a report from Douglas Bartlett
[8-15-02]

Barbara Green, Executive Director of the Center for Theology and Public Policy in Washington, DC, led discussion based on her study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's brave and profound resistance to the Nazi terror in wartime Germany and his love for all of God's creation. She also spoke of a recent statement of religious leaders who gathered at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C: "We deeply believe that the long-term reliance on nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the nuclear powers, and the ever-present dangers of their acquisition by others, is morally untenable and militarily unjustified." (June, 2000)

Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, spoke of the hundreds of billions of dollars being committed to the development of new anti-ballistic weapons in space. International treaties are being renounced and the "star wars" nature of our weapons in space threatens the environment and the delicate agreements among nations, not the least of which is the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Bruce brought new information not reported by much of the popular press, speaking with passion on this crucial subject.

Alan Geyer, Canon Ethicist of the National Cathedral, reviewed the disarmament efforts during the Cold War. He has written widely of the moral dimensions of the continuing nuclear threat and various forms of militarism in our culture. He suggested that "a fanatic is one who doubles the speed when in trouble or losing the way," applying this critique to the nuclear policies of the G. W. Bush presidency. These policies go all the way back to 1980, when our government promoted the huge lie of the US-USSR imbalance of nuclear weapons. In fact, we were always way ahead of Soviet weapons.

Among the themes discussed throughout the week were a "theology of peacemaking," the relationship between patriotism and resistance, the conviction that peace is the experiencing of the harmony of life and of positive human relationships, and what we need to believe in order to stay hopeful and useful in our peacemaking.

It was a powerful and stimulating week of helpful presentations and several small group discussion sessions, inspiring a measure of hope as we headed home. Conversations continued around the tables at meal times and on into the evenings.

Witherspoon and the Peace Fellowship will explore the possibilities of a fourth annual seminar at Ghost Ranch next summer. Watch for further news and plan to come!

The author

Doug Bartlett recently retired as mentor of peace studies at Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC, and is currently living in the Washington, D.C. area.

GA actions ratified (or not) by  the presbyteries   

A number of the most important actions of the 219^th General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries, confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.

We provided resources to help inform the reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.

Our three areas of primary interest have been:

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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!

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive

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