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Reports on
A witness for Peace Not Poverty |
Another participant reports
on the Peace Not Poverty rally at Riverside Church
Tom Philipp, a Presbyterian minister now serving on Long Island, joined
Phyllis Zoon to represent the Witherspoon Society as one of the
organizations co-sponsoring the send-off rally in New York for the "End
the Silence" tour of the US, raising people’s awareness of the terrible
consequences of the war in Iraq, particularly for American’s poor. He has
sent these impressions of the event, and a couple photos.
[4-19-05]
Attending the event was similar to the events of the past when church
people and others came together to rally around the causes of peace and
justice and civil rights. I remembered being at Riverside in the past for
several of those occasions. This was the first time, however, where I had
the honor to carry a banner for a particular group.
I am glad that Witherspoon was able to make a statement boldly and
clearly, as Phyllis and I walked the center aisle of Riverside Church
carrying our banner. My only concern was that I know many people present did
not know who Witherspoon is, and I would suggest that we add something to
our banner identifying us with the PCUSA.
 The
speeches were inspiring. Sister Joan [Chittister] always speaks with passion
and compassion, always raising up truth with power, always centering her
remarks in the Gospel that calls us to work on an agenda that we cannot
ignore: hunger, justice, peace. The two speeches that moved me the most,
however, were those of the two women who had lost their own in Iraq, and
were able to turn their grief and anger into action, speaking out to our
political leaders as well as to the public at large on the immorality of our
country's action in Iraq.
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Celebration and send-off at Riverside Church
[4-6-05]Iraq
quagmire is impoverishing our nation
National bus tour will present budget as a moral document
Riverside Church in New York saw an interfaith gathering on Monday
evening, April 4, to celebrate the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s
speech that he called "Beyond Vietnam," in which he said:
"I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies
in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continue to
draw men and skills and money like one demonic, destructive sucking tube."
The event drew support from over 50 religious groups, including
Christians, Jews and Muslims – including the Witherspoon Society and the
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.
In the conviction that King’s prophetic words of April 4, 1967, apply
just as painfully today, if you simply substitute Iraq for Vietnam, the
group has begun a national bus tour of religious leaders, aimed to capture
the attention of the media and counter the influence of the religious right.
We hope it will serve as a catalyst to turn the tide of our nation’s drift
to darkness toward the light of goodness.
Adapted from a communication from True Majority
Read the full text of Martin Luther King’s historic speech that linked
opposition to the Vietnam War to the struggle for civil rights:
Learn more about
the bus tour
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Witherspoon presence:
The Rev. Phyllis Zoon and the Rev. Tom Philipp represented the
Witherspoon Society in the opening celebration at Riverside Church.
Phyllis sends this quick, personal response:
Monday night’s event was amazing and exciting. The church was full and
their service lasted 3 hours, which went by very quickly because the
speakers were so inspiring—and there were many of them. For me, Sister Joan
Chittester, who spoke on conscience, and the Mayor of Cleveland, Jane L.
Campbell, who spoke on hope and its loss in our cities, were the highlights.
And Jesse Jackson was very inspiring. Afterward there was ice cream from Ben
and Jerry’s. I hadn’t had dinner and was rather sugar-shocked by the time I
left.
Phyllis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Declaration
As part of the event, a declaration of
conscience against the Iraq War was read. It was developed through an
on-line process in which thousands of people took part, expressing their own
perceptions and concerns. A process of on-line editing gathered the many
statements into the coherent Declaration that was presented to the
gathering.
Take a look at it, and tell us what you
think! |
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The
Declaration
The Declaration below was completed on
April 2. It was read for the first time in Riverside Church, New York, on
April 4 by Kelley Ogden, of Houston, Texas, the final consensus leader of
the Peace Not Poverty Write-In.
Thirty-eight years ago today, Dr. King reminded us of
those moments in life where silence is betrayal. Our lives begin to end the
day we remain silent when our conscience tells us to speak. Today, we walk
in the footsteps of Dr. King, Fred Korematsu, Mahatma Gandhi, and countless
others who have walked this road before. Their examples guide us along the
path.
