CONTENTS
LINKS TO:
PAX CHRISTI PACIFIC NORTHWEST GROUPS
INTERNATIONAL ACTION POSSIBILITIES
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LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY WORK BY EMAIL, PHONE OR SNAIL MAIL
Many Pax Christi members and friends are giving a portion of their day to legislative advocacy work. This work in service of peace, social justice and the environment has sometimes brought about real change in legislation.
Below is a list of websites which provide up-to-date opportunities for legislative action.
YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH POINTS OF VIEW OF ISSUES ASKING FOR ADVOCACY, BUT YOU DO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHAT IS COMING UP.
Network Lobby, a Catholic lobbying organization, educates, lobbies and organizes to influence the formation of fefderal legislation to promote economic and social justice.
The Catholic Advocate, tracking Washington State legislature with
suggestions for action based on Catholic teaching.
Maryknoll Missions presents opportunities to commit to "Faith in Action".
See Getting Involved page for Mission Forums at Maryknoll Mission House in Seattle.
Washington Association of Churches
The Church Council of Greater Seattle
http://www.churchcouncilseattle.org
Bread for the World gives information about upcoming legislation which will support the poor.
National Council of Churches.14 Christian denominations, Jewish and interfaith organization contribute to this site.
http://www.faithfuldemocracy.org
Call to Renewal is a national network of churches, faith-based organizations, and individuals working to overcome poverty in America. Through local and national partnerships with groups from across the theological and political spectrum, we convene the broadest table of Christians focused on anti-poverty efforts. Together we work to influence local and national public policies and priorities, while growing and developing a movement of Christians committed to overcoming poverty.
National Priorities provides a comprehensive database, amongst other things, for how our tax dollars are spent, state by state and an analysis of the trade-offs involved.
http://www.nationalpriorities.org
Sojourner Alerts for peace, social justice and environmental advocacy
Environmental scorecards
Phone (206) 374-0760
Web of Creation An ecumenical, interfaith
organization concerned with sustainability.
www.webofcreation.org
Catholic Teaching on the Environment
provides
a thorough documentation of Catholic teaching with respect to the environment.
http://conservation.catholic.org
Water Conservation
has
a global focus as well as a local one. This month it highlights the water
problems in Iraq. A Seattle group has recently been formed.
www.water.org
Washington Wilderness
This organization works for the preservation
of Washington State wilderness. Of particular interest to Pax Christi
members who 'walk with Native Americans' is this organization's concern
for the condition of our rivers and streams and how this connects to the
salmon's life cycle.
www.washingtonwilderness.org
The Earth Ministry
Earth Charter"is the product of a decade-long, worldwide, cross-cultural conversation about common goals and shared values.... The drafting of the Earth Charter has been part of the unfinished business of the 1992 United Nations Rio Earth Summit."
Pax Christi USA
Pax Christi International
Friends Committee on National Legislation.
The Quakers monitor international action around the Iraq war, disarmament, and native american issues amongst many.
TRACKING STATUS OF BILLS BEFORE CONGRESS CONCERNED WITH NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Nuclear Calendar
Council for a Livable World is disseminating a new weekly feature called a National Security Legislative Calendar. It will be sent via e-mail to all those who subscribe, and will also be available on their web site at:
http://clw.org/media/emails/2007_calendar/index.html
The calendar will focus on the status of bills before Congress that encompass national security issues. It will provide updates of Congressional committee consideration of key bills and House and Senate floor schedules for these same bills. For example, last week, the schedule focused on the $82 billion Supplemental Appropriations bill which the House is consdering this week and the fiscal year 2006 Budget Resolution, which also saw floor time last week in both the House and Senate. The National Security Legislative Calendar will focus more on the status of key legislation as opposed to hearings -- hearings are well-covered in the Friends Committee on National Legislation
The Nuclear Calendar is published every Monday morning when Congress is in session.
Ground Zero maintains a constant presence in the state of Washington witnessing against nuclear weapons. For information on its actions and vigils phone 360-779-4672 or email info@gzcenter.org
ECUMENICAL, INTERFAITH & OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO ASK ABOUT VIGILS AND PEACE WORK
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.
Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation
Phone:206-789-5565
http://www.scn.org/activism/wwfor/
Baptist Peace Fellowship.
