Friends,
The Fellowship of Reconciliation has exciting plans for 2012! Thanks to your support, we are building on the success of our recent campaigns and projects -- as well as the momentum that the global movement for peace, justice, and nonviolent resistance has gained from the Arab Spring, Occupy Together, and other recent activist efforts.
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Mark Johnson, executive director of FOR-USA, has spent the past week with an International FOR solidarity delegation to the Egyptian human rights community. Mark (back center) with representatives from several FOR branches, and activists involved in the Arab Spring movement are shown here following a meeting at College de la Salle in Cairo.
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Here are our "Top Twelve for '12" resolutions to advance FOR's campaign to Demilitarize Life and Land in the coming year:
- Work to end gun violence in the United States as well as U.S. gun trafficking to Mexico -- in collaboration with Heeding God's Call, the National Gun Victims Action Council, and other allies.
- Host North American speaking tours of peace leaders and conscientious objectors from the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, and other countries experiencing war and state violence.
- Send civilian diplomacy delegations to Iran, Colombia, Palestine, Israel, and Afghanistan to build the groundwork for long-term peace and sustainable development.
- Promote nonviolence and wellness while addressing the connections between racial, economic, environmental, and gender justice. Emphasize those connections in our work with Alternative Education Research Institute, the United Nations Human Rights Sub-Committee for the Elimination of Racism, Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, and more.
- Launch new advocacy and outreach campaigns, such as a human rights appeal on behalf of political prisoners in Syria, this spring's Days of Prayer & Action for Colombia, and a training and leadership program to support FOR's I Will Not Kill pledge for young people.
- Provide protective accompaniment for the security of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and other nonviolent initiatives in Colombia, and celebrate our tenth year of maintaining daily accompaniment with the Peace Community.
- Strengthen FOR-USA's network of more than 100 local chapters, religious peace fellowships, and affiliated groups, and collaborate with global FOR branches and the International FOR's new executive secretary, Francesco Candelari, to grow the worldwide FOR movement.
- Increase the research and analysis skills of the progressive movement through our new Militarism Watch initiative, by developing and offering webinars, workshops, and other resources.
- Support global social movements like Occupy and the Arab Spring by publishing original reports from six continents through our daily blog and our 94-year-old magazine, Fellowship, and republish and translate historic resources on active nonviolence into new languages.
- Convene faith-based leadership at the "No to NATO and the G8" mobilization this May in Chicago, and continue to serve as an interfaith voice in national peace activist coalitions like the United National Anti-war Committee and United for Peace and Justice.
- Support the efforts of anti-war military veterans, especially through the emergent Veterans FOR national chapter, and help to identify healing opportunities for returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets.
- Begin preparations for FOR's centennial anniversary in 2015!
Stay tuned for details about these and other compelling FOR campaigns in 2012!
In peace,
Mark, Ethan, Hillary, Ivan, John, Jonette, Karen, Leila, Linda, Liza, Mary, Meredith, Nicole, Shauen, Susana, and Tom
P.S. It's not too late to get copies of "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story" for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Order immediately and we'll rush your package to arrive in time for your local celebration! (Rush postal fees may apply.) |
