Friends,
"This is not a time for panic, suspicion, and hate. It is a time to draw upon the deep resources of faith and to examine our lives in the light of the oneness of the human family and the divine spirit that animates us all." That was FOR's statement nearly ten years ago, on September 11, 2001. As we remember the events on that day and beyond, we offer to you a collection of interfaith prayers, litanies, and spiritual resources for peace.
We also hope you'll take note of three campaigns working for the future: Actions to spare the life of death row prisoner Troy Davis, a new campaign calling for an end to U.S. military funding of Israel, and a reflection by FOR Executive Director Mark Johnson on his arrest as part of the Tar Sands Action civil disobedience action last week.
Troy Davis scheduled for execution Sept. 21: Please act now!
 Despite significant doubts about the guilt of death row prisoner Troy Davis, Georgia has scheduled him for execution on Sept. 21 -- unless it is stayed. That's where you come in.
This execution is not inevitable!
The Fellowship of Reconciliation has joined People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and Amnesty International in sending a letter to the Georgia pardon board from faith leaders.
If you are a faith leader, sign the letter to the Georgia pardon board.
If you are a member of a faith community, encourage your leaders to sign the letter.
Troy Davis has already been scheduled to be executed on three previous occasions, and each time his execution has been stayed amid doubts concerning the impact of numerous witness recantations and new evidence against another suspect.
Because the pardon board is most likely to be swayed by voices of Georgia residents, ColorOfChange.org is soliciting donations for advertisements in Georgia.
If you are able, we encourage you to donate to support this initiative.
FOR calls for end to U.S. military aid to Israel in new campaign
Beginning today, Sept. 9, signs in New York City join those in several other U.S. cities to call on President Obama and Congress to end U.S. military aid to Israel as part of the "Be on our side" campaign.
Since one of FOR's core beliefs is to "work to abolish war and promote the goodwill among races, nations and classes," we believe the $3 billion a year of U.S. military aid not only undermines the peace process between Israel and Palestine, but positions the United States as taking sides.
Join the Fellowship of Reconciliation in calling on President Obama and Congress to end military aid to Israel.
Tar Sands Action redefines active nonviolence, pushes sustainability over profit
Last week, FOR's Executive Director Mark Johnson wrote about his intention to travel to Washington, D.C., and be arrested as part of a nonviolent civil disobedience campaign fighting a massive oil pipeline from Canada's tar sands.
We're happy to say Mark was able to join 1,253 other people in civil disobedience against the Keystone XL Pipeline, and was released after a short time in jail.
"Re-emergent strategic choices made over the past two weeks, in support of the Keystone XL Pipeline protest, will redefine active nonviolence for the next couple of years," Mark wrote in reflection.
"The action built upon the rise of recent resistance called the Arab Spring, with extended encampments in public spaces by youth, families, and mainstream public like those in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. It also reflected the international gatherings in Cairo in 2009/2010 and the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. It was even paralleled this past weekend by an estimated 400,000 gathered in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and elsewhere in Israel ending a summer-long protest for economic and social justice among new, younger and poorer classes in Israel. We had already begun to see the ripples of such organizing strategies in Madison, Wisconsin, for example late last spring."
Read more about Mark's experience as part of the Tar Sands Action, and his hope for the future.
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Prayers FOR Peace
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, and of the ten days leading up to the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21, here are 10 offerings of peace.
A Litany for 9/11/11: In Memory of All Victims of War and Terrorism
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of The Shalom Center and Rev. Patricia Pearce, former pastor of Tabernacle United Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ashes, Stones, and Flowers.
For vibrant lives suddenly and shamelessly sacrificed, we lift up the ashes of our loss,
O Source of Life.
For the lives that continue, haunted forever by the pain of absence,
we lift up the ashes of our remorse, O Wellspring of Compassion.
For the conflagration of flames and nightmare images
forever seared into our memories,
we lift up the ashes of our pain, O Breathing Spirit of the World.
For the charred visions of peace and the dry taste of fear,
we lift up the ashes of our grief, O Infinite.
For all the deaths that have been justified
by turning the love of God or country into fanatical arrogance,
we lift up the ashes of our shame, O God.
As we cast these ashes into the troubled water of our times, Transforming One,
hear our plea that by your power they will make fertile the soil of our future
and by your mercy nourish the seeds of peace.
