Some of the things we’ll be doing, and ask you to help us with, are:

• letter-writing
• poster/banner making
• literature prep (folding, stapling, and the like)
• newsletter production
• website posts and Facebook sharing
• library management (books, videos)

We’ll play some of our great peace-themed DVDs, or some music. There will be refreshments, laughter, camaraderie, probably a moderate level of mayhem and undoubtedly some fun. If you have any questions or ideas for these meetings, please let us know. Please join us if you can and share this info with others.

U.S. Iraq War vet and Iraqi journalist to share their experiences and mission for peace

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Center for Conscience is pleased to announce that our community will host a nationwide speaking tour on the Iraq War, named “The People’s Journey,” whose speakers come from diverse backgrounds, each having firsthand accounts of war and moving stories of how they came to actively work towards a more peaceful world.

The stop in OKC will feature two of the tour participants: Salam Talib, an Iraqi journalist and refugee, and Josh Steiber. Steiber is a former member of Bravo Company 2-16, the military unit involved in the 2007 helicopter shooting of Iraqi civilians that killed twelve people, including two Reuters employees, as seen on the military video released by WikiLeaks. Stieber has recently been speaking to international media about his former company’s role in the “collateral murder” tape and the letter of reconciliation that followed, www.lettertoiraq.com

According to Steiber, the idea for this trek evolved from two other odysseys: a trip he completed last year called “The Contagious Love Experiment,” and the “Our Journey To Smile” – an effort by Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers (AYPV) to connect with other peace seekers around the world.

“We’ve been blessed,” Steiber said, “to have inspiring people from all over the world come together for this journey that will help to spark examination as to what we support as a country and who we are as fellow humans, no matter where we come from.”

The public is invited to attend and learn more about the war’s impact on civilians in Iraq and their desire for peace and prosperity, as well as ways that Americans can assist them recover from their long suffering and struggle.

The talk will take place at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, June 8 and is sponsored by OCC and Mayflower UCC Church, where the event will be held in Milligan Hall. Mayflower is located at 3901 Northwest 63rd Street.  The event is free and refreshments will be served.

MORE INFORMATION:

OCC:  centerforconscience.org | 405-236-4938 ext 2

Mayflower UCC: mayflowerucc.org | Map

The People’s Journey: thepeoplesjourney.org/

WikiLeaks video of the massacre in Baghdad: http://www.democracynow.org/tags/wikileaks_collateral_murder_video

Afghan Youth Peace volunteers: http://www.ourjourneytosmile.com/

FLYERS

color flyer

b/w flyer

Here’s the text of our invitational flyer:

TEACH PEACE
WORKSHOP TO SHOWCASE ALTERNATIVES
TO MILITARY RECRUITMENT,
KICK OFF EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN

Monday, 8-10-2009, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Joy Mennonite Church, 504 16th St, Oklahoma City
(corner of Lincoln and 16th, just south of Capitol)

Please join the Oklahoma Center for Conscience on Monday August 10 for a dynamic workshop on “counter-recruitment” or making sure youth have full information about the military and a wide range of options for constructive public service and caring careers. The recruiters have unprecedented access to students; we want to offer another view, and make sure their right for access to all the facts is honored.

The workshop will kick off a concerted effort in OKC and across the state to make sure our youth do not feel compelled to join the military for lack of other practical options and opportunities.

All are welcome. The workshop is free of charge; donations for our CR outreach is greatly appreciated. If you can’t make the workshop, but would like to donate, see www.centerforconscience.org

For more info, call 405-771-4743 or 405-615-2700. Or visit www.centerforconscience.org

Experienced CR activists from Fort Worth and Austin will share with us the resources and techniques they use to reach young people with an important message about the realities of war and military life. A report from the recent national CR conference will be part of the agenda.

Presenters:

Yvette Richardson is a U. S. Army veteran, who was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas from 1992 – 1997. While serving five years on active duty as a Military Police officer, she deployed to Honduras, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. When not serving as a client advocate for domestic violence victims, she works as a community activist in Fort Worth, Texas. She is co-coordinator of the counter-recruitment organization, Peaceful Vocations, and of CodePink Fort Worth. Yvette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Diane Wood is a native Texan, a community organizer in areas of social justice for the past 30 years, and a retired Registered Nurse. She is a co-coordinator of Peaceful Vocations, a counter-military recruitment group serving North Texas. She’s been involved in nuclear and anti-war issues, Central American issues, local poverty issues, and a local movement to stop urban gas drilling. Diane led a coalition to establish a shelter in Fort Worth for Central American Refugees, and was the director of the shelter. She recently founded a local coalition, The Texas Christian University Divest and Boycott Israel Campaign.