Phone: 704-521-6051or
Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
Phone: 415-456-5175 or
Church of God Peace Fellowship.
Phone: 765-643-0049 or
Disciples of Peace Fellowship.
Phone 888-346-2632 or
Episcopal Peace Fellowship.
Phone 312-922-8628
Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Phone: 845-358-4601 or
Jewish Peace Fellowship.
Phone: 845-358-4601 or
http://www.jewishpeacefellowship.org
Lutheran Peace Fellowship.
Phone: 206-720-0313 or
Methodist Peace Fellowship.
Muslim Peace Fellowship.
Phone:845-358-4601or
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.
Phone 845-358-4601 or
SNOW (Sound Nonviolent Opponents of War:
Unitarian Universalist Peace Fellowship.
Phone: 760-776-0823
INTERNATIONAL ACTION POSSIBILITIES
Nonviolent Peace Force
http://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org
Contact: Nick Mele, Bellingham Pax Christi
This organization is focusing currently on a project in Sri Lanka. It is international in its reach and has groups in:
Africa
Asia and Pacific
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Maryknoll Mission Promotion House
Phone: 206-322-8831
http://www.theologyofpeace.org
Foundation for Self-Sufficiency
Contact: Bob Ziegler at zeiglerbob@msn.com
Voices in the Wilderness
We are volunteers, people of faith who, in the tradition of Mohandas Gandhi, practise and advocate nonviolence as a means for social change. On May 17, 2003 Pax Christi Metro New York awarded Voices in the Wilderness The Eileen Egan National Peacemaker Award.
After reading Joe Annunziata's Report in Pax Christi USA's Archives you may want to go into the sites below. They provide additional information if you're interested in the attempts to maintain an ongoing, peaceful dialogue between adversaries in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
http://www.chretiens-et-juifs.org/ (translation: Christian-and-Jews. An English version provided. This site lists other opportunities for involvement.)
http://www.fosna.org/ Friends of Sabeel - North America - Voice of the Palestinian Christians
Statement of Purpose
Friends of Sabeel--North America(FOSNA) is a non-profit, tax-exempt Christian
ecumenical organization seeking justice and peace in the Holy Land through
non-violence and education. FOSNA promotes awareness and understanding
of the conflict between the Palestinians and the State of Israel through
educational programs for North American Christians, engaging them and
their churches in efforts to nurture relationships with the indigenous
Palestinian Christians of Palestine whose existence is threatened by political
conflict. FOSNA seeks reconciliation between peoples of the Holy Land
in a vision of peace based on principles for a just peace as defined in
the Jerusalem Sabeel Document which emphasizes from a moral, legal, and
theological basis the urgency of ending U.S. support for Israel's illegal
military occupation.
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=320.
Seattle organizations concerned about Palestinian/Israeli dialogue are:
Sound Non-violent Opposition to War
http://groups.snowcoalition.org/northseattle/ipinfo.html
LINKS TO PAX CHRISTI PACIFIC NORTHWEST GROUPS
Portland
Pax Christi Portland was started in January 2003.
Pax Christi Portland meets the first Monday of each month at 7pm for fellowship,
discussion and prayer in St Paul's Chapel/St Philip Neri Church, SE 16th
& Division. In October we endorsed the Citywide peace march. We're
planning a series of Rotating Peace Vigils the four Mondays of Advent
with the theme "Journey to Bethlehem, Journey to Peace." Each
week the vigil will move to another parish and pray for peace in a different
region of the world.
Visit our website http:www.pdxpax.org/paxchristi for details.
The focus on prayer is one thing I really like
about our group. Many of us are involved with other groups for action,
and find our monthly pax christi meetings a time of renewal. It's so easy
to be discouraged by the world (and the election!) but I always come away
strengthened. I think it's in part because we started our group so recently
(during the buildup to the Iraq war) that we're still so focused on prayer
and the spirituality of nonivolence. We were looking for that type of
fellowship and strength.
Susan Francois
Salem, Oregon
Pax Christi Salem was formed in September 2004. All of Salem’s Catholic parishes and also Keizer have been invited to join in this national Peace and Justice organization which stands against the political philosophy of this age. Our first action was to cosponsor, with other Salem peace groups, a candlelight vigil on the occasion of the 1000th US Iraq war dead. We continue to provide a forum where peace workers and social justice workers can reflect on and be renewed in their commitment to peace and economic justice. We are also exploring the actual documents of the social teaching of the Church and hope to educate Salem parishes about that rich legacy.
