Committees

Morristown Unitarian Fellowship

M U F L I N K S

Seeds of Peace Seeds of Peace
A Social Responsibilities Program
of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship

Upcoming Programs | Previous Programs | Mission and Activities Statement | What is Your Ministry “Personality Type” | Other Useful Links

If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.
-Lao-Tse
For meeting information, contact
Jo Sippie-Gora at jo@josippie.com

Please come join us!

Goings On

MUF members who had signed up to take the bus to Washington DC for the Inter-faith Peace Witnessing and Action did not attend, as the bus was cancelled. However, I’d like to report that two Unitarian ministers were among 41 religious leaders and other peace activists arrested in a nonviolent public witness against the Iraq occupation.

On March 8, Seeds of Peace hosted the program “Pakistan”, with the Essex County UU, at their location in Orange.

Thanks go to all MUF members who attended the March 2 and 9 Seeds of Peace UUA Peacemaking Team Luncheon programs. We hope that the topics discussed have helped you re-examine your views on nonviolence and Just War. Please plan to “talk back” on this UUA SAI (Study Action Item) on Peacemaking, on April 27, approximately 1:15.

The Seeds of Peace UUA Peacemaking Team has just begun to prepare Peacemaking programming for the next few months. Plans include Adult RE courses, a program suitable for our youth, an interfaith event, trainings and workshops. We welcome input from all members of the congregation.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

Most programs are free (donations appreciated), provide for audience discussion, offer free refreshments and materials, and include timely books available for sale by WordOut!

PREVIOUS PROGRAMS

March 6 & 7, 2008 Interfaith Peace Witness- Dr. King reminded us that we are all "caught in an inescapable web of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." All of us are wounded by the war in Iraq, and we must work together to end it.

March 8, 2007- First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County
Pakistan- If Pakistan is a long time ally of the U.S., then Why are Pakistan communities in the U.S. under attack?√ Why was Bhutto assassinated?√ Why is Pakistan a key link in the Middle East?√ How do deportations of Pakistanis after 9/11 affect us all?√ How have Unitarian Universalists been involved?

December 1 ,2007
Mindful Communication - Presented by Empty Bowl Zendo
Workshop
Increasing awareness and compassion in relationship with yourself and others.

October 11 ,2007
What a Way to Go- life at the end of empire Film Screening

A middle-class white guy comes to grips with Peak Oil, Climate Change, Mass Extinction, Population Overshoot, and the demise of the American Lifestyle.

July 28,2007
Iraq for Sale- Film Screening

Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers is the story of what happens to everyday Americans when corporations go to war. Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed and Uncovered) takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq . Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing and the decision makers who allow them to do so.

April 12,2007
Isreali peace activist Dorothy Naor talk "The Cost of Israel’s Expansionism to Israelis and Palestinians."

Naor represents New Profile, a group of Israelis whose aim is to tranform Israel from a militaristic society to a “civil-ian” one (see www.newprofile.org). This includes supporting youngsters who refuse to conscript. To date, Israeli law does not acknowledge men's and women’s basic human right to conscientious objection.

Thousands of young women and men in Israel are currently avoiding conscription or avoiding combat duty. Faced with no legal option for conscientious objection, a discharge on grounds of unfitness or poor health is virtually their only way out.

New Profile urges the examination and revision of exemption procedures on grounds of conscience. They call for the recognition of men and women's right to express their social commitment by means of alternative civic service, conducted through a broad array of community services including work with non-governmental, voluntary organizations.

In 1998, the "New Profile Movement" presented a first ever public forum for openly discussing these matters.

New Profile also opposes Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and supports non-violent means of opposing the occupation. Dorothy will discuss militarism, New Profile’s aims, and the cost of Israeli expansionism to Israelis and Palestinians.