Hart Viges joined the Army in reaction to the events of 9-11. He was with the 82nd Airborne Div. in 2003 when they invaded Iraq. Shortly after returning in January 2004, he applied and received Conscientious Objector status. Hart is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and works with Nonmilitary Options for Youth.

Below is our press release and a flyer (with the text above) you can print — please feel free to share.

2009 CR Workshop flyer

2009 CR Workshop news release

On Jan. 13, we will show the film Nuclear Weapons and the Human Future. It is a short film with a big agenda: ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

Just a dream? The election of Barack Obama has brought a new spirit of hope to the U.S. and the world and an opportunity to remove the greatest threat to peace and stability. Many organizations are getting behind the campaign, and even some prominent US politicians are getting on board.

How could it work? There are so many myths and naysayers. The organizers present seven steps:

• De-alert. Remove all nuclear weapons from high-alert status, separating warheads from delivery vehicles;
• No First Use. Make legally binding commitments to No First Use of nuclear weapons and establish nuclear policies consistent with this commitment;
• No New Nuclear Weapons. Initiate a moratorium on the research and development of new nuclear weapons, such as the Reliable Replacement Warhead;
• Ban Nuclear Testing Forever. Ratify and bring into force the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty;
• Control Nuclear Material. Create a verifiable Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty with provisions to bring all weapons-grade nuclear material and the technologies to create such material under strict and effective international control;
• Nuclear Weapons Convention. Commence good faith negotiations, as required by the Non-Proliferation Treaty, to achieve a Nuclear Weapons Convention for the phased, verifiable and irreversible elimination of nuclear weapons;
• Resources for Peace. Reallocate resources from the tens of billions currently spent on nuclear arms to alleviating poverty, preventing and curing disease, eliminating hunger and expanding educational opportunities throughout the world

.

This film by the nuclear Age Peace Foundation makes the case. We’ll provide info and resources for adding your voice to the call, and ways to spread the word. The film will then be added to our Peace & Conscience Library, and made available to the community. If you would like to show it to your group in the Oklahoma City area, contact us. It can also be borrowed by individuals. There is a version that can be watched online as well.

The film should prompt a good discussion about how we can take action to make this dream a reality. A petition will be available for attenders to sign.

Free and open to the public; 90 minutes total. Refreshments provided.

Tuesday, January 13; 7-8:30 PM

Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16Th St (corner of 16th & Lincoln — parking is limited so carpooling is encouraged)

For more information call: 236-4938.

The film depicts the early years of the Kennedy administration, when a young generation was inspired to public service through the Peace Corps and VISTA, two programs Shriver helped develop and manage. It was a period of intense social change and hopefulness to which the Obama campaign and pending administration has been compared.

What lessons for solving today’s problems can we learn from man’s life and the historic time he represents? The film is a bittersweet look at a time of upheaval, empowerment and social change that is sure to leave viewers with a renewed commitment to the continuing struggle for justice and peace.

Below is more info on the film from the website:

Peace Corps, VISTA, Community Action, Head Start, Legal Services for the Poor, Youth Corps, Job Corps, and more. Sargent Shriver invented a string of social initiatives that shaped an era and dared millions of young Americans to live out their ideals. Those who knew him—Bill Moyers, Andrew Young, political commentator Mark Shields, and so many others—have spoken of Shriver in the same breath as Martin Luther King, Jr., calling him a visionary of deep humanity who helped create a more just society.

American Idealist brings Shriver’s story to life in a new film premiering nationally on PBS, primetime January 21, 2008. A powerful 90-minute depiction of practical activism, it offers a hopeful vision of what this nation could be and could do, based on the experience of what it once did when pushed by the civil rights movement and guided by the War on Poverty. Beyond broadcast, a multi-media National Education and Outreach Campaign will extend the reach and impact of the program and its powerful themes for years to come.