Click to email

Whatcom Peace & Justice Center
August 2008 Calendar
WhatcomPJC.org

The important grassroots work of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center is changing the social psychology of Whatcom County.  Do you value the work we do?  Please make a secure on-line donation at www.WhatcomPJC.org.  Click the Donate Here button beneath the bumper sticker.  It takes less than three minutes—and it makes a big difference.  Thank you.

UPDATES & ACTIONS:

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE!

Bellingham’s celebration of International Day of Peace 2008 is 52 days away!!  The event is 4-6pm at First Congregational Church, 2401 Cornwall Avenue, on Sunday, September 21st.  It features The Kulshan Chorus, a keynote speaker, and The Howard Harris Lifetime Peacemaker Award.  The program is followed by a vibrant, family peace march to Maritime Heritage Park for more music.  This year’s keynote speaker is Humanitarian and Educator Kathy Kelly.  Kathy has participated in peacemaking missions to Lebanon, Palestine, Haiti, and Iraq.  She is currently working with refugees in Amman, Jordan.  She is a powerful speaker and a gracious person.  The supervised Children’s Program takes place simultaneously.  It is led by local artists who will assist children of all ages in making peace art which the children will then share with the general audience at the end of the program while The Kulshan Chorus sings a song dedicated to them.  Donations to support the work of WPJC will be requested.  IDP is being generously co-sponsored by over twenty local community organizations, businesses, and faith communities. 

A CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

WPJC invites nominations for The Howard Harris Lifetime Peacemaker Award to be presented at IDP 2008.  Would you like to recognize a person in our community who has demonstrated a life-long commitment to working for peace and social justice?  If so, please send an email to WhatcomPJC@fidalgo.net with the person’s name and a description of the reasons you admire them.  Please share how he/she embraces an inner commitment to living a life of non-violence; what organizations the person been a part of; his/her passion and a list of accomplishments.  In what ways have they been courageous in facing injustice? 

Short biographies of the top four nominees are presented to WPJC’s Board of Directors that then discusses the nominees and makes a decision.  Past recipients are Howard Harris, Dotty and Al Dale, and Nick Mele. 

NO WAR AGAINST IRAN

Victory!  Thank you to each of you who signed the petition, wrote a letter, or made a phone call to support the Bellingham City Council in passing Washington’s first Resolution Opposing Military Intervention in Iran.  If you haven’t already, please email the city council and say “Thank You!”  CityCouncil@cob.org.  A special Thank You goes out to City Councilmember Terry Bornemann for sponsoring the resolution, and to Veterans for Peace member Gene Marx for his leadership in researching additional language for the resolution and for assisting with the community outreach effort.  Awesome job, guys!

UPDATE ON MILITARY ACTION IN IRAN

An article in today’s LA Times states:  “Bush administration officials reassured Israel's defense minister this week that the United States has not abandoned all possibility of a military attack on Iran, despite widespread Israeli concern that Washington has begun softening its position toward Tehran. In meetings Monday and Tuesday, administration officials told Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the option of attacking Iran over its nuclear program remains on the table, though U.S. officials are primarily seeking a diplomatic solution.

As is stated in Bellingham’s new anti-war resolution, the U.S. Congress and Senate are considering resolutions that would encourage the president to put more aggressive pressure on Iran, including a blockage, which could be perceived as an Act of War. Please contact Rep. Rick Larsen and Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and ask them to VOTE NO on H. Con. Resolution 362 and S.R. 580, respectively.  You can read the full text of the House Resolution at: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-hc362/text

SPEAK YOUR MIND

We need to ramp-up the letters in The Bellingham Herald.  Summer can be slow for editorial pages, thus it is a good time to send in a LTE to express your viewpoint on progressive issues that matter to you.  Send to letters@bellinghamherald.com

NPR INTERVIEW WITH LOCAL IRAQ VET

Local Iraq Veteran Ash Woolson was featured on KUOW, National Public Radio’s Seattle station on July 29thIn this interview he shares how his protesting radically changed after a thousand mile Peace Walk through Japan.  Listen:  http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=15456

