Friends,
 As you know, next month, the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will meet in Chicago to plan their financial and military strategies for the coming period. These elites, who serve the 1% at home and abroad, impose austerity -- often by the use of drones, armies, and the police -- on the 99% to expand their profits.
If you're planning on attending the protests of NATO in Chicago, we invite you to join FOR Chicago for some or all of our nonviolent direct action workshops. All workshops are free and you may simply show up (though RSVPs are appreciated).
All workshops located at DePaul University Student Center Lincoln Park Campus, 2250 N Sheffield Ave in Chicago. Get directions or view on Facebook.
Tuesday, April 10, 6:30-9:30 PM: The Nonviolent Commitment, with Ken Butigan, Pace e Bene.
Understanding nonviolence overview; assessing risks: personal, legal, medical; using direct action and what it means to be nonviolent.
Tuesday, April 17, 6:30-9:30 PM: Planning for Direct Action, with Pat Hunt, CANG8.
How to work in affinity groups: roles, jobs and responsibility; setting and discussing goals; brainstorming effective tactics and strategy; coordination at a larger level with permitted actions.
Tuesday, April 24, 6:30-9:30 PM: Simulation: Working with Others, with Elliot Adams, Veterans for Peace.
Rules of engagement for police, press and pedestrians; practicing nonviolent communication; how to defuse violence by other protestors.
Tuesday, May 1, 6:30-9:30 PM: Simulation: Nonviolence in Repression, with a representative of White Rose Catholic Worker.
Remaining nonviolent in the face of repression; what to do when facing arrest; medic training: how to protect and treat "nonlethal" repercussions.
Tuesday, May 8, 6:30-9:30 PM: Readiness, with Ken Butigan, Pace e Bene.
Reviewing concepts and skills from previous workshops; assessing readiness for direct action.
For more information or to RSVP, please contact Meghan Trimm at mmmclaughlintrimm@gmail.com or (815) 520-4333.
Join FOR Chicago for year eight of peace recruitment at Cornerstone Music Festival
FOR Chicago chapter chairperson, Rev. Sam Smith, began this work of love back at Cornerstone 2005. Up until then, representatives of "Peace Theology" were far and few in between at the gigantic, predominately evangelical Christian Godstock which began in 1984. Rev. Smith, a long time attender at Cornerstone, was disturbed for years by the prominent display of "Dominion Theology" as exemplified by Christian music bands who seemed to glorify themes of "Christian" violence through their band names, t-shirt graphics, and song lyrics. Rev. Smith felt called to represent the under-heard voice of Christian pacifism through FOR's I Will Not Kill campaign.
In July 2012, FOR Chicago will be at it again, spreading the good news of active nonviolence for year eight.
If you would like to help staff the I Will Not Kill booth at Cornerstone Music Festival in Bushnell, IL, at any point from July 2-7, please contact Rev. Smith at FORchicago@comcast.net or (630) 240-5039. If you cannot attend in person but would like to support the work with a financial contribution, please contact Rev. Smith and that can be arranged. |
