Mark the 8th anniversary of the U.S. war in Iraq - a war that continues in its destructive violence on the ground, as well as in the physical, emotional, moral and spiritual suffering inflicted on the Iraqi people, U.S. military personnel, and families of fallen soldiers.  According to Iraq Body Count, there were 4,036 Iraqi civilian deaths by violence in 2010. Also in 2010, sixty U.S. military were killed in Iraq.  For the second year in a row, the U.S. military has lost more troops to suicide than it has to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Coalition deaths in Afghanistan for 2010 were 711. The war goes on...

Camilo Mejia, the first U.S. veteran of the Iraq war to publicly refuse further service, will speak in Palo Alto on Sunday, March 20, 4pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston Road.  The panel responding to Mejia will include:
Karen Meredith - Gold Star Mother whose son 1Lt. Ken Ballard was killed while serving in Iraq;
Ben Daniel - Presbyterian minister and writer of faith-based social and political commentary; and
Paul George - director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center.

"I was afraid of waking up one morning to realize my humanity had abandoned me. ... By putting my weapon down, I chose to reassert myself as a human being. ... Refusing and resisting this war was my moral duty."  -- Camilo Mejia

Sunday, March 20, 4pm
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Main Hall
505 E. Charleston Ave., Palo Alto

Click "read more" to learn more about Camilo Mejia, see how to order his book, and download flyers.

After more than 7 years in the military and 8 months serving in Iraq, Camilo Mejia applied for Conscientious Objector status and was denied.  Convicted and imprisoned by the U.S. military, Mejia was declared a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International. In 2005, while still behind bars, he wrote "Regaining my Humanity" in which he concludes with words that speak urgently to us today:

To those who are still quiet, to those who continue to betray their conscience, to those who are not calling evil more clearly by its name, to those of us who are still not doing enough to refuse and resist, I say "come forward." I say "free your minds." Let us, collectively, free our minds, soften our hearts, comfort the wounded, put down our weapons, and reassert ourselves as human beings by putting an end to war.

Join us on the 8th anniversary of the war in Iraq to
reassert ourselves as human beings by putting an end to war!
The War Goes On: Featuring Camilo Mejia
Sunday, March 20, 4pm
Unitarian Universalist Church, 505 E. Charleston Ave., Palo Alto
Click here for more information.

Easy download of flyers and inserts for:
The War Goes On - Featuring Camilo Mejia
Marking the 8th anniversary of the U.S. war in Iraq
Sunday, March 20, 4pm
Unitarian Universalist Church, 505 E. Charleston, Palo Alto

Full size PDF flyer with white crosses and photo of Mejia

Full size PDF flyer with photo of Mejia holding a "Give peace a chance" sign

Half page PDF flyer to use for inserts, etc.

This conference, the first of its kind, will explore newly emerging VA research on moral injury and examine effective strategies, theologies and practices in religious communities that can help veterans heal from moral injury and support their families.

Friday's keynote lecture will be given by Dr. Shira Maguen, clinician at San Francisco VA Medical Center and clinical professor at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry.  A panel of veterans speaking will include Camilo Mejia and Tyler Boudreau and be moderated by Rev. Herman Keizer, U.S. Army Colonel (ret.).  Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Imam Ustadh Abdullah ben Hamid Ali, and Rev. Lizette Larson-Miller will be among the religious leaders presenting faith-based resources to assist in healing moral injury.  On Saturday the keynote speaker will be Rev. Kent Drescher, Ph.D., who has 18 years of clinical experience in treating military veterans, and is co-author of "An Exploration of the Viability and Usefulness of the Construct of Moral Injury in War Veterans."  

The conference, to be held in Berkeley, begins Friday at 12Noon and concludes Saturday at 5pm.  

Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice (MVPJ) objects to the presumption of guilt implicit in Congressional hearings under the title "The Radicalization of Muslim communities in America" being convened by Rep. Peter King (R, NY).  Since no religious community can claim exemption from the human tendency to resort to radical violence, it is unfair and very likely unconstitutional for a Congressman to single out Muslims for investigation.  MVPJ stands with those who protest the biased McCarthy-like opinions expressed by Sen. King.  We are sure that a truthful investigation would reveal that American Muslims are as dismayed and frightened by religion-based violence as American Christians, if not more so. 

Working, praying, serving and marching with our Muslim sisters and brothers for the past 8 years, in MVPJ there is no longer an "us" or "them", but only one people, one race, one human family.  Together we must show the rest of our nation and world that the friendship and trust we share cannot be divided.

Nuclear War and Weapons Profit No One is the title for the public lecture to be delivered by Frida Berrigan on Sunday, March 6, at 2pm.  Berrigan, now with the War Resistors' League, was a Senior Program Associate of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation.  Previously she served for eight years as Deputy Director and Senior Research Associate at the Arms Trade Resource Center at the World Policy Institute at the New School in New York City.

The lecture, to be held at the Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park, is in conjunction with a weekend retreat of the Pacific Life Community.  The weekend will culminate in a peaceful witness on the morning of Monday, March 7, at the main gate of Lockheed-Martin in Sunnyvale.

This award winning documentary follows the efforts of Palestinian shepherds and several Israelis that ultimately provide electricity for the tent and cave homes in the Palestinian village of Susia, in the Hebron hills.  Their ever deepening and transformative relationships form the basis for their work together.