Dear RN list, Aug. 9
I wrote to the editor of _Fellowship magazine to let him know that I had
mentioned the Fellowship onf Reconciliation, in my list of "favourite picks"
on the topic of "deep peace".
Below is a copy of the reply he sent:
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 21:11:33 -0400
To: •••@••.••• (Jan Slakov)
From: •••@••.••• (Richard Deats)
Subject: Re: posting mentions Fellowship
JAN--THANKS SO MUCH! GLAD YOU LIKE THE MEL WHITE BOOK [_Stranger at the
Gate]; HE RECENTLY WAS KEYNOTER AT OUR FOR NATIONAL CONFERENCE AND WAS
REALLY EXCELLENT; AFTERWARDS, HIS WORKSHOP OVERFLOWED WITH A CAPACITY CROWD.
MORE ON INNER PEACE. CHECK OUT IN OUR BOOK LIST "AMBASSADOR OF
RECONCILIATION. A MURIEL LESTER READER." SHE CONVERTED ME TO THE INNER
JOURNEY/OUTER JOURNEY APPROACH MANY YEARS AGO. RICHARD
And David Lewit, a social psychologist in Boston, wrote to recommend a book
he has found useful in his spiritual journey. This was in the context of a
question I had asked about his comment that Citizens for a Democratic
Renaissance has not shown much evidence of "subjective" spirituality.
>Jan: I have a question re: "subjective" spirituality. What would it mean to go
>from raising issues of spirituality "objectively" to "subjectively"?
>
David: A REMINDER OR RITUAL OR BOOK QUOTATION IS OBJECTIVE. fOR EXAMPLE,
DURING A LONG BREAK REV. PHIL WHEATON SET UP A DISPLAY ON THE FLOOR OF THE
RETREAT
MEETING ROOM WITH NAME AND DATE OF THE MURDER OF EACH OF TWO DOZEN KILLED BY
MEXICAN SOLDIERS IN CHIAPAS, WITH A FLOWER ON EACH. WE JOINED HANDS AROUND
THE DISPLAY AND PONDERED, THEN FOLLOWED PHIL IN AN EXERCIZE.
COURAGE AND MINDFULNESS IN ONE'S HEART IS SUBJECTIVE. HAS TO DO WITH
DEDICATION, FELLOWSHIP, AND CONFIDENCE IN ONE'S PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE.
POLITICALLY AND BIBLICALLY SOPHISTICATED, A BOOK I RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE IS
"WHO WILL ROLL AWAY THE STONE?" BY CHED MYERS.
****************************************************************************
As for me, I want very much to let you know about two groups I know of whose
courage and dedication in working for peace I admire very much.
Both groups are using civil disobedience to denounce and hopefully bring an
end to the genocidal* sanctions against Iraq. (*So qualified by former US
Attorney General Ramsey Clarke.)
The first is the Voices in the Wilderness group (VITW). They are currently
conducting a "Fast for Life":
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 16:09:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kathy Kelly <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Announcement: Fast for Life
Voices in the Wilderness
A Campaign to End the UN/US Economic Sanctions Against Iraq
July 25 - August 13, 1998 Fast for Life
Announcement
Since August 6, 1990, the people of Iraq have endured the most comprehensive
trade sanctions ever imposed in modern history. Previously reliant on trade
for basic foodstuffs and medicines, Iraq was particularly vulnerable to this
embargo. Likened to a state of siege, the economic sanctions have led to a
cycle of disease and malnutrition that has killed hundreds of thousands of
Iraqi civilians. The UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs reports that
"public health services are near total collapse - basic medicines,
life-saving drugs and essential medical supplies are lacking throughout the
country. Fifty percent of rural people have no access to potable water, and
waste water treatment facilities have stopped functioning in most urban areas."
We are US citizens, many of whom have traveled to Iraq in violation of the
UN/US sanctions. We have seen how the sanctions punish innocent civilians
and isolate them from the international community. We believe there is no
human benefit in inflicting misery, suffering and despair on Iraqi people.
Peaceful and fair relations between the United States and Iraq must begin by
recognizing Iraqi peoples' fundamental human rights (the rights to food,
clean water and health care). Iraq's people have a right to live. They
should not be used as bargaining chips to force U.S. will on Iraq's leaders.
