St. Paul’s Relaunching the Cathedral Peace and Justice Committee

The last few months have seen an increase in the level of activity and activism around issues of peace and justice, including immigrant rights, gender equality, LGBT and climate change issues, whether local, national, or internationally focused. To help the Cathedral community respond both thoughtfully and in a timely fashion to calls for action on many fronts, the Dean is reconstituting the Cathedral Peace and Justice Committee. Marshall Moore has graciously agreed to serve as convenor.

As an initial step, we invite those with a keen interest in issues of peace and justice to send an email to peacejustice@stpaulcathedral.org expressing your interest and specifying the issue areas you are most interested in.

If you come across an initiative, a piece of news or a planned action that you would like the Cathedral to consider supporting, you can send a link about the event to the same email address. Marshall will gather all the submissions and cathedral leadership will determine the extent to which our congregation should officially engage in a given event.

We are working to create the commission so that we can branch out to other areas such as advocacy or policy statements, and this is just a starting point.

Statement of Purpose for our Peace and Justice Ministry
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8

Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” John 20:21 “The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” BCP p.855

“Love Christ. Serve Others. Welcome All.” Mission statement of St. Paul’s Cathedral

As Christians, we worship a God who we believe is passionate for justice and who desires peace and wholeness (“shalom”) for the whole creation. Our Episcopal catechism tells us that our duty to our neighbor includes a duty “to show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; … to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people.” BCP p. 848

The Peace and Justice Ministry of St. Paul’s Cathedral seeks to encourage and assist the members of St. Paul’s in carrying out this duty and in serving the God of justice and peace. Working under the direction of the Dean and Chapter, we will do this in the following ways:

• We will make known to the congregation opportunities to speak or to stand publicly for issues of peace and justice in our own community and in the world.
• We will actively pray for peace at every level of our lives and for the world.
• We will commit to seeking reconciliation with God and with others, individually and corporately.
• We will support organizations whose mission is focused on the furtherance of peace and justice, provided they are congruent with the missions of the Episcopal Church and the Cathedral.
• We will host and facilitate Cathedral events designed to further peace and justice.
• We will seek out opportunities for ourselves and for the congregation to educate ourselves about issues of peace and justice, including but not limited to issues in the following areas

Immigration
LGBT rights
Ending war
Human trafficking
Stewardship of the earth and our environment
Racial inequity
Homelessness
Poverty  & inequity The use of violence to achieve societal change 

 In some instances, our efforts regarding one or more of these issues may overlap with the mission of our outreach, formation, or other Cathedral ministries. In such cases we will work cooperatively with the leaders of those ministries to further our common mission.

Book Review: Waging Peace, by David Hartsough

David Hartsough will be at the Cathedral on October 8-9. He will give a peace workshop on Saturday the 8th @ 1-4 pm; and the Sunday forum on the 9th @ 9 am.  The Rev Canon Richard Lief shares this review of Hartsough's book.


WAGING PEACE: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist
David Hartsough with Joyce Holliday
2014 – PM Press - pp. 243

Non-violence works, if we give it a chance and are willing to promote and live it. Waging Peace is primer for all who seek peace in our war-worn and tragic world.

Author  David Hartsough, whose parents were devout Quakers, is a man with a mission – a mission to be involved where there is injustice anywhere in the world, where there is an opportunity to influence change.

In Waging Peace David shares his life’s adventure. Over the last fifty years he has led and been engaged in nonviolent peacemaking in the United States, Kosovo, the former Soviet Union, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Iran, Palestine, Israel, and many other countries.

He is the executive director of Peaceworkers in San Francisco, and has a BA from Howard University and an MA in international relations from Columbia University. He is a Quaker and a member of the San Francisco Friends Meeting.

Born in 1940, David has dedicated his whole life to be where he can make a difference. In his forward to Waging Peace, John Dear describes David: “He’s so humble, simple, and gentle that no one would know the powerful force that moves within him.”

David Krieger, president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, says that David’s “…guiding stars have been peace, justice, non-violence and human dignity… He has lived his nonviolence and made it an adventure in seeking truth, as Gandhi did.”

Given Gandhi’s book, All Men are Brothers, by his parents, on his 14th or 15th birthday, Hartsough was inspired with Gandhi’s experience - that nonviolence is the most powerful force in the world and that it could be a means of struggle to liberate a country. David was 15 when he met Martin Luther King, Jr.