December 6, 2006
Film: Why We Fight

WHY WE FIGHT, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, is an unflinching look at the anatomy of the American war machine, weaving unforgettable personal stories with commentary by a “who’s who” of military and beltway insiders. Featuring John McCain, William Kristol, Chalmers Johnson, Gore Vidal, Richard Perle and others, WHY WE FIGHT launches a bi-partisan inquiry into the workings of the military industrial complex and the rise of the American empire. Inspired by Dwight Eisenhower’s legendary farewell speech (in which he coined the phrase “military industrial complex”), filmmaker Eugene Jarecki surveys the scorched landscape of a half-century’s military adventures, asking how – and telling why – a nation of, by, and for, the people, has become the savings-and- loan of a system whose survival depends on a state of constant war.

October 7, 2006
An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore's acclaimed film about the threat of global warming was followed by discussion and a how-to presentation.

September 24, 2006
MUF Family Peace Picnic

Started with Sunday Services on "Right Relationships--the Heart of Peace", then All People's Day craft workshops, "Peace Doves/Watching Homer", Catered Lunch and a Peace Concert! This commemoration of the 25th year of the International Day of Peace was declared by the United Nation (The resolution: "Declares that the International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day...).

September 16, 2006
How To Talk About Peace and Security Now

An American Framing Workshop offered by The Metaphor Project - Framing Our Message for Americans - Participants in this workshop learned effective ways to frame their messages for mainstream American audiences. Familiar American sayings, images or ideas like “the clean air generation,” “real patriots pay their fair share (of taxes),” “keep space open space,” and “play fair” evoke our best shared national values. We combined these ideas with our own messages to produce powerful new sound portraits--the kind of language that creates common ground, opens up dialogue, and helps change minds.

September 11, 2006

The Ground Truth

Hailed as "powerful" and "quietly unflinching," this searing, 78 minute documentary feature included exclusive footage that stirred the participants. The terrible conflict in Iraq, depicted with ferocious honesty in the film, is a prelude for the even more challenging battles fought by the soldiers returning home – with personal demons, an uncomprehending public, and an indifferent government. As these battles take shape, each soldier becomes a new kind of hero, bearing witness and giving support to other veterans, and learning to fearlessly wield the most powerful weapon of all - the truth.

August 5, 2006
Public Forum on US Occupation of IRAQ

This forum was hosted by the Seeds of Peace and was co-sponsored by the Morris DFA and the NWNJ for Democracy. More than 200 people attended the event which featured US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), 11th District Congressional Candidate Tom Wyka, Amanda Schroeder (sister of a fallen soldier), and Veterans for Peace member Joseph Attamante.

July 6, 2006
Mark Crispin Miller, Best Selling Author of The Bush Dyslexicon and Fooled Again

Mark Miller spoke on How to Protect the Integrity of our Elections in 2006 and Beyond. He argued that the outcome of the 2004 election, in many states including Ohio, was manipulated to favor George W. Bush and the Republican party. And, that the impetus and opportunity is there to do it again. Citizen groups in many parts of the country, as well as some Congressional members, are actively seeking to ensure safe, transparent elections, but the challenge is great and November is only a few months away. Music was provided by Sharleen Leahey, folk musician presenting songs for peace. Also on the program was the citizen group, Essex County (NJ) Task Force on Voting Rights, which has been engaged for more than a year now with the Freeholders of Essex County in overseeing the selection of a replacement voting system.

April 9, 2006
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

A multidimensional study of one of the biggest business scandals and greatest corporate disasters in American history, the film shows how top executives from the 7th largest company in this country walked away with over one billion dollars, leaving investors and employees with nothing. The film features insider accounts and rare corporate audio and video tapes that reveal colossal personal excesses of the Enron hierarchy and the utter moral vacuum that posed as corporate philosophy. The human drama that unfolds within Enron's walls resembles a Greek tragedy and produces a domino effect that could shape the face of our economy and ethical code for years to come.

March 19, 2006
Film and Special Guest Speakers from the Parents Circle

Another Side of Peace is a 60-minute film that follows a 60-year-old Israeli’s internal journey to come to terms with the deaths of his two sons, and his efforts to reach reconciliation and promote peace. Putting anger and despair aside, Roni co-founded the Parents Circle, a support group for bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost children in the conflict. He works with a Palestinian counterpart, to connect with other bereaved families in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Their worldwide message is simple: No More Death.