CALENDAR:

Friday August 1:  Come to the “DESSERTER”!  The campaign to make Bellingham a Sanctuary City for War Resisters is hosting a fundraising dessert party at 6:30pm at the Old Foundry building, 100 E. Maple Street.  There will be live music, friends, dessert, info and more!  The Sanctuary City organizers would like to thank those of you who came to the July 16th solidarity vigil to support resister Robin Long.  He is currently being held in the El Paso County Jail in Colorado awaiting Court Martial.  He would be glad to receive letters of support from folks.  Send to Robin Long, CJC; 2739 East Las Vegas; Colorado Springs CO 80906. 

Saturday August 2:  Open House at Whatcom Peace & Justice Center 10-2pm during the Farmer’s Market.  Stop by to find out how you can get involved in working for peace.  Coffee, lemonade, petitions, letter writing. 

Wednesday August 6:  From Hiroshima to Hope: Toro Nagashi Lantern floating event commemorating the 63rd anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, and all victims of war and violence.  Green Lake in North Seattle.  6:30pm crane folding and lantern preparation; 7:30pm music; 8pm family program; 9pm lantern ceremony. 

Wednesday August 13:  Palestinian Episcopal Priest Fr. Diab will speak 6-8pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Bellingham.  Fr. Diab is from St. Metthew's Episcopal Church and the Penman Clinic in Zebabdeh, West Bank.  He is one of two Palestinian priests invited by the Episcopal Bishop's Committee for Israel/Palestine to visit the Diocese of Olympia. The public is invited to this gathering to meet Fr. Diab.

Monday August 18:  Prayer Vigil for Peace in the Middle East at 5:30pm at Assumption Catholic Church, 2116 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham, 360.733.1380.

ONGOING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES:

Rainbow Coalition meets the first Saturday of every at 10am at the ReStore. For more info call Dotty at 733-4146.

Amnesty International meeting at the Public Market on Cornwall and York the last Thursday of every month 6:30 PM.

Peace Vigil gathers every Friday afternoon in front of the Federal Building at Cornwall and Magnolia from 4-5pm. Join the Peace Zone afterwards for announcements and discussion at The Mount Bakery Restaurant, 308 W. Champion Street.

Veterans for Peace meets every third Friday at 6:00 PM, 1220 N. Forest Street. Veterans and non-Veterans invited. Call (360) 961-4999 for details.

FUTURE EVENTS: 

Thursday September 4:  Sustainable Communities and Land Use Conference: Making Best Use of a Limited Resource, hosted by Sustainable Connections, 8am-5pm at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal.  A packed day from key stakeholders working with model development of Brownfields, urban waterfronts, urban villages, urban growth areas and rural development in balance with working farms/forest lands. This event will attract world-class presenters, the most dedicated and knowledgeable local professionals and key opinion makers in the community.

Saturday October 4:  Rethinking Our Classrooms, Organizing for Better Schools: 1st Annual Northwest Conference on Teaching Social Justice.  Meany Middle School in Seattle, 9-4pm.  $25 registration, $5 for HS students.  Lunch provided, clock and credit hours available.  Examples of Workshops: Teaching Math and Science for Social Justice; Parent-Teacher Alliances for Better Schools; Rethinking Special Education; First Year 101; Anti-bias Curriculum for English Language Learners; Teaching About Japanese-American Internment.  Information, to sign up to lead a workshop, to table, or to register to attend, please visit www.nwtsj.org. Co-Sponsors Puget Sound Rethinking Schools, Tacoma Friday Club, Olympia Educators for Social Justice, Portland Area Rethinking Schools, Rethinking Schools Magazine.

This calendar is a service of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center (PO Box 2444, Bellingham, WA 98227).  We do not necessarily endorse all of the events listed. When we are co-sponsoring or hosting an event, we list our name in that announcement. (360) 734-0217; WhatcomPJC@fidalgo.net. To have your event included, please send an email one week prior to the end of the month with “Event Notice” in the subject line. Thank you.