|
What we can do |
| Presbyterian
UN Seminar seeks faithful responses to terrorism
[6-8-02]
Forty-five Presbyterians from around the world
gathered in New York City recently for a four-day seminar on the theme, Tackling
Terrorism: Faith Talks in the Aftermath of September 11th. The
event, sponsored by the Presbyterian United Nations Office, gave
participants an opportunity to visit Ground Zero in Manhattan and to
explore terrorism and its causes from a Christian perspective. |
| Presbyterians
join interfaith delegation to Afghanistan
[6-1-02]
Three members of First Presbyterian Church of Palo
Alto (California) will participate in what may be the first interfaith
delegation to visit Afghanistan since 9/11.
Derrick Kikuchi, one of the leaders of the Silcon
Valley Witherspoon chapter, has announced that he, along with David
Mineau and Craig Wiesner, will join the delegation from June 14 through
22, which is organized by Global Exchange, and known officially as
"Sowing the Seeds of Peace: An Inter-faith Delegation to
Afghanistan."
Kikuchi adds:
Global Exchange has been organizing delegations
approximately every two months based on various themes (education,
healthcare, etc.). To our knowledge this is the first interfaith
organized team going to Afghanistan. Goals will include discovering
projects and needs that can contribute to rebuilding Afghanistan through
partnership with faith-based churches and communities in the United
States. One of the work projects that the delegation will be involved
with while in Afghanistan will be helping to rebuild a mosque that was
destroyed. Part of the delegation will also include two people who lost
family members on September 11th. There will also be a Roman Catholic
bishop and a Methodist bishop as part of the delegation. We will be the
only Presbyterian church representatives in the delegation. Craig will
be the only Jewish-American.
We're hoping that this trip presents an opportunity
for congregations in our Presbytery to contribute actively in gaining
understanding and extending God's love and peace through practical
action in this troubled area of the world. It would be wonderful if
churches in our Presbytery were to become interested in being involved
in any of the project possibilities that emerge. More information about
this trip can be found at: http://www.fprespa.org/afghanistan.htm
Kikuchi adds the hope that other churches in the Palo
Alto area will invite members of the delegation to share their reports
when they return. He can be reached at derrick@wkmn.com
|
The shock and the grief
remain.
The search for understanding goes on.
Arguments about appropriate responses to the terror of September 11 will
be with us for a long time.
But as part of the people of God, we must also respond
to the immense needs.
This page will offer ideas, suggestions, connections
that may help us all to sort through the possibilities.
And we hope you will contribute your ideas -- in a
simple note, a longer report, a link to a helpful web site. Please
share what you can with the rest of us! Just
send a note. |
| Presbyterian News Service
has summarized the resources available to
help Presbyterians deal with the terrorist attacks of September
11. A special section of the PCUSA web
site is the easiest, fastest way to get help, information. |
| Immigrant rights are doubly
threatened, and advocacy groups call for
May 1 action [3-30-02]
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) and the
National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty for Immigrants warn about
twin threats to immigrant rights -- from a recent Supreme Court
decision, and a revived "bracero" program apparently favored
by Pres. Bush. |
| Support Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance efforts to get a second round of aid
to Afghan refugees. [12-10-01] |
| Oppose
military tribunals and preserve civil liberties
Act for Change has issued this call for action.
[11-29-01] |
| Religious organizations
express concerns for the rights and well-being
of detainees and immigrants; support release of information -- and
suggest that others write to the President and the Attorney General.
[11-20-01] |
Say
NO to torture!
[11-14-01] |
| Relief agencies call for a
bombing pause in Afghanistan [11-7-01]
A number of prominent religious and secular relief
organizations are calling for a suspension of the United States-led
bombing of Afghanistan so that food can be delivered prior to the onset
of Afghanistan's harsh winter. |
| Economic
stimulus package still favors corporations and the well-off
[11-2-01]
We have reported
before on concerns that the President's proposals for stimulating
the US economic seem designed to benefit the wealthy, and especially the
largest corporations, more than helping average citizens - or the fading
economy itself.
The picture looks even worse now, as reflected in a
recent New York Times
analysis. A web site called MoveOn
offers a quick way to send messages to Congress about this issue. |
| Presbyterians
have contributed more than $1.2 million in relief aid through
PC(USA) channels since the Sept. 11 strikes, according to Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance (PDA). [10-26-01] |
| Church
World Service is expanding its Afghan refugee aid to provide both
family shelter kits and 6-months supplies of food. [10-26-01] |
| You may want to support a
bill introduced in Congress, to establish a Department
of Peace. |
| Get more information from alternative
news sources. |
| Urge that economic
stimulus proposals be changed to help the most vulnerable in our
society, instead of the well-off. [10-16-01] |
| Deal with "anti-terrorism"
legislation in Congress.
The National Immigration Forum in Washington, DC.,
provides information on anti-terrorist bills now in Congress, and their
impact on immigrants. [10/9/01]
NOTE: This material also includes:
Anti-immigrant
Backlash - Useful information in dealing with hate crimes
and harassment
Detention
- New regulation allows for longer detention of immigrants without
charge |
Peace
groups plan rallies
[10-5-01]
Gustav Niebuhr reports in today's New
York Times that a number of peace organizations are encouraging
members and others to join in local rallies around the country this
Sunday, October 7. |
| Here are ten simple things you
might do to build community ties and resist
violence against Muslims. |
| You or your congregation might
sign the call by a wide spectrum of religions leaders, "DENY THEM THEIR
VICTORY: A RELIGIOUS RESPONSE TO TERRORISM." |
| Consider using in worship a new hymn written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette in response to
the terrorist actions: "O God, Our Words Cannot Express."
|
| For a
variety of other resources, including liturgies, prayers, and
reflections, go to our general
listing on the events of September 11. |
