By Christine Sheller
The Des Moines peace community was invited to “Hiroshima-Nagasaki: A Remembrance and a Commitment” at 7 pm, August 8, 2022 at the Japanese Bell of Peace and Friendship on the Iowa State Capitol Grounds. Approximately 40-50 people attended on the pleasant evening, and attendees were able to partake in the sunset as well.
By Clarence Edwards; reprinted with permission; first published for FCNL (Frends Committee on national Legislation) July 22, 2022.
https://www.fcnl.org/updates/2022-07/climate-setback-congress-deeply-disappointing-its-not-end
This week, after months of negotiation, we learned that Senate Democrats failed to reach consensus on including clean energy and tax provisions in the reconciliation bill. While there is a slight glimmer of hope, the window of opportunity for Congress to reach a deal on a climate bill this year has largely closed.
TO: CPT
Family & Friends
FROM: Weldon D. Nisly, CPT Iraqi Kurdistan Team
DATE: June 30, 2022
RE: CPT Iraqi Kurdistan Update -- https://cpt.org/programs/kurdistan
I arrived home in Seattle a week ago after serving on the CPT Iraqi Kurdistan team from April 5 to June 22. I have adjusted to the 10-hour time difference and the differing worlds of Northwest U.S. and northern Iraq.
This spring was intense and challenging for our partners in Iraqi Kurdistan and for the CPT IK team. Encounters of joy and celebration intersected with moments of sorrow and distress. War and political oppression cause much stress and suffering for many people in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Reprinted with permission, June 2022
Editor’s Note: The United Methodist Church in Iowa is one of our member bodies here at Iowa Peace Network. I received this information about the Iowa Annual Conference of the UMC adopting these two resolutions, also a talking points document, printed immediately below. Thanks to Kathleen McQuillen for sharing these with me.
We would welcome information from other church bodies on their church business this summer regarding peace issues, as well.
1. AC (Annual Conference) Resolution on Unjust Theology submitted by First UMC (Des Moines)
Talking Points (By Christine Anders, Eloise Cranke, Kathleen McQuillen)
1. The state of Israel claims the land of promise was given
unconditionally to Israel and the ongoing community of the Jews in a promise
made to Abraham and ancestors in Genesis and Exodus.
2. A very different understanding of the land is offered in the covenant tradition of Deuteronomy and the prophets where the land is held conditionally, depending on obedience to the Torah. Deuteronomy and the prophets assert that the land is losable. Land is given unconditionally but is held conditionally.
Editor’s Note: The
following was written for address to the 2022 MFSA (Methodist Federation for
Social Action, Iowa Chapter) Peace and Justice Rally at the United Methodist
Church, Iowa Conference, in West Des Moines at the Rec Plex, Saturday, June 4. Rev. Joshua Steward spoke on justice, one of
the components of the rally. The following
is a transcript of what Steward said.
By Rev. Joshua Steward,
Reprinted with permission.
We live in a world full of injustice. I lament that the Supreme Court chooses partisanship over precedent.
April 2022
Dear Friend,
The
International Criminal Court ICC : an indispensable instrument against impunity
in the 21st century
By Hansuli Gerber; reprinted with permission
“We need to demonstrate that international justice is relevant to people’s lives, that we can move quickly and effectively. People need to see the law in action.“ - Prosecutor Karim Khan in an interview with BBC World News on Good Friday, April 15, 2022 in Ukraine.
By Michael Gillespie, reprinted with permission, first published 4/12/22 (Editor's Note: Pictures are attributed to IPN, separate from Gillespie. Adding these to this article was with permission of author.)
About 125 Iowa peace and social justice activists remembered Jesus’s commitment to nonviolence and social justice on April 10, walking with banners and palm fronds behind two donkeys. The annual Palm Sunday Procession for Peace sponsored by the Des Moines Faith Committee for Peace began at the Des Moines Intentional Eucharistic Community (DMIEC) and concluded with a worship service at Grace United Methodist Church.
By Christine Sheller
About thirty people gathered on March 31, 2022 for a Prayer Vigil on Ukraine and Beyond, planned by Kathleen McQuillen, Director, Catholic Peace Ministry, along with several others, including Iowa Peace Network. It was held at 7:00 pm, on the Capitol West Terrace, west of the Capitol steps. Weathering the cold, in just above freezing temps, those in attendance prayed, sang, shared thoughts, and learned a Ukrainian dance.
By David Swanson, reprinted with permission, first published
for World BEYOND War, March 31, 2022
https://worldbeyondwar.org/dont-let-a-mountain-in-montenegro-be-lost-to-a-war-in-ukraine/
.jpg)
Across the Adriatic from Bari in Southern Italy sits the tiny, largely rural and mountainous, and exquisitely beautiful nation of Montenegro. At its center is a huge mountainous plateau called Sinjajevina — one of the most wonderfully non-“developed” places in Europe.
