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Active but not Writing… Until Now!

Author: Breeze Richardson

Dear Friends,
If you have subscribed to “How Do You See Peace?” or had regularly visited here upon our project launch, you know we have been pretty silent for the past year. Silent, at least, in this space. But it wasn’t intentional and as we’ve collaborated on other areas of our work as the Peace Resources Committee of Illinois Yearly Meeting, we’ve talked about “the blog” a lot. In the past month, I am happy to say we have collectively decided we want to come back to it.

For me personally, it’s two young children and a career that’s kept me away. I’ve thought so often about writing, wanting to share some experience or thought that I was hungry for a response to… what did other Friends think? …what words of encouragement were waiting for me? …what new insight could be right around the corner?

The thing that is most exciting about this project for me is the opportunity to share and reflect on peace in our daily lives today. There are so many moments where a choice is made to react, say, think, or do something that profoundly (albeit sometimes in a small way) impacts the way you see the world. If I can process those moments in my own life, and learn from others about theirs, I will have a unique opportunity to make different choices. I believe that. And with the Chicago summer at my doorstep, let the conversation begin again!

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Killing in Our Name

Author: David Finke (upon request by PRC)

One of the agonizing aspects of capital punishment (a/k/a the State killing its own citizens) is that — in its official-sounding pomposity — a convict is executed (in our case) “in the name of the People of the State of Missouri.”

That’s what happened in the early hours of May 20th, after a 4-year hiatus in which there were no death sentences carried out here. In a dozen locations across Missouri people gathered in witness against this act, saying in effect, “Not in OUR name!”

The man who was systematically poisoned to death (though supposedly unconscious) was Dennis Skillicorn, involved in at least 3 murders — never as the direct perpetrator but yet legally liable as an accomplice.

Whether or not one is moved by the case (easy to make) that he was repentant and rehabilitated and had given his last 15 years to efforts at restorative justice, the opposition to killing him was a religious and philosophical one for most of us, not dependent on the specifics of his case.

I was gratified to see that — on the vigil line in front of the county courthouse in Columbia, MO, the night of Dennis’ execution — we had a dozen folks who in some way or another were part of our Friends Meeting. The mentor/exemplar for us all in these efforts has been Friend John Schuder, aged 87, who decades ago founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation in central Missouri. He has made and maintained the collection of incisive and dignified signs for people to hold on these vigils, and is unswervingly our most eloquent spokesperson.

Three of our local Quakers are featured in this picture of quiet outrage and grief. The image of people standing in silence rather than ranting is one that gets through to many, and bit by bit may help turn the tide of public opinion.

There were about 40 people present, including Catholic Worker folks who have a huge quilt on which they keep adding pictures of yet one more person put to death in our name since the ghastly practice resumed perhaps 20 years ago. We’ve killed over 50 human beings, and I think rank just behind Texas and Georgia (or Florida) in our blood-lust. [Editorial note: Skillicorn was the 67th Missouri inmate to be put to death since capital punishment was reinstated in the state in 1989; source: Kansas City Star – May 20, 2009.]

I’m grateful that we have the support of our Yearly Meeting, and help of Peace Resources Committee, for caring about this and being at the forefront of public witness against this barbarism. And that’s what it is, regardless of how Officialdom keeps trying to sanitize it.

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Spread the Word: 57% of the U.S. Budget is for Military Spending

Author: Breeze Richardson (on behalf of the Peace Resources Committee)

wtrThe American Friends Service Committee recently asked Friends to join them in spreading the word about how much of our taxes goes toward military spending:

On April 15, protest the amount of your tax dollars spent on the military. Tax day is just around the corner.  Do you know where your money goes?

Despite a much needed increase in funding for human needs in the FY 2010 budget, military spending still eats up 57% of the total.  This month, we ask you to stage an event outside your local post office on April 15 to protest the amount of tax dollars spent on the military.  We support the President’s decision to put more of the budget toward meeting peoples’ basic needs – that’s one of our core values.  But we also believe in peace. The United States already accounts for about half of the world’s total military spending. To stay true to our values, we must continue to protest the disproportionate amount of money our country invests each year in defense.

