Dear Friends,
It is with excitement and a sense of accomplishment, tinged with a hint of sadness, that I write to you today.
Over the past couple years, I have traveled some 50,000 miles on behalf of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The past few weeks are a microcosm -- since September alone, I've visited with FOR members and allies in North Carolina, Illinois, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and California (plus peacemaking trips to Iraq, Colombia, and Austria)!
Today, indeed, I write from the road. On Wednesday night I was in Seattle in the company of our thriving community of activists in the Western Washington FOR network. I have just flown a thousand miles to central Texas, and during the next couple days I will learn more about our emerging new FOR chapters in Fort Worth and Denton, Texas.
Time and again, my travels have provided powerful evidence of the amazing justice and peace work being done at the grassroots level by FOR members. From anti-war organizing to calling for an end to the death penalty; from counter-military recruitment to standing up for the civil rights of Muslims, immigrants, and other targeted communities -- you are always there.
So I am delighted to announce an organizational transition at FOR, which in 2013 will more deeply commit our national programmatic efforts to strengthening and networking our chapters, local affiliates, religious peace fellowships, and other grassroots-based initiatives.
Please make a donation today to support this important shift in FOR's work for active nonviolence and social justice.
A new national structure for the Fellowship of Reconciliation
 Our first major step has been hiring a regional coordinator and organizer for the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S. We joyfully welcome Rev. Lucas Johnson as our newest staff member! As a young adult, Lucas (pictured at right) has already served FOR in many capacities -- he spent the past two years on FOR-USA's National Council and is also one of the International FOR's seven International Committee members. Read Lucas's bio (and those of other staff, interns, and fellows) on our staff page.
Based in Georgia, Lucas will travel regularly; this weekend he will be in Alabama to meet with FOR members in Birmingham.
If you are in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic region and would like to invite him to visit your community in the coming months, please reply to this email.
Today, I also share some personal news. After six wonderful years as FOR's executive director, I have submitted my letter of resignation to FOR's National Council.
You can imagine that this decision did not come lightly. FOR has been a part of my life for more than four decades. As a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war, I was mentored and supported by FOR members at home and overseas. Prior to joining the national staff of FOR, I spent several years as a board member of the Chicago FOR chapter.
While I will certainly miss no longer being a part of the day-to-day workings, I intend to continue to be active in FOR in many other ways for years to come. The prospect for dynamic new leadership at FOR excites me, especially as we approach our Centennial Celebration in 2014-2015.
Please make a gift today to FOR to support our regional organizing, through Lucas Johnson and other emerging leaders, and our commitment to grow the work of the Fellowship in many other ways in 2013 and beyond!
FOR's National Council has named a search committee, and in the coming weeks a job description will be prepared and distributed and a formal search launched. I will continue to serve in this role until a new executive director is in place. You can look forward to receiving additional news about the search in the coming weeks.
Thank you for the many ways you express and embody FOR's commitment to peace, justice, human dignity, and active nonviolence.
Please, Pray for Peace, Preach Peace, and Practice Peace,
Mark C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Fellowship of Reconciliation
P.S. Please make a gift today to support FOR! |