Several months before her induction as Secretary of State, Ms. Madeleine
Albright stated, regarding the deaths of over 500,000 Iraqi children that,
"we think the price, the price is worth it." We disagree. Writing about
Iraq, British historian Geoff Simons speaks solemnly to such callous
disregard for human life. "All those prepared to defend policies that are
impacting with such cruelty on an entire population should reflect on their
complicity, major or minor, in the perpetration of a new holocaust."
Lifting the economic sanctions would begin a process of healing and
reconciliation between the people of the US and the people of Iraq. Voices
in the Wilderness members, in repentance for the loss of life caused by
these sanctions, will gather in New York City to undertake a vigil and fast,
calling for an immediate end to the sanctions. Fasters will vigil each day
and evening at a site opposite the US Mission to the UN from July 25, 1998
until UN Weapons Inspection Director Richard Butler and Iraq's Deputy Prime
Minister Tariq Aziz conclude their next round of meetings scheduled to begin
on August 9, 1998.
The Fast for Life appeals to religious and community leaders to join them,
August 6 - 9, in issuing an urgent call for an end to the sanctions. As we
commemorate the victims of atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
let us unite to protect Iraqi civilians from any further suffering and
death. We call upon the United Nations to publicly recognize the sanctions
themselves as a violation of the Geneva Protocols and a weapon of mass
destruction--a weapon that target innocent lives in the cradle of
civilization.
For more information, Contact: Voices in the Wilderness 1460 West Carmen
Avenue Chicago, IL 60640 tel. 773-784-8065 fax 773-784-8837
website: www.nonviolence.org/vitw
Voices in the Wilderness
A Campaign to End the US/UN Economic Sanctions Against the People of Iraq
1460 West Carmen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
ph:773-784-8065; f: 773-784-8837
email: •••@••.•••
There is also a Christian Anabaptist communal group, the Bruderhof, which is
planning to send another delegation to Iraq in October with supplies (in
violation of the sanctions).
In February, when another bombing attack against Iraq seemed imminent, I
remember being struck by a cyberjournal posting Richard wrote. He said he
felt the only way to prevent the criminal bombing of Iraq would be for many
of us to put our bodies on the line; to go to Iraq and oblige our
governments to face bombing us, as well as the Iraqis... As it turned out,
of course, a last minute deal prevented the bombing, but the killing goes on
nonetheless. Richard's challenging statement helped me find out about both
VITW and the Bruderhof. I don't feel it would be worth it for me to actually
go to Iraq myself but I certainly do want to support these two groups.
Here is some information on the Bruderhof community:
The Bruderhof is a Christian community movement of approximately
2,500 people. Founded in Germany in 1920, we were forced to flee Nazi
persecution in 1937, and first came to the US in 1954. In rejecting private
property and violence, we take inspiration from the first Christians and
Europe's Anabaptist movement of the 1500's. The Bruderhof ("brother's
place") has grown to five communities in the northeastern United States, and
two in England.
Witnessing for peace involves dialogue with people of other
faiths and ideologies, a consistent reverence for life, and protest against
the death penalty, abortion, and war.
Neighborhood involvement is constant: prison ministry,
scholarships for public school students, food bank, homeless and referral
services, and hosting events for residents of local towns. We welcome
thousands of visitors from around the world to our communities every year.
Children, elderly, and disabled are treasured. The community
gives members of all ages and conditions meaningful duties. Doctors and
nurses who are members make it possible for most births and deaths to take
place within a
supportive, extended family atmosphere at home.
Membership is open to adults seeking a life of service following
Christ's teachings. Even children of members must make their own choice to
join as adults.
Plough Publishing has been a vital part of the Bruderhof from the
beginning. It provides music, books about the communities radical Christian
vision, and The Plough magazine, with subscribers in over 100 countries.
*****************************************************************************
The Bruderhof community is also planning to send a caravan to Chiapas in
November (and the information they have on the indigenous communities in
Chiapas on their web site is most interesting; I could send a copy to anyone
who would like it.) Or just visit the web site yourself at: www.bruderhof.org
all the best, Jan