Let’s take this opportunity to praise the president for shifting money to necessities like health care, food, and education.  Let’s also use it to show people how much more we could do.  By working together, we can persuade President Obama to cut even more defense funding in next year’s budget.  This month, remind people where their tax dollars are going – good and bad.  You can help!

– Host or attend an event on April 15, 2009.

– Download our resources to help educate your community; we have exciting information you’ll want to share!

Join us on April 15.  Say yes to funding human needs.  Say no to war. Wage peace.

Peace,
Laurie Creasy
American Friends Service Committee

**You can also search for an event near you, in case you’re not up for organizing something, but would like to attend an already scheduled event in support.  

What are your thoughts about Tax Day Protests & the current plan amount of military spending we experience in the United States?

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A Call for Quaker Action – Super Maximum Security Prison in Tamms, IL

Author: Breeze Richardson (on behalf of the Peace Resources Committee)

There is now a petition circulating regarding the inhumane use of solitary confinement in a Super Maximum Security prison in Tamms, a small town in Southern Illinois. The petition supports proposed state legislation, HB 2633, which calls for guidelines for the use of solitary confinement and has been endorsed by AFSC-Chicago and AFSC -Michigan (Criminal Justice Program) along with 26+ other  organizations.  Blue River Quarterly Meeting has encouraged other individuals and Meetings to endorse this as well.

The petition reads as follows:

At Tamms supermax prison over 250 men are being held in permanent solitary confinement, year after year, with no communal activity or human contact of any kind. The Department of Corrections has refused to consider policies of due process safeguards. This form of extreme punishment is beyond the bounds of basic human decency.

We ask that you support HB 2633 to bring this prison back in line with its original intent. This legislation will prohibit seriously mentally ill prisoners from supermax incarceration, establish clear procedures for how men are transferred to one-year, unless doing so would pose a risk to guards or other inmates.

There will be a prayer vigil held today, April 10th, at the prison to call attention to the inhumane treatment of prisoners at Tamms.  Organizers will also be calling attention to the fact that Illinois still has a Death Penalty, and that currently there are individuals sitting on IL’s Death Row. New Mexico just abolished the Death Penalty, it is the hope of many to see Illinois be next to do so.

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ILYM Winter Retreat: Non-Violent Communication

Author: Dawn Rubbert

 

Having been exposed to the principles of Non-Violent Communication and the work of Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, who created this method, I am looking forward to the retreat next weekend (Feb 20-22, 2009). I have learned enough about the principles to recognize that in order to use peaceful communication one must practice. The world in which we live does not generally support this kind of communication, it does not come naturally. Rather it must be cultivated and intentionally developed. One needs to practice so that skills will increase and come more easily with less thought as time goes on. Non-Violent Communication is sometimes called “Compassionate Communication”. It is one way to be proactively peaceful in our world. Language is more powerful than we tend to realize, especially on a daily level.

 

Just try getting through a day without using words that, in some context, refer to violence. I think, from my experience, that you will be amazed. Do you ride in elevators? What word do you use to tell someone what to do to the buttons? Perhaps you say something like “hit” seven for me . . .

 

Who has not encountered a situation where language separated them from someone else? Misunderstandings about what words mean? Surely you have heard the famous story about England and the United States being separated by a common language.

 

So, I am thrilled to have an opportunity to deepen my understanding, be with others who are learning, and have a safe Quaker “family” with whom I can practice. They say that practice makes perfect . . . We could all use a more perfect world and I must start/continue that venture by working on myself.

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Quaker Volunteer Service

Calling All Friends Seeking To Heed Their Calling

Throughout Quaker history Friends have challenged themselves to follow their leading as guided by Quaker testimonies – simplicity, peace, equality and community. George Fox issued the challenge when he asked of a Friend, “What canst thou say?” What, he wanted to know, was the Friend’s expression of faith based on his own experience and spiritual discernment?

