Book Review- "The Cellist of Sarajevo" -Steven Galloway

How do you stay human in the midst of the violence and depravity of war? Galloway sketches four characters, each making a choice to face death rather than yield completely to the forces besieging Sarajevo from without, and within.

Arrow, a young sharpshooter trained at the university club, risks her life to protect the cellist, who for 22 days plays an adagio at the site of a bombing that took 22 lives. Kenan, an accountant, risks his life crossing a bridge to bring water to his family and an elderly neighbor. Dragan enters the zone of attack to find bread for his sister’s family. And the cellist plays on, knowing he is an easy target to the enemy who launched the bomb, knowing too that his music can heal not only his soul, but those of the people who listen. Not all life in Sarajevo yields to the force of gunfire/

Each character faces the human fate: will you simply flow with the forces that seem to control life about you? Or will you act out of a vision of what it means to be deeply human, to affirm life, beauty and community?

And each reader, living in far less threatening circumstances than the characters of this book, faces the same questions: What is it to be human? And how will you act out of that vision? War intensifies the choice. But each of us is asked for our vision and our action.

The Grandmothers are Coming!

On October 11, 2004, thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers from the Arctic Circle, North, South and Central America, Africa, and Asia, arrived at Tibet House's Menla Mountain Retreat amidst 340 acres of forests, fields and streams in upstate New York in a historic gathering. They were fulfilling an ancient prophecy, known by many of the world's indigenous tribes: "When the Grandmothers from the four directions speak, a new time is coming". Within a few days of convening, the grandmothers agreed to form a global alliance; to work together to serve both their common goals and their specific local concerns. The grandmothers are both women of prayer and women of action with a solidarity which creates a network to rebalance and educate the world concerning the fundamental laws of nature and original teachings based on a respect for all life. Their traditional ways link them with the forces of the earth. The Grandmothers are Aama Bombo (Tamang/Nepal), Margaret Behan (Cheyenne-Arapaho), Rita Pitka Blumenstein (Yupik), Julieta Casimiro (Mazatec), Marie Alice Campos Freire (Brazil), Flordemayo (Mayan), Tsering Dolma Gyaltong (Tibetan), Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance (Oglala Lakota), Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance (Oglala Lakota), Agnes Baker Pilgrim (Takelma Siletz), Mona Polacca (Hopi/Havasupai/Tewa), Bernadette Rebienot (Omyene), and Clara Shinobu Iura (Brazil) .

“We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth, the atrocities of war, the global scourge of poverty, the prevailing culture of materialism, the epidemics that threaten the health of the Earth’s peoples, and with the destruction of indigenous ways of life.We, the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, believe that our ancestral ways of prayer, peacemaking, and healing are vitally needed today. . . We believe that the teachings of our ancestors will light our way through an uncertain future. "
Please visit these websites for more information:

http://www.grandmotherscouncil.com/
http://www.forthenext7generations.com/ (a full length documentary film in production)

Three Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters vs. nuclear armaments in the Documentary Film :

“Conviction”

7 p.m., Tuesday Sept. 30

Herrick Library, Holland

In 2002 Dominican Sisters Carol Gilbert, Ardeth Platte and Jackie Hudson carried out a bold symbolic protest at a nuclear weapon site in Colorado. Their arrest, court trial and sentencing was covered nationally and internationally. Their goal --bringing attention to the on-going active deployment of nuclear weapons by the U.S. -- succeeded, if press coverage is any indication.

NOW YOU CAN SEE THE FILM documenting their action, with reflection on it by Christians, site observers, the prosecuting attorney and others.
Were the sisters ethically heroic? Or was their action a mistaken attack on national security?

Sr. Bridget Clingman, pastoral associate at Our Lady of the Lake in Holland, and ethicist Sara Leeland, PhD, will open the discussion with remarks from a Christian and an ethical point of view. Discussion follows.

Library Forum Tuesday August 12, 2008 7-8:30

Where is the Moral Outrage in our Church Community Today?

