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Friday, October 13 2023 @ 09:15 am
Views: 732
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 Grief and Hope: Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian Families for Peace
Tuesday, Oct 24, 7:30pm
Congregation Etz Chayim, 4161 Alma St., Palo Alto
In-person Only
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED - CLICK HERE Bereaved mothers, Laila Al-Sheikh and Robi Damelin, from The Parents Circle-Families Forum will share their stories of loss and their extraordinary choice for reconciliation rather than revenge. Learn how they are working on the ground not only for peace but for the future of Israel's democracy and Palestinian freedom. The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of over 600 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing conflict. Their highest goal is to work toward the day when no new family must join the circle of the bereaved. It has always been central to the Parents Circle’s work that grief can lead us to hope, as well as to determination to find a way to stop the killing and the dying. Now more than ever, it is more important to stay committed to our values, and to affirm hope and possibility even in the midst of powerful grief. PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED - CLICK HERE |
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Friday, October 13 2023 @ 05:02 am
Views: 318
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 Vigil with Bereaved
Israelis and Palestinians
Sunday, Oct 15
8am (PDT) Online
"We, bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families, are devastated by the recent atrocities and the needless loss of more lives.
We hold vigil for all those lives that have been lost, for the newly bereaved and to demand an end to the violence. Join us by Zoom to light a candle, take a moment of silence and reconnect to hope in this dark time. Please bring a candle to light with us."
CLICK HERE to Register. Sponsored by American Friends of the Parents Circle - Family Forum |
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Wednesday, July 26 2023 @ 12:17 pm
Views: 491
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 Join with people around the world on August 6 for this
NUCLEAR PRAYER DAY
On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Since then, the potential for nuclear catastrophe has grown to an unimaginable scale. United Religions Initiative (URI), the Parliament of the World's Religions and other organizations are hosting a world-wide NUCLEAR PRAYER DAY, inviting you, your congregation, and all religions and walks of life to pray on this day. There is one live-stream event featuring Bishop William E. Swing and others with prayers, reflections and actions steps for a world free of nuclear weapons. Two Zoom events are planned with space for discussion, reflection and community. Local gatherings are being hosted around the globe. Click here to visit the URI site with more information. Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons (a part of URI) has composed a multifaith prayer that you can use - individually, in small groups, and as a communities of worship. “The Beginning and the End are in your hands, O Creator of the Universe.
And in our hands you have placed the fate of this planet.
We, who are tested by having both creative and destructive power in our free will, turn to you in sober fear and in intoxicating hope. We ask for your guidance and to share in your imagination in our deliberations about the use of nuclear force. Help us to lift the fog of atomic darkness that hovers so pervasively over our Earth, Your Earth, so that soon all eyes may see life magnified by your pure light. Bless all of us who wait today for your Presence and who dedicate ourselves to achieve your intended peace and rightful equilibrium on Earth. In the Name of all that is holy and all that is hoped. Amen.” When a former Secretary of State, a former Secretary of Defense, several United States Ambassadors, a famous physicist, and a few friends pray each month for the elimination of nuclear weapons, it raises lots of questions. What do they know that everyone needs to know? Why are they praying? What is their prayer? Click here to watch a short video in response to these questions, and to hear the words of this most urgent prayer! |
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Friday, July 07 2023 @ 05:40 am
Views: 493
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The film "Oppenheimer" will premier at local theaters beginning Wednesday, July 19. MVPJ joins Physicians for Social Responsibility, Ploughshares Fund, Back from the Brink and other organizations in encouraging this "teachable moment" for us all to grapple with the reality of nuclear weapons. Director Christopher Nolan and an all-star cast will shine their Hollywood spotlight on “the father of the atomic bomb,” in this, Nolan’s latest film. During World War II, J. Robert Oppenheimer directed the super-secret Manhattan Project that created the three atomic bombs that ushered in the Nuclear Era. Watch the trailer on youtube here. Click here to find the theater schedules. Read more about it on this webpage for the Physicians for Social Responsibility. And here is a fascinating interview with Christopher Nolan, the director, in this month's issue of Wired. |
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Saturday, June 10 2023 @ 10:35 pm
Views: 443
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|  Join the $20K Matching Campaign for the Amah Mutsun Land Trust Land Acquisition Fund by June 19th
MVPJ is pleased to invite participation in the $20K matching campaign of our local ally and partner SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice of Sacred Heart Community Service) to contribute to the Land Trust Land Acquisition Fund of our local indigenous Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to enable them to buy back land they consider to be sacred when it goes up for sale. To participate in the match campaign up to $20,000, individuals may pledge or contribute before June 19 through this link. This link takes you to an online form provided by SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice of Sacred Heart). Click in the OneTime box to direct your gift to take advantage of the SURJ match for the Amah Mutsun Land Trust fund. (If you would prefer to donate by check, please direct the check to Sacred Heart Community Service (care of Jen Myhre, SURJ) at 1381 S. First St., San Jose, CA 95110, with a note that the gift is for the Amah Mutsun Land Trust Land Acquisition Fund.) Many of us are looking for ways to act on our frequent words of land acknowledgement. This is one way that MVPJ invites you to consider doing just that. To learn more about the Amah Mutsun Land Trust Land Acquisition Fund, click here. |
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Sunday, May 07 2023 @ 12:12 am
Views: 539
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 Nuclear Weaponse and Prophetic Protest: A screening of the documentary will take place earlier that afternoon, 2-3:30pm also in SCU's St. Clare Room. The panel will include:
Helen Young, filmmaker of "The Nuns, the Priests and the Bombs," and Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist; Jackie Cabasso, nuclear disarmament advocate, international speaker and expert, and Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation;
Plowshares faith-based activists featured in the film; and
moderator Tony Cortese, Director of Ignatian Spirituality at Santa Clara University.
