let's boost one another's efforts to end violence, especially against women and girls.

 Lily Wu and Alan Forsberg

Dietrich Bonhoeffer´s Birthday

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.

Check out  LPF's resources on this Lutheran Hero at:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Resources

Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its poetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral and spiritual authority. If the church does not participate actively in the struggle for peace and for economic and racial justice, it will forfeit the loyalty of millions and cause people everywhere to say that it has atrophied its will. But if the church will free itself from the shackles of a deadening status quo, and, recovering its great historic mission, will speak and act fearlessly and insistently in terms of justice and peace, it will enkindle the imagination of mankind and fire the souls of men, imbuing them with a glowing and ardent love for truth, justice, and peace. People far and near will know the church as a great fellowship of love that provides light and bread for lonely travellers at midnight."

(From a sermon published under the title ""Why Jesus Called A Wise Man A Fool" and in two books of King's sermons as "A Knock at Midnight" -- in Strength to Love, 1963, and later in a book with the title, A Knock at Midnight.  The sermon appears on page 51 and 61 respectively.  The reference of the final words is King's text, Luke 11:5-6.   An annotated version of King's notes was compiled for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, as well as a brief description of its writing and the first time King preached it for the Youth Sunday Services of a Baptist convention in Sept., 1958. It also includes footnotes on many of King's references. Here's the link:
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/Vol6/14Sept1958AKnockatMidnight.pdf.
King used all or parts of it in other settings and later expanded it for publication in his book of sermons, Strength to Love as noted above.) Audio excerpts are available at:
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/kingweb/publications/sermons/multimedia/KAM.htm

From the LPF website:

• Martin Luther King quotes reflecting some of the breadth of Dr. King's thought.
• Vision and Challenge of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Useful as a bulletin insert.
• More resources and videos about Martin Luther King and nonviolence

Now Online: Martin Luther King's Works -- talks, sermons, letters (including early drafts & mark-ups) etc. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change has opened an online digital archive of Dr. King's works.  http://www.mlkonline.net/

Two great articles:

Occupy: Resurrecting Rev. King's Final Dream
by Leo W. Gerard
International President, United Steelworkers

How to Learn Nonviolent Resistance as King Did
by Mary Elizabeth King
also distributed by Common Dreams

Fast Tracking of the TPP

The little known Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) threatens to surrender our national, state and local sovereignty to corporate interests. This past Friday, legislation for Trade Promotion Authority, known as Fast Track, for the TPP was introduced in the House and Senate.  The Executive branch has negotiated the TPP in meetings that have been secret to the general public and even most members of Congress, but open to transnational corporations who are deeply crafting it with an eye to increase their profits and protect their interests.

The Fast Track legislation being debated eliminates the time needed for Congress to fully discuss the agreement and their freedom to amend in any way. Fast Track forces Congress to merely rubber stamp the TPP unread, and also takes away citizen and advocacy groups' opportunity to engage in the decision making.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is currently being negotiated between 12 countries around the Pacific Ocean including several of the world's largest economies. The TPP has the potential to extend the negative consequences of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to nearly 40% of the world's economy. Despite promises of the 90's that NAFTA would improve the economy and provide jobs, history reveals that it forced more people in Mexico to migrate North as it destroyed small-scale farmers' ability to survive, had massively negative effects on labor rights everywhere, and removed environmental regulations deemed to be inconvenient impediments to free trade. Today the Obama administration is reportedly preparing to undermine strong environmental safeguards and critical regulations in order to secure the TPP deal. These include legally binding requirements for pollution limits, logging, and fishing standards.

The TPP is known as "NAFTA on steroids" because it goes much further than trade issues by threatening democratic decisions on laws governing  food safety, financial regulation, energy and climate policy, and establishes new powers for corporations. It is also known as "SOPA on steroids"  because of its threat to internet freedom.

If you are concerned about how any of our laws governing the environment, health and safety, workers rights, etc. could be altered outside the democratic process, then we need to act. In fact, we have every reason to be alarmed about allowing big corporations to use a non-public process to overturn or change democratically-decided rulings and safeguards based on their assertion that it must be done to protect their trade interests, e.g. competitiveness... And it is particularly offensive to allow this to happen with so little public discussion and involvement. We all need to contact our representatives in Congress and let them know that Fast Tracking the TPP is outrageous, especially given its potential impact and all the ways it subverts democratic process. And please consider sharing this with others who can join us in acting soon, before it’s too late. Together we can do something!