February 26, 2006
Representatives of the AJMA (American Joint Multi-faith Association)

The AJMA is a Tikkun community based on the higher ideals of their faiths and the principles of tolerance and harmony. They dream of rebuilding the Jewish-Christian-Muslim symbiosis of Al-Andulusia Spain), the ecumenical harmony of the Ottomans, and Akbar's Mughal India fostering “covivencia” among all communities in the USA and Europe today. Using principles of Non-Violence, Gandhi's "ahmisa", the ecumenical vision of Pope John Paul II, Presbyterians, Unitarians and Quakers, with Tikkun (healing and rebuilding), AJMA’s slogan is: "Each time there is a terror act, we should form new relationships among our community."

January 16, 2006
Rosa’s Children: Sowing Seeds of Peace, A Martin Luther King Day Event

Video Highlights of the Civil Rights Movement

Children's Crafts, Stories & Songs; Children's Video "Our Friend Martin"

Displays, Books and Other Material; Sharing Your Past & Present Experiences and Memories about the Civil Rights Movement

The Rosa Parks Story (90-minute film) Starring Angela Bassett, Cicely Tyson

Community Leaders and Civil Rights Activists answered questions about how they moved MLK’s dream forward and how you can Sow Seeds of Peace in your community.

January 15, 2006
NJ Youths Promote Global Initiatives

What began as a NJ middle-school teacher’s concept of exploring issues of conscience with his students has blossomed into the creation of Global Care Unlimited, Inc., a non-profit organization aimed at promoting youth leadership in global humanitarian service initiatives. Currently, the Global Care students are dedicated to raising awareness and making a tangible difference in the lives of Cambodians as they rebuild their country.The Sunday afternoon program opened with an interactive gallery tour of student presentations about many aspects of Cambodia. Then teacher Mark Hyman and students explained Global Care’s mission, accomplishments and current Cambodian initiatives with respect to landmines and community building (particularly schools, hospitals and the living arts). A video, filmed while accompanying his student delegates to Cambodia, followed. The program closed with a student poetry reading and a question and answer session.

December 4, 2005
Film: Poison Dust (2005, 84 min.) – You thought they came back safely from Iraq, but they didn’t…

Poison Dust tells the story of three young men from New York who could not get answers for their mysterious ailments after their National Guard unit’s 2003 tour of duty in Iraq. A mother reveals her fears about the extent of her child’s birth defects and the growing disability of her young husband – a vet. During the current Iraq War the U.S. use of radioactive DU weapons increased from 375 tons used in 1991 to 2200 tons. Millions of Iraqis are affected. Over one million U.S. soldiers have rotated into Iraq. Today, half of the 697,000 U.S. Gulf War troops from the 1991 war have reported serious medical problems and a significant increase in birth defects among their newborn children. Audience discussion was moderated by Sue Harris, the Producer of Poison Dust.

November 17, 2005
Film: WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price

The film took us behind the glitz and into the real lives of workers and their families, business owners and their communities, in an extraordinary journey that will challenge the way we, as UU's, think, feel... and shop. Audience discussion followed.

October 30, 2005
Film: Stolen Childhoods (2005, 86 min.)

The film is the first feature documentary on global child labor ever produced. The film features stories of child laborers around the world, told in their own words. Children are shown working in dumps, quarries, brick kilns. The film places these children's stories in the broader context of the worldwide struggle against child labor. Stolen Childhoods provides an understanding of the causes of child labor, what it costs the global community, how it contributes to global insecurity and what it will take to eliminate it. Shot in eight countries (Brazil, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal and the United States), the film includes slave and bonded labor footage never seen before.