[The people recite the names of the dead.]
In silence, the people cast the ashes into the river.
Continue reading the litany.
Prayer from American Muslim Voice
Samina Faheem Sundas
O mankind! We have created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may get to know each other (not that you may despise each other). Surah al-Hujurat 49:13
My dear God,
Grant us hearts that could feel the pain of others and the power to help lessen the pain.
Grant us wisdom to seek the truth.
Grant us courage to break the silence and take actions against injustice and inequality.
Grant us souls that will love all the living beings You created. Grant us voices to speak for the voiceless. Grant us the ability to listen with compassion, lend a helping hand, wipe a tear, lift a spirit, mend a broken heart and share our joys and sorrows with each other.
Grant us the strength to eradicate fear, poverty, hate, despair, division and violence. Grant us the courage to replace it with love, hope, inclusion and peace in your beautiful world. Grant us hope for a better world for all of us and our future generations. We need your divine intervention to help us forgive.
Please fill our hearts with joy, light, faith, love and peace. Grant us commitment, dedication and persistence so we can continue on the path you designated for us.
May we have peace in our lives and in our world. Amen.
Loving Kindness Meditation
 Buddhist Peace Fellowship
This is what should be accomplished by the one who is wise,
Who seeks the good and has obtained peace.
Let one be strenuous, upright and sincere,
Without pride, easily contented and joyous.
Let one not be submerged by the things of the world.
Let one not take upon oneself the burden of riches.
Let one’s senses be controlled.
Let one be wise but not puffed up,
and let one not desire great possessions, even for one’s family.
Let one do nothing that is mean or that the wise would reprove.
May all beings be happy.
May they be joyous and live in safety.
All living beings, whether weak or strong,
In high or middle or low realms of existence,
Small or great, visible or invisible, near or far,
Born or to be born, may all beings be happy.
Let no one deceive another, nor despise any being in any state;
Let none by anger or hatred wish harm to another.
Even as a mother at the risk of her own life,
Watches over and protects her only child,
So with a boundless mind should one cherish all living things,
Suffusing love over the entire world--
Above, below, and all around, without limit;
So let one cultivate an infinite good will toward the whole world.
Standing or walking, sitting or lying down,
During all one’s waking hours,
Let one practice the way with gratitude.
Not holding to fixed views,
Endowed with insight,
Freed from sense appetites,
One who achieves the way will be free
From the duality of birth and death.
From the Ektenia before the Lord's Prayer, Divine Liturgy of St. John Chyrsostom
Orthodox Peace Fellowship
Calling to remembrance all the Saints, again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord. (Lord, have mercy.)
For our deliverance from all tribulation, wrath, danger and necessity, let us pray to the Lord. (Lord, have mercy.)
Help us; save us; have mercy upon us; and keep us, O God, by Thy grace. (Lord, have mercy.)
That the whole day may be perfect, holy, peaceful, and sinless, let us ask of the Lord. (Grant this, O Lord.)
 An angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask of the Lord. (Grant this, O Lord.)
Pardon and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask of the Lord. (Grant this, O Lord.)
All things good and profitable for our souls, and peace for the world, let us ask of the Lord. (Grant this, O Lord.)
That we may complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance, let us ask of the Lord. (Grant this, O Lord.)
A Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless, peaceful; and a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ, let us ask of the Lord. (Grant this, O Lord.)
Six more prayers for Sept. 11
The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America provides hymns, sermons, short stories, and poems for Sept. 11.
Jewish Peace Fellowship offers the Prayer for Peace in a Time of War.
The Lutheran Peace Fellowship has created a Peace Litany and a Litany for the International Day of Peace (PDF).
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship provides Peace Prayers for Right Now.
Pax Christi USA's "Peaceweavings" brochure lists a variety of thoughts and prayers in Ten Years After 9/11: The Last Word is LOVE (PDF).
And author Nori Muster has posted "Prayers for 9/11" scriptures from numerous faith traditions, including Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.
May the peace that you carry in your hearts spread and circulate throughout the world.
In peace,
The staff of the Fellowship of Reconciliation
Images: Troy Davis, Amnesty International; Be On Our Side, TwoPeoplesOneFuture.org; tar sands protest, FOR; candles, FOR; New York City Union Square peace vigil (September 2001), Flickr user September Mourning (Creative Commons). |
