Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New York Take Action!
Toledo, OH Peace Walk for CNV Action Week 2021
Today’s collection of actions highlights the power of faith in the movement for peace and nonviolence. Each of these actions shows care for the people involved, and a focus on spreading that care as far and wide as possible. Thank you for being part of the effort to mainstream nonviolence, whether by sending us your action reports, reading those of others, or sharing it to get the word out.
Beverly Bingle of Toledo, OH reports: “This year’s Peace Walk, after missing 2019 because of the coronavirus, was a joy: vaccinated and masked and walking together, lots of passersby supporting with waves and shouts and toots, conversations among peaceful people. Feelings of gratitude and commitment were multiplied by the delight of seeing so many good-hearted friends after being kept apart by COVID-19 for so long.” You can read the full press release here.
David Borzenski of St. Therese of Lixieux Parish in Lansing, MI shares: “I composed a litany using Rosie Davila's posters and the writing that goes with them. At the Peace Pole, readers stepped through the litany and the people responded, ‘Let Peace Prevail on Earth.’ (Last year, we gathered at our Peace Pole in August to remember the use of atomic bombs by the US against Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago.)
Through August and September, we collected items for 21 Blessing Bags for the Homeless and produced 14 bed mats made out of plastic yarn/’PLARN.’ We provided our Blessing Bags and bed mats to a local outreach organization, Advent House Ministries, which makes direct contact with Lansing's homeless 2-3 times each week. We are confident that our generosity and work will touch the homeless. Our efforts to benefit the homeless were also picked up by two (2) local TV stations.”
Sarah Pirtle of Traprock Center for Peace and Justice in Cummington, MA writes: “We launched a collaboration on racial justice among members from four churches in our rural Hilltown community area. We regard racism as a moral and spiritual issue and assert that addressing it is an essential part of our ministries. We were heartened to have 43 people join our online program that gave impetus at the start of our ongoing work. At this program members of Bridge4Unity—a group that is half BIPOC and half European American which has met for three years—offered a conversation about changing racism followed by facilitation of break out groups. Notable speakers from Bridge4Unity included Professor Amilcar Shabazz who heads a national group of professors of African American studies and who worked regionally and statewide for Juneteenth to be widely recognized as a holiday. Other notables were Pat Crutchfield as moderator, Gwen Johnson from Kentucky who is part of the dialogue group Hands Across the Hill, Deborah Snow (founder of B4U), and Rose Sackey Milligan. The feeling of commitment among the participants was palpable, and feedback on the start of Moving Forward has been very positive. One high point was when Deborah Snow said that racism is ‘not an intellectual matter but a heart disease that has broken the hearts of all of us.’ We carried questions such as: How do we have each other’s backs? What will help you on your journey as an anti-racist? As the minister who initiated this event and this coalition, symbolically I lit a candle for the imperative of the soul to widen our hearts, to face the sundering travesty of racism, and commit to keep going.”
Rosemarie Pace of Pax Christi NYS in New York, NY tells us: “About 25 people participated in the Interfaith Prayer Service for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on Zoom and an additional 850 watched on Facebook. On Zoom, we represented Buddhist, Hindu, Sufi, Sikh, Unitarian Universalist, and Christian faiths. Those who shared prayers on Zoom came from not only New York City, but also upstate New York, Long Island, the Washington DC area, Washington State, and Germany. I'm sure the folks on Zoom included far more states and countries. You can hear the prayers in our Youtube video (below). Building a culture of nonviolence requires the contributions of all people from all over and from all faiths. The reach of our prayer service was extensive, bringing people with a common desire for peace and nuclear weapons abolition together. The total elimination of nuclear weapons, a UN focus, is a monumental goal that can only be helped by prayer. We also were able to include recommendations for action in the chat so people could carry our work forward beyond this service.”