David’s adventures in nonviolence are engaging and inspiring in their call to nonviolent action for the betterment of everyone on the planet. He co-founded the Nonviolent Peaceforce, which is recognized by the United Nations. He has met with people in all walks of life who have shared their yearning for peace and justice. And he has met with people in power – memorably with President Kennedy who responded and acted favorably on David’s thoughtful and encouraging viewpoints.

I was captivated by David when he spoke several years ago at a conference I attended, sponsored by the San Diego Peace Resource Center. Among the many personal stories he shared, there was one that particularly inspired me. When he was 20, he was trained to participate in a lunch counter sit-in in Arlington, Virginia. It was in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement.

He had just been reading Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: “Love your enemies… Do good to those who hate you” when he heard a voice behind him say, “Get out of this store in two seconds, or I am going to stab you through the heart.” The man had a terrible look of hatred on his face, and a knife one half inch from David’s heart. Did Jesus mean to include this man?

Grateful for his training of the past two days, David turned around and tried his best to smile and said, “Friend, do what you believe is right, and I will try to love you.” The man’s jaw and hand dropped, and miraculously, he turned away and walked out of the store.

Chapter 14 of Waging Peace gives practical application and encouragement. Topics include: 1) transforming our society from one addicted to violence and war to one based on justice and peace with the world; 2) a proposal for ending all war: an idea whose time has come; 3) resources for further study and action: what you can do; 4) ten lessons learned from my life of activism.

As Episcopalians we are engaged in seeking the Christ in all persons, and respecting the dignity of every human being. I am grateful that David Hartsough continues to live and promote his life of nonviolence as he seeks peace and justice world-wide. Waging Peace is a primer which deserves to be read, marked, learned and inwardly digested – and most of all, with the help of God, lived.

The Rev. Canon Richard C. Lief,

Honorary Canon

St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral

San Diego, California

If You Want Peace, Work for Justice

In preparing for my upcoming sermon for the last Sunday in Advent,  I came across the 1972 address of Pope Paul VI given on the World Day for Peace. You may have heard the phrase, "If you want peace, work for justice"; the phrase was coined in this speech.

Particularly on the Sunday during which we will meditate on the Magnificat and on the fruits of Mary's glorious assent to God's purpose in her life, I believe it worthwhile to revisit the Pope's words and consider the ways human compassion, social justice, and an honest peace are related. Working for peace is surely no easy thing, but rather requires a "greatness of soul" (in the Pope's words) to which we aspire and for which we pray.

Come, O Jesus, and grant us the grace and courage to live our your call to love this hurting world with all that we are!

The Rev Colin Mathewson

I Pledge Allegiance to the Earth

At this time of reflecting on what it means to be a steward of the earth's resources - I came upon this beautiful, visionary pledge, created back in 1966 , by the Women's Environmental and Development organization:

"I pledge allegiance to the Earth
and to the flora (plants), fauna (animals) and human life
that it supports,
one planet, indivisible,
with safe air, water and soil, economic justice and equal rights and peace for all."

 Anita Wucinic-Turner

Anita is a St. Paul's parishioner and leader this fall of a series of informal classes on nonviolence open to all.

Interactions for Peace

The Cathedral is celebrating The Annual International Day of Peace by featuring three events. In addition to showing a beautiful an Academy Award nominated film Tangerines, Saturday, Sept. 19, the other two events will feature Ms. Eden Steele from the Interactions for Peace in the forum on Sunday, Sept. 20 and a follow-up workshop on October 3rd. The following article describes the courageous work Ms. Steele has been doing over the past twenty years. I commend this article to you. -

The Rev Richard Lief

Interactions for Peace - Bullying Prevention/Peace Education 

In 1989 as a classroom teacher, I observed the sensitivity of our youth and their desire to have an environment where they could be safe and accepted. My beliefs and variety of educational experiences led me to develop the first I4p ~ Peace Patrol © where upper grade students learned and practiced the skills and strategies needed to resolve conflicts peacefully.  In 1994 when Peace Patrol-Creating a New Generation of Problem Solvers and Peacemakers was published, I wrote about our experiences spreading Peace Patrols to other schools expanding our dream for a more peaceful world. 

And the journey that began with Peace Patrol continued on!