Update September 2005 from Salem:
Various members of Pax Christi Salem have participated in public actions in Salem this summer: the Farm Workers Walk for Peace and Justice and two commemorations of the use of nuclear weapons in Japan.
I also lobbied US Representative Darlene Hooley regarding SMART. She feels that insufficient attention is given to legitimate national defense and will not sign it at this time. In my opinion it is futile to amend a House Concurrent Resolution that will never see light of day anyway. But her objection is duly noted and corrective measures need to be taken in the next version of the Resolution.
Some of us are looking toward the September 24 Impeach Bush rallies.
Our summer hiatus has come to an end and we will be following a new meeting schedule. In an attempt to accommodate more people's schedules.
The Salem chapter of Pax Christi will begin meeting on the second Wednesday of the month beginning September 14 at Queen of Peace at 7 PM. We will review the events and actions of the past two months and renew our relationships with one another.
Queen of Peace – September, December, March
St. Edward - October, January, April
St. Joseph - November, February, May
Peace,
Wayne John Estes
503.399.4830
Email: wayne.estes@earthlink.net
Tahoma
"Over the last five months, a group of 18 local people have been meeting to form a chapter of Pax Christi (literally translated, "The Peace of Christ") in Pierce County. The new chapter is now named Pax Christi Tahoma.
Pax Christi Tahoma invites you to join us every third Thursday at 7 p.m. at Tacoma Catholic Worker's Jean's House of Prayer, 1414 Tacoma Avenue (enter from alley behind Guadalupe House), to pray, study, and find ways to act for peace.
For more information, please contact Barry Ryan at 253-564-7649 or Tom Karlin at 252-627-2857
(excerpt from Tacoma Catholic Worker December 2004)
Whatcom
The Pax Christi Whatcom group sponsored several
major programs this fall. In September, Sr Glenn Anne McPhee, Secretary
of Education for the US Catholic Bishops Conference, spoke to a total
of over a hundred people at both Bellingham parishes about the Faithful
Citizenship document and other statements by US bishops about the 2004
elections. In October, Pax Christi Whatcom joined a number of other groups
to bring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Bobby Muller to speak about the costs
of war and the prospect of a new draft in a forum at Western Washington
University attended by several hundred people.
Nicholas Mele
Press and Public Affairs
Nonviolent Peaceforce
360-671-0238
www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org
Yakima Valley
Pax Christi Yakima Valley (PCYV) is an ecumenical group, working in collaboration with other peace/justice entities, and dedicated to studying and acting upon local, national and international issues. Most recently, PCYV has been engaged in supporting workers on strike at Snokist cannery. PCYV campaigned for a state Senate candidate, contributed to projects assisting the homeless, participated in IPJC's "Faithful Citizenship", and attended Clear Path International's recent fundraiser. Several PCYV members are currently immersed in the "JustFaith" process.
Kate & John Parrish
Email: parrish@nwinfo.net or ernie.harrelson@ecunet.org or
Phone:(509) 457-6366.
gives details of retreats and workshops offered by a Benedictine community.
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PUBLICATIONS
http://www.americamagazine.org America
Press, Inc., publishes America , a weekly magazine founded by Jesuits
of the United States in 1909.
http://www.commonwealmagazine.org Commonweal
is a biweekly independent review of public affairs, religion, literature,
and the arts edited by Catholic lay people since 1924.
http://www.ncronline.org/
The
National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company reports, comments and reflects
on the church and society. It strives for excellence in its publications,
supporting a full, honest and open exchange of ideas. It works out of
a Roman Catholic tradition and an ecumenical spirit. It emphasizes solidarity
with the oppressed and respect for all. It understands that peace, justice
and integrity of environment are not only goals but also avenues of life.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns NewsNotes. A bi-monthly newsletter of information on international justice and peace issues. Its reports are valuable resources for study before action.
DISCLAIMER:
PAX CHRISTI PACIFIC NORTHWEST IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INFORMATION OR LINKS ON ANY LINKED SITES OF THOSE LISTED HERE. THESE LINKS ARE PROVIDED AS A SERVICE ONLY.