Both events are free and open to the public.
(There is a fee for on-campus parking, however Caltrain stops right across the street from the University, so consider that as a good option!)
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Monday, May 01 2023 @ 07:02 pm
Views: 565
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Join the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) and urge your Representative to repeal the 2002 Iraq War Authorization! Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq, a bipartisan group of senators has voted to repeal the law that sent us into that devastating war! CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION through the FCNL website! The 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq (2002 Iraq AUMF) authorized war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime. It is unnecessary for ongoing military operations, but as long as it remains on the books, it is vulnerable to abuse by this or any future president. Most notably, the 2002 Iraq AUMF was used in January 2020 to justify the assassination of Iranian major general Qassem Soleimani—an act unauthorized by Congress that nearly plunged the United States into war. The Senate has acted, now it’s up to the House. Urge your representatives to vote to repeal the 2002 Iraq AUMF! CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION today! |
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Monday, April 17 2023 @ 11:53 pm
Views: 920
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 The Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Day Ceremony
"WE ACKNOWLEDGE..."
Monday, April 24, 2023
10:30am (Pacific Time)
Hosted by Combatants for Peace and The Parents Circle Families Forum
REGISTER HERE! Join the largest Israeli-Palestinian peace event in history! The Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony is hosted by Combatants for Peace and The Parents Circle–Families Forum, and we are proud that Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice is an official sponsor again this year. The Ceremony takes place every year on the eve of Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Memorial Day). In Israeli mainstream culture, the ceremonies that are most often held to honor this day serve to reinforce cultural narratives of pain, victimhood, and hopelessness. Our Joint Memorial transforms this narrative by bringing Palestinians to the Memorial alongside Israelis. Joining together to mourn each other’s pain, we aim to challenge the status quo and set the foundation for a new reality based on mutual respect, dignity, and equality for all. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CEREMONY.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE each other’s humanity and every human’s right to security and freedom. WE ACKNOWLEDGE the oppressive system that fuels injustice, violence, and trauma. WE ACKNOWLEDGE our personal suffering, the suffering of our neighbors, and our part in this pain. WE ACKNOWLEDGE our shared vision of a land where the inherent dignity and equality of all is fully realized. WE ACKNOWLEDGE our power to transform, collectively heal, and unite to end the occupation. |
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Saturday, April 15 2023 @ 01:30 am
Views: 682
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 Join the multifaith call for a
national day of prayer and contemplation,
this Mother's Day,
to stop gun violence!
Faith leaders, congregations or organizations, and individual members or parishioners are urged to sign on to this letter asking President Biden to make this Mother's Day, May 14, a national day of prayer to end gun violence. Since Saturday, April 15, at least 255 people have already died in the United States due to guns. These tragic deaths affect every community.
The letter states in part,
We appeal to you to declare this Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14, 2023,
to be a national day of repentance, mourning, prayer, and reflection
to address the culture of gun violence
that is staining our collective soul.
SIGN TODAY!
Faith leaders and congregations or organizations can use this link.
Individual parishioners and members may use this link. The letter is already signed by more than 400 clergy and lay people, including Dr. Cornel West, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Imam Dr. Talib Shareef, Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia, Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick Gray, Dr. Daisy Khan, Rev. Walter Brueggemann, Sr. Maria Orlandini and many others from diverse faith traditions — including the heads of national denominations and global religious organizations — have already signed this urgent call. SIGN TODAY!
Faith leaders and congregations or organizations can use this link.
Individual parishioners and members may use this link.
Every voice is needed in this call! Let us join together to address the war taking place in our own schools, places of worship, grocery stores, nighculbs, and more. The gun violence epidemic, intertwined with the racist white "Christian" nationalist movement, is a scourge on our communities and a blaspheme of the divine!
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Youth Community Service