And yet heeding such calls when they come rarely comes without sacrifice. Early Friends, when called to ministry, depended on others to support their families and help with their livelihoods. Such is the impetus of the Quaker Volunteer Service Committee, to assist Friends who seek to heed their calling.

The Quaker Volunteer Service Committee was organized with support from the 57th Street Meeting of Friends in Chicago and other Friends Meetings. The committee supports volunteers led by the Spirit to work full-time for peace, justice and community within a framework of Quaker spirituality.

Volunteers will work for at least one year with community-based organizations or in other service-based activities, doing peace and justice work and community-building. Emphasis is on work with the poor, oppressed and most at risk. Volunteers will work with the guidance and support from the Quaker Volunteer Service Committee and a liaison committee representing participating Quaker meetings.

The Quaker Volunteer Service Committee has arranged for volunteers to live in community in Quaker House, in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Volunteers will have extensive opportunities to participate in the activities of 57th Street Meeting and in community efforts beyond their full-time assignment. Support for volunteers will include room and board, health insurance, a small living stipend, transportation to Chicago at the beginning of the year of service and back home at year’s end, local transportation costs, as well as orientation to the city.

The Quaker Volunteer Service Committee will provide all needed support in arranging placements consistent with the volunteers’ leadings, as well as connections with other volunteers, activists and community and educational resources.

For further information, you can contact QVSC@quakervolunteers.org.

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Poverty Draft in High Gear–and Proud of It?

Author: Kent Busse
(a guest writing, posted by Bridget Rorem)

I recently read the New York Times article, “More Joining U.S. Military as Jobs Dwindle“…

This reinforces my idea that we need to have an official draft (universal national service) so that the country will not feel good about the poverty draft.  It is too easy for people to vote to send somebody else’s children to combat.  My version of the draft is a FREE CHOICE between military and alternative service–no exceptions, no excuses.  If enough Americans believe in having a military, we will have one.  We will vote with our feet–the same as we do in the marketplace.  It is the same principle as the Alternative Peace Tax Fund.

On the surface I’m a bad Quaker (a misfit in AFSC) because I believe there SHOULD be a draft.  I hope the above paragraph clarifies what I mean by that.

FURTHERMORE:  (organized economic feasibility)  In ancient Rome, one senator realized that they could not recall the Roman Army because there was not enough food in all of Rome to feed it.  Our economy has reached the corresponding stage–it would totally collapse if the U.S. military disappeared in an instant.  My approach is to CHANGE WHAT THE MILITARY DOES:  replace search and destroy with search and rescue.  It would be a vehicle for scientific research (e.g. feeding the world population) and distribution of cooperative initiatives to end the causes of war.  The Department of Peace discussions tend toward this direction.  Having UNIVERSAL military / alternative service would also be a wrenching shift in the economy, but it could be designed logically.

AND FINALLY:  (public safety is a MUTUAL responsibility)  Even in a world with evenly distributed wealth, open democracy, etc. there may be a need for police presence to deal with the anomalies of individuals who become violent for whatever reason remains to do so.  To me military means “A does to B,” while acceptable police work is “A, B, C, D” mutually carry out the standards of behavior that THEY HAVE MUTUALLY CHOSEN to enforce ON THEMSELVES.

What do you think?

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Consumerism and Over-Consumption

Author: Breeze Richardson

 

This afternoon Focus Groups were held around areas of concern that those gathered wanted to explore more direct action around; I choose “Liberating the Earth from Consumerism, Over-Consumption and Greed.”

How can we bare witness to these concerns with clear language that’s inviting, not berating?

There are 5 parts to prophetic witness. One might feel led to do just one; or might feel led to do more:
– speak out (Speak Truth to Power)
– build and demonstrate the alternative
– celebrate what around you that is already good
– take symbolic and practical action
– envision

What does it mean to “live a good life” today? How does an individual answer such a question, and find resources to explore & discover new answers?