October 25, 2005
NJ Peace Action's Director, Madelyn Hoffman

Madelyn Hoffman presented a power point slide presentation, as well as many handcrafted items and literature from Afghanistan. In June, 2005, Ms. Hoffman visited Afghanistan with a delegation formed by Global Exchange entitled "Afghanistan: Women Making Change." The tour consisted of meetings with women's rights and human rights advocates in government and nongovernmental organizations.

October 8, 2005
Oscar Canas Fajardo of Colombia, a labor union advisor and a frequently quoted political analyst

Oscar Canas Fajardo spoke about the strategic interests of the US government and multi-national oil corporations in Colombia and Venezuela. Fajardo, currently on a mid-Atlantic speaking tour, revealed and connected the strategic reason for the Iraq war, the US military presence in Colombia (primarily in the oil region) and the two US coup attempts (and other hostility) toward the government of Venezuela. Sponsored by Seeds of Peace, Peaceworks and Wind of the Spirit.

Mission

To provide the seeds (opportunities) for peace that will nurture and cultivate a wholesome interconnectedness with life. Committee-generated activities will create opportunities (seeds) that will facilitate the nourishing of all relationships, including with those who are suffering, and preventing victimization. As these seeds of peace take root and grow, the individual and collective power from within will shine its light on the higher potential states of consciousness, compassion, participatory democracy, and empathy, yielding humane-beings of purpose, vision, and hope.

Activities

Seeds of Peace acknowledges its responsibility to design and provide activities that are consistent with the policies and principles of UUA and our MUF Mission and Covenant. The activities planned by Seeds of Peace generally fall under one or more of the following categories:

1. To study choices that lead to peaceful solutions.

2. To educate the public and members about humane alternatives to war and conflict.

3. To join/form coalitions with others who aspire to the highest ideals of compassion, consciousness and caring.

4. To actively connect with the RE Director and youth volunteers in order to help them to support children, youth, and young adults in the Peace-making Process.

Some examples of the activities include showing films and having guest speakers on topics that affect peace, proposing and fostering the MUF Peace Site initiative, supporting the national movement to establish a cabinet level U.S. Department of Peace, continuing the “Peace Café” program, and addressing child-labor and modern day slavery in the U.S. and around the world.

What is Your Ministry “Personality Type”?

Members of any UU congregation have different styles and temperaments when it comes to doing social justice ministry. One person may feel comfortable doing hands on direct service while another may have the energy to change the system through advocacy and community organizing. There is room for all types of people in the peace-building work of the Seeds of Peace committee at MUF. Please read the five types of social action described below and think about what your social action personality is.

1. SERVICE: Meeting the needs of persons in distress.

Examples: becoming a “friend” to a detainee seeking asylum, buying shares in a micro-credit bank to enable an indigenous person to become self-sustaining, donating food or clothes to the needy, assisting children during the incarceration of a convicted parent.

2. EDUCATION: Teaching people about the importance of a social issue. Helping to raise people's consciousness. Informing people about the aspects of the issues and also interpreting the issue within the context of our liberal religious values.

Examples: participating in a Sunday service on non-violence, public meetings/forums, workshops, resolutions.

3. WITNESS: Making public by word or deed the convictions of an individual or organization regarding a particular issue.

Examples: participating in demonstrations, vigils and marches, writing letters to the editor, passing resolutions, communicating to the wider community through press releases and/or press conferences, organizing petition campaigns, book discussion and film discussion groups, changing your life style to reflect your conviction.

4. ADVOCACY: Working through the legislative process to impact on public policy.

Examples: visiting elected representatives in a delegation, writing letters to elected officials, giving testimony at public hearings.

5. COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: Participating in the peace-building process where decisions are made in places of power. This approach is based on the recognition that individuals have little power to change their situations without the strength of groups who know how to organize and influence power.

Examples: developing a strong organization, influencing policy and decision-makers, empowering people so they can achieve self-determination.

So, which is it? How do our UU Principles inform your Social Justice ministry? For more information, email either co-chair of the Seeds of Peace committee: Jo Sippie-Gora at jo@josippie.com.

OTHER USEFUL LINKS

Peace Action

Common Dreams

Support Dept of Peace Legislation