Who is the prophetic voice for peace and justice?

A forum led by Henry Idema III, PhD

Pastoral Assistant Grace Episcopal Church Holland, MI

Tuesday, August 12

7-8:30 PM

Herrick District Library

Auditorium, Lower Level

July Library Series

Resettling Iraqi Refugees in West Michigan:
"I Didn't Know How You Would Receive Me"

July 8th (7pm) Herrick Public Library series meeting

presented by the Lakeshore Women for Peace

The speaker is Elizabeth Smith, the sponsor developer of a refugee settlement program of Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids, MI. Ms. Smith also serves as the refugee and immigrations ministries coordinator for the Western Michigan annual conference of the United Methodist Church. She works to train recruit and empower church groups to serve alongside newly arrived refugee families. PARA (Programs Assisting Refugee Acculturation) has resettled over 1,000 refugees in the West Michigan area from Cuba, Sudan, Burma, Bhutan, Liberia, Congo, and now Iraq.

Churches and other groups in the Holland/Zeeland area are invited to send representatives, to learn how they can become involved in supporting the settlement of Iraqi refugees and the special concerns and issues experienced by people coming from the war zone.

June Library Series

The Impact of War on Children and Families
was presented at the Herrick District Library in Holland on June 11, 2008 by Professor Jean McFadden of Grand Valley State University.

Mobilization of troops for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan was correlated with increases in rates of child maltreatment and domestic violence. The impact of deployment and multiple deployments heightened stress on families. Children become traumatized by the war by seeing images on TV, observing parental anxiety, reading newspapers or magazines, and hearing adults or other children talking about the war. It is difficult, if not impossible, to protect children from hearing details about the war. The trauma of military personnel who've seen combat was related to trauma symptoms in children including nightmares, bedwetting, school difficulties, and anxieties about separation.
To date over 4000 US military personnel have lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. 700,000 children in the US have at least one parent deployed overseas. Of these children 90,000 to 100,000 have special needs.

The suicide rate of Iraq veterans is twice that of non veterans according to a CBS investigation. Over 100,000 veterans suffer from post traumatic stress syndrom. The impact of military service on women includes difficulties with attachment when separated from their children, loss of custody in some cases, and a greater risk of returning with complicated emotional issues due to rape or sexual abuse by their military colleagues.

While there are 1200 uniformed social workers and other mental health professionals working with military and their families, professional support is not adequet or enough. Support is needed from a concerned community that reaches out to veterans, children and their families. For example, many severely injured veterans are cared for by their elderly parents who exhaust their retirement savings to provide the help needed.

Peace to the nations

"Finlandia" Music by Jean Sibelius (1899) / Words by Lloyd Stone (1934)

Memorial Day/ Peace Memorial

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts,
whether our baptism be that of water or of fears!

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by
irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking
with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be
taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach
them of charity, mercy and patience.

We women of one country will be too tender of those of another
country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From
the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says "Disarm, Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance
of justice."

Blood does not wipe our dishonor nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons
of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a
great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women,
to bewail and commemorate the dead.

Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the
means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each
bearing after their own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a
general congress of women without limit of nationality may be
appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at
the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the
alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement
of international questions, the great and general interests of
peace.

Julia Ward Howe
Boston
1870

Event sponsored by Bill Freeman of The Journey church in Holland:

Picketing For Peace in downtown Holland every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 p.m. beginning next Wednesday, May 21, 2008 We'll start at Skiles Pizza, on 8th and Columbia, and walk on the sidewalk down to the police station and back. (Bring your own sign.)

Let Bill Freeman <bill.freeman@thejourneyholland.org know if you can join along. (Bill says:"I feel like we should do something to remind people the war in Iraq is still killing our troops and other human beings.")

Bill Freeman
Pastor
The Journey
Holland, MI 49423
(616) 894-0020
www.thejourneyholland.org

Mother's Day for Peace

The original intention for the concept of "Mother's Day" was introduced by Julia Ward Howe in 1870. She was inspired to write a proclamation; a call for peace and disarmament after our nation's Civil War.