Resources:
(a list which is in no way exhaustive, but represented by those gathered)

• Living Witness Project (of Britain Yearly Meeting) – to help Meetings learn how to do this corporately
• Friends Testimonies and Economics (a project of Quaker Earthcare Witness) – learning/teaching about our economic policies in a context of ecological impact
• Quaker Institute for the Future, a research initiative which has just published Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy (2009)
• Quaker Earthcare Witness – demonstrating how we can better live with right relations towards the earth; has many online resources on specific issues
• National Council on Churches (NCC) Eco-Justice Department
• Mennonite Creation Care Network – includes resources on connecting to Mennonite farmers, eco-friendly conference/gathering planning, and other initiatives
• NewCommunityProject.org

One particularly interesting action that caught my attention was the use of a Volunteer Fuel Tax Fund. One participant shared the success of his congregation to implement a voluntary tax each participating church member pays to a special fund, equal in amount to their personal consumption of gasoline (so for example, his family pays 50-cents a gallon). The money raised has refurnished the building: new environmentally-friendly windows, better insulation and low-flow toilets, to name a few. Wall cards accompany the renovations, explaining their funding. (Note: another participant mentioned a Quaker initiative that has begun along these lines, called the “Dime-a-Gallon Project“.)

In the end, we authored two-sentences at the direction of Gathering organizers:

We witness… and lament our participation in our economic system, which has led to catastrophic results: over-consumption, unequal distribution of resources, and the destruction of God’s Creation.

We are called to… return to our communities to speak out about the structural economic injustice around us, reduce our ecological footprint, and seek to live in right relationship with all God’s Creation.

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Let’s Go to the Movies – and Look for a Message of Peace

Author: Breeze Richardson

My workshop this week has been a really nice experience, facilitated by Gareth Higgins (author of How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films) and Warren Cooper (owner of Music Media Ministry).  Titled, “How Does Pop Culture Reinforce Conflict or Encourage Healing”our time together focused on Walter Wink’s Myth of Redemptive Violence and how that false truth – that order comes from chaos – has been the key belief of all human cultures.  …and how this has played out in pop culture, especially film.

I think my main take away was a new appreciation for the idea that the context in which you see something affects how you perceive it.  So if you look for a message of peace, or reconciliation, or hope, or integrity… you might just find it.

Here are 7 films Gareth recommended, all which challenge this notion that violence can be a cleansing experience:

– Hero (Ying Xiong) (2002)
– The Full Monty (1997)
– The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
– Munich (2005)
– Protagonist (2007)
– ScaredScared (2004)
– Gran Torino (2008 )

Can you add to the list?  Or Comment on any of these you’ve seen (or see them so you can comment!), and share your thoughts on what take-away message you found?

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Moving in a Good Direction

Author: Breeze Richardson

Last night the Gathering seemed to shift (ever-so-slightly) in a new direction with the keynote plennary address by Alexie M. Torres Fleming.  Founder of Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice in the South Bronx, her personal story and life lessons were most welcome.

Even with her faith-based approach, her storytelling was very accessible and her groundedness in a very Quaker-like place – “that of God [Good] in everyone” – was a message she delivered in a humble, believable way.  “You can’t wait for a miracle; you are the miracle.” “Work in your own backyard; you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to make a difference.” and “You cannot redeem what you do not assume.” were all powerful messages, especially in this context that has been a lot about talking and little about action, resources & next steps.

But to keep a clear spirit-led edge to my experience here, I think the “life lesson” Alexie shared that struck me the most was her clear belief that as she would be willing to, without question, give her life for one of her children – she asked us: what would it be like to feel that for all children?  All people?

As a mom (of a two-year old little boy), and six-months pregnant with my second son, I heard this question in a new Light.  I know without hestitation the love I feel for my child.  To feel that for all humanity?  What would that committment to relationship and community honestly mean?

PS: My long-time Friend, Chuck Fager, Director of Quaker House in Fayetteville, NC, is also here at the Gathering & writing nightly about his experiences.  Visit: A Friendly Letter to read more about what he’s discovering, including what he took away from Alexie’s talk last night…