The elementary school students who had learned the Peace Patrol process, moved on to middle schools and high schools where there were no peer mediation programs.  In order to foster the continuation of non-violent conflict resolution, the middle/high school implementation program was developed. The next step on our journey was to ensure the continuation of successful curriculum and processes through the middle/high school.  We use the tried and true skills and strategies of the Peace Patrol curriculum with adaptations to meet the maturity and experiential needs of older students.

As we entered a new millennium, our nation was devastated with the increase of school violence where students not only bullied one another, but also killed and injured one another. We reflected upon what action must now be taken to intensify our efforts to teach our youth to be peacemakers today.  The words of Mahatma Gandhi rang loud and clear, "If we are to have real peace in the world, we must begin with the children."   Thus, the I4P ~ Primary Peacemakers Program was born.  Kaye Pesavento shared her experiences, expertise and love for children as we developed this unique program. We know that our little ones are able to experience and learn how to live in a peaceful place. Our pre-school/kindergarten through second/third grade students now have appropriate curriculum and can look forward to being Peace Patrol members. 

In 2000 we also focused our attention on bullying.  What is it?  Who does it? What does the research tell us about the aggressor, the target, and the bystander? In studying the answers to these questions, the I4P Bullying Prevention Program was born. Mary Lou Fredrickson, I4P Middle School Director, researched, developed and implemented bully prevention lessons at Irving Middle School in Lincoln, Nebraska. This curriculum was shared with schools throughout the United States.

In 2008 our Global Peace Patrol began!  Carol Macagba and Eden Steele started a Peace Patrol program in the LORMA School in San Juan La Union Philippines. And in 2009, the Homing Dove International Schools in Adjumani, Arua and Moyo Uganda Africa welcomed our Peace Patrol trainers, Wadri Patrick and Stacy Calderon.  Teachers, Administrators and students were trained in peaceful conflict resolution in both locations. In 2012 we are working with organizations in Nepal and Kenya to spread peaceful interactions.

In 2011, I4P organized and completed a Bullying Behavior Research Project, getting over 700 responses from people of all ages and in all locations throughout San Diego County. We formed a coalition of organizations in San Diego to develop and implement a regional Bullying Behavior Symposium held at the University of San Diego. Our new publication, Bullying Awareness, contains the original lessons to develop skills and strategies, and current research as well as the Bullying Behavior Research Project results. Information is also included about the new, Tunnel of Bullying Experience.

Our journey continues as we participate in community service events and projects throughout our area.

INTERACTIONS FOR PEACE© now includes a complete curriculum and a range of activities, experiences, workshops and programs to meet the needs of our youngest children, the complex needs of adolescents and the multifaceted needs of adults in the 21st century. The incredible power of having a seamless system of integrated programs which empower and inspire our youth to discover the peacemaker within themselves and to serve their community through peaceful interactions, has the potential of changing how a new generation meets bullying and conflict.

And our journey continues!  We welcome you to join us!

Eden Steele

I4P Founder and Executive Director

St. Paul's Cathedral for the Neighborhood

Sisters and Brothers,

I invite you to join a conversation this coming Sunday, October 13 at our 9 am forum exploring the myths and realities of homelessness, what we do to help, and what we might do together in Christ's name in the time ahead.

Our Cathedral is located across the street from Balboa Park, a place of enrichment and recreation for tourists and residents, and a place of refuge and struggle for many without homes.  We recognize that homelessness is a complex problem not easily solved, but we are compelled by a Christian commitment to the poor to do what we can to ease human suffering.

I wonder what a Christian response to such suffering would look like for St. Paul's in this time and place?  What can we Christians do or say to address the troubling decline of empathy in today's world?

Again in this Sunday's Gospel, God uses the forgotten to remind the rest of us that we all are in need of saving love, a warm embrace, and basic human care.

Blessings, Colin
The Rev. Colin Mathewson

Creating Peace – The Language of Nonviolent Communication

Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. writes at the beginning of his book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: 

“What I want in my life is compassion, a flow between myself and others based on a mutual giving from the heart. Believing that it is in our nature to enjoy giving and receiving in a compassionate manner, I have been preoccupied most of my life with two questions. What happens to disconnect us from our compassionate nature, leading us to behave violently and exploitatively? And conversely, what allows some people to stay connected to their compassionate nature even under the most trying circumstances?” 