War poisons the moral fiber of every individual and
destroys the intricate fabric of life. As a nation, we value peace and have
prided ourselves in non-aggression towards other sovereign states. The war
in Iraq, however, violates this principle of non-aggression. The Iraq war is
a war of choice. We did not engage in diplomacy, but rather, bullying.
Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction. Iraq did not
invade our country or attack it. It is painful to admit that we invaded
another sovereign nation without cause and without provocation. Our
conscience tells us that we must end this war.
The war in Iraq violates law and perverts our sense of
justice. We are no longer viewed as an impartial arbitrator of disputes, but
as a biased proponent of our own self interest. We have lost the moral high
ground for condemning the aggression of others. Our compassion and care for
fellow man has been replaced by intolerance, hatred, and bigotry. The war in
Iraq has curtailed the freedoms and liberties that our founding fathers, and
those like Dr. King, worked so hard to secure. The war in Iraq promotes
fiscal insanity for us and future generations and it narrows and degrades
our soul. It is a cancer, that if left unchecked, will only spread.
Our conscience tells us that now is the time for action,
before the war destroys all that we hold dear. We must speak so that our
families, our children, our loved ones, and our nation, are not poisoned by
hate, bigotry, and intolerance. We must end this war.
We must cease all combat operations. Troops should be
withdrawn in an orderly fashion, with only a small portion remaining to
assist in the rebuilding efforts. To the extent that troops are necessary to
maintain order, peacekeeping activities should be turned over to the UN or
the Arab League.
We must dismantle our military bases, which only serve to
remind the Iraqi people of our presence. We have done enough damage and must
remove the vestiges of this transgression.
We must fund the rebuilding of Iraq's roads, buildings,
and infrastructure destroyed by this war, as this is our moral and legal
obligation. Iraqi engineers, labor, and business, not US corporations that
profit from war, should be employed to rebuild. Our actions must be pure in
deed and in heart. We must give international relief agencies full access to
help the people of Iraq and alleviate their suffering. We must help rebuild
the lives of the Iraqi people and restore the fabric of life.
We must accept the form of government freely chosen by the
Iraqi people, without US influence. Our insistence upon a particular form of
government only poisons the political process. Democracy cannot be imposed
upon others by the barrel of a gun.
We must take steps at home to change the mindset of the
American people. Describing the war in Iraq as a 'front' provides us with a
false sense of justification for our actions. We were wrong, and we need to
recognize that we were wrong.
Americans must be reminded that truth and honesty,
freedom, and liberty for all are our core values. The freedoms and liberties
that have been taken from us must be restored. We must also take steps to
safeguard our freedoms and liberties, to ensure that they are not taken from
us so easily again.
We must also address the root causes of this conflict, not
only in our hearts, but in our daily lives. We must reduce our dependence on
oil, which fuels our aggression.
As a result of this war, countless lives have been ruined,
and our integrity among nations has been compromised. We must repair our
relations among nations, and strengthen the ties that bind us all. We must
hold those responsible for this war accountable.
We must also demonstrate the power of forgiveness. We must
release those we have imprisoned, even those who may wish us harm. The men,
women, and children of Iraq should be free to begin rebuilding their lives,
regardless of their actions or our suspicions. We must remove the log in our
own eye before attempting to remove the splinter in another's.
We must right our wrongs. We must demonstrate our strength
at home and abroad by apologizing to the Iraqi people and to the world. By
redressing the wrongs that we have inflicted upon the Iraqi people, and the
damage that we have done to relations among nations, we demonstrate respect
for freedom and democracy. By redressing the wrongs, we strengthen the bonds
of humanity, we make peace possible, and we restore our soul.
Let us all lift our voices for as our conscience tells us,
now is the time to speak.
Now, what do you think of this Declaration?
Just send a note
and share your thoughts here!
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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