WITNESSING FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE - March 2007

We have received word from a number of congregations and individuals who this Spring are working witnesses on behalf of peace around the world. We consider this “Upstream” thinking. (See our newsletter, UPDATE, Spring 2007) We had intended to recognize them in our Spring Newsletter but found that there was insufficient room there to tell the stories. Here are some of the stories: From Midcoast Friends Meeting, Damariscotta Bridges for Peace Gretchen Hall of Newcastle, a member of Midcoast Friends Meeting, was the creator of an idea that has spread across Maine : Bridges for Peace. Every week, churchfolk and community folk stand for a time on the bridges of their towns and cities as witnesses to passersby to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan .

The Machias Peace Walk Banner: Centre Street Congregational Church United Church of Christ , Machias

From First Parish Church UCC, Saco

Memorializing Coalition Forces and Iraqi Civilians

For more than 11 hours on March 2 nd , First Parish Church UCC in Saco hosted an observance memorializing coalition forces and Iraqi civilians killed in the current war. The purpose: to heighten awareness of the tragic loss of life associated with the conflict. Inside the sanctuary, a bell was rung for every life lost, and the church bell tolled every 15 minutes.

From Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church , Portland

Should the UUA Reject the Use of Violence?

At its 2006 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association authorized a 4-year study for its congregations on this question: “Should the Unitarian Universalist Association reject the use of any and all kinds of violence and war to resolve disputes between peoples and nations and adopt a principle of seeking just peace through nonviolent means?”

In response, Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland is beginning a series of events, including interfaith panel discussions, to grapple with this important question. All are invited to a Social Action Peacemaking Sunday, May 20 th , followed by a time for discussion.

From St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Winn

Episcopal Peace Fellowship Essay Winner

Margaret Metzler of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Winn, was the winner on the essay contest sponsored by the Maine chapter of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. The contest, open to students in grades 9-12, asked kids to submit an essay on the theme, “How Can I be a Peacemaker?” Margaret wrote, ““The first step toward becoming a peacemaker is to believe in peace. This I do, and with every atom of my being.”

(Read Margaret's full essay in the February 2007 issue of “The Northeast,” the newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine)

From Centre Street Congregational Church UCC, Machias

March 24 th Peace Walk for Iraq

Peace Walk for Iraq held in Machias , Maine , on March 24 th began with a gathering at Centre Street Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Rev. Gini King, Pastor.  Gene Nichols, local musician and music professor at the University of Maine at Machias led the group in singing followed by talks that call for the end of the war in Iraq , bringing home our troops, the rejection of torture by all, and seeking international peace solutions.  The names of the sixteen Maine soldiers who have been killed in the war were read and with them the names of sixteen Iraqi citizens, ages two years to 69, killed by the war. "They shall hammer their swords into plows and their weapons into farm tools."   Like the biblical prophet Amos we witness to God's presence as we raise our voices for peace among nations and among religions rather than violence and military action.   Centre Street Church and Work for Peace of Washington County came together for this event and also sponsor the monthly Justice and Peace Film Series held at the church. 

From 3 churches on Mount Desert Island ( Bar Harbor and Somesville)

From Every Village Green Invites the Ringing of Bells

“From Every Village Green” is a state and national initiative designed to enable concerned citizens in rural, as well as metropolitan, areas to join together to remind their elected representatives that those who want an end to this war are a majority. In addition to the national observances that were planned for March 17 th , citizens in as many as a hundred communities around the state of Maine reached out with their neighbors, joining in the call for an end to the Iraq war.

Through its Weekly E-Mail, the Maine Council of Churches helped spread the word.

The invitation

We are three clergy on Mount Desert Island who are inviting you and your church to participate in this state-wide effort by sharing in a non-partisan act of remembrance and reflection:  the tolling of church bells and reading aloud of names of the U.S. women and men who have been killed in the Iraq war (now over 3,000).  We understand that this represents just a small percentage of the women, children, and men who have been killed in the violence since 2003.

Signed
The Reverend William Bigelow
The Reverend Jonathan Appleyard
Father Jim Gower

Early reports:

“Well over 200 people joined in our gathering in Bar Harbor , another 100 plus in Somesville, and we received word from others around the state who reported that the response had been stronger than expected. Thanks to the Maine Council of Churches for giving congregations the chance to consider participating.”

From Mattawamkeag

MCC Website Helps Make a Connection

“ Lynn ” from Mattawamkeag noticed the invitation to from the Mount Desert clergy about the upcoming March 17 th event on the MCC website and called the Council office, inquiring whether there was a church in Mattawamkeag associated with the Maine Council of Churches that she might contact. Indeed there was: The United Methodist Church. She said she'd give them a call.

A few minutes later she called the Council office back to say she had spoken with Pastor Leon Robinson, that he had responded with enthusiasm, and that the church bell at the United Methodist Church would be rung, with others across Maine, on March 17th.

AND FINALLY THIS:

From Holy Cross Lutheran, Kennebunk

Pastor, parents praise teen's initiative to help stop the genocide in Darfur

One night, when he was up late, watching television, eighth grader Ted Nichols, a member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kennebunk, saw an ad about Darfur and went into action! He approached his pastor, Richard Horner, asking if he could do something at Holy Cross to raise awareness of what was happening in Darfur , as well as money to stop the atrocities. Yes, indeed! The LOGOS confirmation group at Holy Cross Church wrote prayers that were displayed in church and offered the congregation imprinted wristbands reading “Not on My Watch – Save Darfur” for a dollar. Said Ted, “I wanted to involve us in this because the genocide in Darfur is just wrong in every possible way.” (This story comes to us from “The Lutheran Link,” February 2007. “The Lutheran Link” is the newsletter of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.)