These are my questions as well and I have spent much of my life in pursuit of the answers. My last major paper in seminary was on the topic of violence in humanity, a topic chosen after witnessing an especially ugly church fight. Although we profess love, compassion and peace as core values, we are immersed in the cultural sea of domination and control. And because our humanity is uniquely expressed through language, it is language that often precedes and escalates violence.

Rosenberg tells his story and offers a different way, a more excellent way to express ourselves. He calls it nonviolent communication, a way of communicating from the heart. As Christians we believe the language of life came to us as the living Word, Jesus, Human Being, Savior, Christ. Our challenge is that we are fluent in the language of the culture but not the language of life.

I invite you to join me in a conversation about communication and to consider becoming fluent in a new language. On Sunday May 26 and Sunday June 2, I will host two forums at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral where we will begin to learn about this new language. Like any spiritual practice, it requires work, discipline and play. It is the way of Jesus who came and stood among the disciples and said, “Peace be with you.”

I hope to see you there!

The Very Rev. Rebecca McClain is the interim Dean of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in San Diego, California. For more information about this forum, please visit www.stpaulcathedral.org or call 619-298-7261.

How are Christians to relate to Government?

Anita Wucinic-Turner continues her reflections on peace and justice

Until the crisis of Naziism struck into the heart of Protestant theological scholarship there was little question about the centrality of Romans 13: 1-7 as the foundation of a Christian doctrine of state.

Christians were to obey their rulers not only because they fear state sanctions but because they support its function of repressing evil and encouraging good.

John Henry Yoder also states that  "in light of the liberating core of Jesus message and the patriarchal culture into which that message came, Paul was concerned with trying to avoid occasion for persecution by hostile authorities."

 Yet, in fact, Christ and the early Christians openly and willingly opposed Jewish and Roman authorities. 

Jesus changed all the normative rules: "But I say to you...."

People had to choose between the the radical rabbi/prophet and  the institution.

Finally, political and religious conservatives accused Jesus of insurrection.

Later, Christians opposed Rome's political rules - and willingly went to the arena to be devoured by lions rather than submit to Rome's mandate to worship Caesar -  

What this showed is that

The Christian who accepts subjection to government

retains moral independence, conscience and judgment.

The authority of government is not self-justifying.

Whatever government exists is ordered by God

BUT the text does not say that

whatever the government does

or asks of its citizens,

is good.

Give unto Ceasar what belongs to him (taxes and revenue)

and give onto God what belongs to God

(love, honor, fear and praise)

 Christ's liberation

reaches into every kind of bondage, even from the State.

Jesus modeled revolutionary subordination, (subversive holiness)

willing servanthood, in the place of domination.

The radical call of Jesus -

Jesus used the language of liberation and revolution,

announcing a new pattern of living

without authorizing violence to achieve his kingdom

Non-resistance is not meant as compliance or aqcuiescence in evil,

but the suffering renunciation of retaliation in kind.

ex: Bullet for bullet, bomb for bomb, blood for blood

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc.)

Non-violent,  non-cooperation

is a form of rebellion to Caesar.

Jesus was willing to accept apparent defeat

rather than engage in complicity with evil

and refused to do evil

in the name of "good"

  

Blessings,

Anita Wucinic-Turner

The Politics of Jesus

Anita Wucinic-Turner writes, This question of how Christians are to relate to world power and government are an extension of my previous 2 blog submissions re: people of faith.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer certainly wrestled with these crucial issues, as does every generation.

Most of us have been misled into believing that as responsible citizens, and Christians, whatever government, or world "powers" asks of us, is legitimate and should be followed without question.

John Howard Yoder, in his book, "The Politics of Jesus" explored this issue on a deeper, sacramental level and came to a totally, even shockingly, different conclusion, that allows us to see Jesus and his early followers, and our own relationship with, and responsibilities to God,

power and government, in a completely new way.  

From "The Politics of Jesus" by John Howard Yoder

Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things seen nor unseen, things present or future, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, shall be able to seperate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

(Unmasking the Powers)
 Driven by events that shook Europe between 1930 and 1950 Protestant theology sought a more adequate theological understanding of the power of evil, which had been seen breaking through the crust of "civilized" societies. No longer could it be taken for granted that human intelligence and institutions can solve all our problems. Theologians began to ask anew what their faith in Jesus Christ could say to a society in disarray.  