Learn more:

Secretive Corporate Deal in the Works Could Establish Special Closed Door Courts for Big Business

http://democracyctr.org/news/getting-action-strangling-democracy/

TPP--the 1% solution to democracy--government by corporate dictates

http://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/78-78/18154-tpp-the-1-solution-to-democracy-government-by-corporate-dictates

If You Thought What ALEC and the Koch Brothers Are Doing Was Bad ...

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/271-38/18438-if-you-thought-what-alec-and-the-koch-brothers-are-doing-was-bad

TPP: A BAD DEAL FOR THE 99%

http://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/212-212/17883-tpp-a-bad-deal-for-the-99

TPP: A Worldwide Corporate Power Grab of Enormous Proportions

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/13444-tpp-a-worldwide-corporate-power-grab-of-enormous-proportions

Monsanto, the TPP and Global Food Dominance

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/271-38/20644-monsanto-the-tpp-and-global-food-dominance

TPP coverage on Democracy Now

http://www.democracynow.org/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Trans-Pacific+Partnership+&commit=Search

The Joys of the Season

Sometimes it comes as a sudden glimpse, or an
insight emerging in a thoughtful moment: 

 “Why not a simpler, more meaningful
Advent and Christmas?” 

Of course, what we’re getting is commercialization of the season -- and at record-breaking levels.
The good news: there’s a growing movement and a variety of resources and support for simplicity and sustainability. Indeed, there are deeply gratifying ways to prepare for and celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace -- outside our culture's distorted, materialistic ways.
LPF offers you a freshly updated resource on the subject:
"Reclaim the Season! Peace & Justice Living and Giving at Christmas and Throughout the Year."
It’s one of our popular ‘Peace Points’ series, geared for individual and youth or adult group use.
It offers a variety of alternative gift ideas, sources of fair trade gifts, ideas for discussion, and a great resource section with website and print materials.

Congressional budget compromise . . .

Most of the country seems relieved that Congress will depart from DC with a budget deal. Their recess is actually an ideal time for them to hear a holiday message from constituents who care about the gospel call for us to be justice seekers and peacemakers. 

Indeed, There is a lot to celebrate about Congress negotiating its way out of yet another painful budget standoff. But the details are pretty sobering as well. Here’s a brief summary of the budget deal: 

The plus side: It doesn't cut Social Security, Medicare, Medi- caid, etc. And it backs away from over two years of destructive actions: Fiscal cliff, debt limit, sequester, government shutdown... all very damaging to many programs -- and with the threat of default, they put both the U.S. and the global economy at risk.

On the negative side: The budget deal does nothing to reduce defense spending (or call for even the most obvious tax increases; or close tax loopholes). We are thus denied the resources needed to address the nation’s #1 priority: putting people back to work, esp. to help us take serious steps toward forstalling climate change, to expand renewable energy, to build infrastructure, to enhance rather than cut the safety net even further… 

Yet the budget deal allows unemployment benefits to expire for 1.3 million long-term unemployed workers. It leaves the sequester cuts largely in place -- which consigns most safety net programs to reduced levels and vulnerable to further cuts. The budget agreement is more a cease-fire than a solution to our budget dilemmas. 

What makes this especially unfortunate is that cutting the military budget offers a way out. It has huge programs that are wasteful. Others are unneeded in the new global security environment. A few notable programs are larger than even the Pentagon requested! This doesn’t point to thoughtful decision-making by Congress. Rather it’s evidence of the enormous influence of defense contractor lobbying. 

Our priority this month is experiencing the real meaning of Advent and Christmas. Spending time with family, congregation, and friends... 

Let’s also agree to share this information in our church groups and among friends. Let's use the Congressional recess to speak with our elected officials about bloated defense spending; and stingy levels to protect and serve the most vulnerable in our society. That's a holiday message our members of Congress need to hear!