July 23rd Salee Story

One mother's child in Iraq....playing in the yard with her siblings and friends....

Young Iraqi Girl Gets New Legs in the U.S.

Just one of the many, many, many children....more of Salee's story on this clip.

Mothers Day For Peace

Thursday May 8th 7:00 PM

Herrick Library auditorium

Enjoy a short film on the history of Mother's Day as a peace day and share thoughts about the meaning of Mother's Day today!

Film at Library April 8, 2008

LAKESHORE WOMEN FOR PEACE
(www.ls-women-for-peace.blogspot.com)
Presents
Pathways to Simpler Living
A short film about the Life Cycle Story of Stuff
Discussion to follow.
Explore the ways stuff affects the quality of life.

HERRICK DISTRICK LIBRARY AUDITORIUM
Tuesday April 8, 2008 7:00 PM
FREE

Resource List For "Story of Stuff" Film

LAKESHORE WOMEN FOR PEACE
Resources for the concerned
If we are to live peacefully with our global neighbors, it is imperative that we work together to minimize the impact of “stuff”—our consumer economy. Here is a sampling of resources for those who wish to pursue their mastery of “stuff” further.

Books

Brower, M., & Leon, W. (1999) The consumer’s guide to effective environmental choices. Union of Concerned Scientists. Three Rivers Press NY.

Elgin, D. Voluntary Simplicity.

Johnston, J., Gismondi, M., & Goodman, J., eds. (2006) Nature’s Revenge: Reclaiming sustainability in an age of corporate globalization. Broadview Press. Petersboro, Ont, Canada.

Lappe, F.M. (2007) Getting a Grip: Clarity, creativity and courage in a world gone mad.
Small Planet Media.

Papers and Magazines

Grunwald, M. (2008) Time The Clean Energy Myth. April 7.pp. 40-45

Lipschutz, B. (2008) Sustainable Development: Implications for World Peace. Retrieved 3/18/2008. www.utexas.edu/courses/sustdevt/papers/lipschutz.html.

Tierney, J. (2008) Conserve Your Energy. Readers Digest. April pp. 82-89.

Websites

Remove your name from direct mailing lists. www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference or www.dmaconsumers.org/dgi/offmailinglist//reqform.
Opt out of pre-approved credit card offers at www.optoutprescreen.com

Great River Earth Institute, Voluntary Simplicity and Deep Ecology. www.greatriv.org/vs.htm

Spread Peace. Org (sustainable living, the peace card etc) www.LocalOutreach.org

The simple living network (Making Peace with the things in your life) www.simpleliving.net

The Simplicity Resource Guide by Linda Breen Pierce www.gallagherpress.com/pierce

Presentation of "The Story of Stuff"

The Lakeshore Women for Peace will present a showing of the short film "The Story of Stuff" with discussion to follow on April 8, 2008 in the auditorium of the Herrick District Library from 7:00-8:30 PM. Please join us!

Say No to Violence Against Women

Say No to Violence against WomenStatistics indicate that as many as one in three women worldwide will experience violence in her lifetime. Too often, this violence occurs with impunity for perpetrators and inadequate access to support for survivors.
UNIFEM has been a leading advocate for decisive action to address the multiple manifestations of gender-based violence—whether it be domestic violence, human trafficking or systematic rape in conflict zones. According to acting UNIFEM Executive Director, Joanne Sandler, "As long as violence is pervasive and women do not dare to accuse their abusers, the issue needs to be much more prominent in the public debate."

We are invited to join our voices to provide much needed support in developing countries to advance the implementation of laws and policies to end violence against women. This campaign ends on March 8th, International Women's Day.

Action: Go: www.saynotoviolence.org to add your name to this initiative.

Web Link for of Banning Cluster Bombs

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/19/7144/

Quote

"The longer we listen to one another - with real attention - the more commonality we will find in all our lives. That is, if we are careful to exchange with one another life stories and not simply opinions." -Barbara Deming