 World "Powers" such as tradition, laws, and the ordering of the state, were created to usher in the reign of order among creatures and were originally a divine gift, and were considered good. They were to be used as mediators of the saving, creative purpose of God. But, the Powers have rebelled (against God) and are now fallen. And seek to seperate us from the love of God and others. They fail to serve us as they should, and we find them ruling over our lives, holding us in servitude, to their rules. Those structures which were supposed to be our servants, have now become our masters and our guardians.  

 Now these structures have absolutized themselves and demand from the individual and society an unconditional loyalty.  

 These Powers cannot simply be destroyed or set aside and ignored. Their sovereignty must be broken. This is what Jesus did, concretely and historically, by living a genuinely free and human existence. This life brought him to the cross.   The most weighty representatives of Jewish religion and Roman politics, acted in collusion against him.  

 He existed in their midst morally independent, without even fear of death.  

 Here we have for the first time, the first fruits of an authentic restored humanity. Someone who is not the slave of any power, of any law or custom, community or institution, value or theory. Not even to save his own life, will he let himself be made a slave of these powers. His authentic humanity included his free acceptance of death at their hands. 

 He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public examply of them, triumphing over them. (Col 2:13-15) 

 Christ abolished the slavery, which, as a result of sin, lay over our existence as a menace and an accusation. On the cross He "disarmed" the Powers, made a public example of them and thereby triumphed over them.  

 It is precisely in the crucifixion that the true nature of the Powers has come to light.
 Previously they were accepted as the most basic and ultimate realities, as the gods of this world. Never had it been perceived, nor could it have been perceived, that this belief was founded on deception. Now that the true God appears on earth, as Christ, it becomes apparent that the Powers are inimical to Him, acting not as His instruments, but as his adversaries.  

Now they are unmasked as false gods by their encounter with God. 

 In the Resurrection, Christ God has challenged the Powers, has penetrated into their territory, and has displayed that He is stronger than they. The cross has disarmed the Powers. The weapon from which they heretofore derived their strength, is struck out of their hands. Their weapon was the power of illusion, their ability to convince us that they were the divine regents of the world, ultimate certainty, ultimate direction, ultimate happiness and the ultimate duty for small, dependent humanity.  

 Since Christ, we know that this is an illusion. We are called to a higher destiny; we have higher orders to follow, and we stand under a greater protector. No Powers can seperate us from God's love in Christ. Unmasked, revealed in their true nature, they have lost their mighty grip on us. The cross has disarmed them; and wherever the Cross is preached, the unmasking and the disarming of the Powers takes place.

The Original Mother's Day Proclamation

Anita Wucinic-Turner points out that Julia Ward Howe's Proclamation inaugurating Mother's Day was originally intended as a statement against war:

Over and over again, particular women have declared the cause of peace in the public square, Julia Ward Howe [among them].  In 1870, in the wake of the Civil War, she wrote the proclamation which would inaugurate Mother’s Day.

Arise, then, women of this day!Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!Say firmly: “We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another countryTo allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. 

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.It says: “Disarm! Disarm!The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.Let them solemnly take counsel with each otheras to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace,Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,But of God.In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly askThat a general congress of women without limit of nationalityMay be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient ,and at the earliest period consistent with its objects: 

•  To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,

• The amicable settlement of international questions,

• The great and general interests of peace.

A thousand cranes (updated)

I took this picture of origami cranes that were twisted into the rope around the memorial marker at Manzanar, the site of one of the internment camps where Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War 2. In the background, you can see the sheer cliffs of the eastern Sierra Nevada rising up to 14,000 feet behind this bleak place. (If you ever travel highway 395 up to the Owens Valley, you must stop at the national historic site at Manzanar--it is very moving.)

As part of the summer's exhibition on Images of Peace, we will be making origami cranes after the Eucharist for the next few weeks, to be sent to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Origami cranes are a symbol of peace. If you want to get a head start on how to do it, here are the instructions. Look for the tables in the Queen's Courtyard next Sunday after Mass and join in this ancient craft for peace.

At the Forum on Sunday, 8 August, Mim Sellgren has adapted to Readers Theatre form the internationally well-known and poignant story of Sadako - a young Japanese girl who survived the Hiroshima blast but several years later died of leukemia as a result of radiation poisoning. Members of the Cathedral Drama Ensemble will present this Readers Theatre adaptation at the forum. There will be time for reflection and discussion following the drama.



Susan Forsburg, blogmaster