Dear Supporter,
Please forward to your lists and congregations:
Republican-Catholic Cover-Up, Poverty, Iran, Queer Coming-Out Day
People of Faith CT e-newsletter
Monday, October 9, 2006
CONTENTS
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month.
Politics
Republican Foley Cover-Up Reminiscent of Roman Catholic Hierarchy Cover-Up
Question US Senate and House Candidates on Torture
Global Day of Prayer & Action on Poverty: Sunday, October 15
This is How Fascism Happens Here
Spirituality & Activism
Hope is a Choice, Action
Middle East Peace
US Aircraft Carrier with Nuclear Weapons Heads Toward Iran!
Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land, Oct. 11, New Britain
Current Aspects of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Oct. 11, New Britain
Breaking the Ramadan Fast: An Interfaith Gathering, Oct. 11, Hartford
Reception/Fundraiser: Three Women from Jerusalem, Oct. 14, Groton
Queer Rights
How We View Those Who Transverse as if They Transgress, Oct. 10, Hartford
National Queer Coming Out Day, Oct. 11
A Coming Out Prayer for LGBT People and Those Who Love Them
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October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month.
On April 5, 2006 forty-two national religious leaders from around the
country declared violence against women as intolerable and pledged their
commitment to its eradication. The National Declaration by Religious Leaders
to Address Violence Against Women will be distributed to every battered
women's program in the U.S. Women will see this list and determine whether
their faith community supports them in seeking safety for themselves and
their children. When people of faith join with other community leaders to
address domestic violence, we will see ancient roadblocks turn into
resources that save lives and bring healing. Please join other people of
faith in signing the Declaration:
http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/petition/petition.php
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Politics
Republican Foley Cover-Up Reminiscent of Roman Catholic Hierarchy Cover-Up
"ABC News reported that Republican House staff warned
congressional pages as far back as 2001 to stay away from Foley.
For five years, House leaders have known about this potential problem,
but failed to take sufficient corrective action to protect their underage charges.
Similar to the Catholic Bishops, the House leaders
seem to have been only concerned about self-protection,
keeping their power and fundraising structure in place,
and hoping that the abuses never saw the light of day.
Simple honesty, morality and common sense were completely abandoned
in their drive to conceal the truth and protect their own
institutional interests.
For both the Catholic Church and the Congress,
the well-being of children does not seem to matter enough
to rein in the behavior of adults in their own ranks.
If you want to understand more fully the behavior of
Congressional leadership, watch the disturbing depositions of
Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony and his lieutenants in
'Deliver Us From Evil.'
'Deliver Us From Evil' will open in theaters in Los Angeles
and New York and Boston on October 13,
and then nationwide on October 27.
The film is the true account of Father Oliver O’Grady,
the most notorious pedophile in the history of the modern
Catholic Church.
Despite warning signs and complaints, the Church played
an elaborate shell game for years, moving O’Grady
from parish to parish in an effort to avoid liability and responsibility.
The consequences of their actions were tragic."
--Statement from Amy Berg, Director of the film, "Deliver Us From Evil"
on the Mark Foley Scandal and the Catholic Church.
"We knew that you were being abused but you were a girl --
had you been a boy that would have been obscene."
-- Cardinal Roger O'Mahony
Watch the Film Trailer:
http://www.deliverusfromevilthemovie.com/index_flash.php
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Question US Senate and House Candidates on Torture
The National Religous Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT)
offers a new resource:
"Questions for candidates for the U.S. House and Senate"
that you can use during this campaign month of October.
View questions online:
http://www.nrcat.org/candidate_questions.aspx#questions
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Global Day of Prayer & Action on Poverty: Sunday, October 15
On October 15, ONE members will gather in homes across the country
to talk to local candidates and educate each other on extreme poverty,
global AIDS and the coming November election.
At the events, members will:
1) Educate their friends and family about extreme poverty and global AIDS
2) Call their local candidate’s campaign offices and ask them what actions
they have taken and plan to take on extreme poverty and global AIDS
3) Literally stand up to ask our leaders to make poverty history
With your help, we will start a public conversation about global poverty.
Sign up to host a house party.
http://action.one.org/dia/organizationsONE/one/event/distributedEventSignup.jsp?distributed_event_KEY=8&t=HostPartyTempl ate.dwt
Episcopal Prayer Service for an End to Global Poverty:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3654_64549_ENG_HTM.htm
Download bulletin insert on poverty from a Roman Catholic perspective:
http://thecatholicalliance.org/new/files/Poverty-Bulletin-Insert.pdf
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This is How Fascism Happens Here
In just the past year we have seen:
* Government spying—bolted into law;
* Alito & Roberts—installed in the Supreme Court;
* The Patriot Act passed—again;
* Theocratic anti-abortion and anti-gay laws—spreading intolerance;
* War in Iraq—more murderous;
* War on Lebanon—approved and fueled;
* War on Iran—in preparation;
* Cuba, Venezuela and other countries—in their sights;
* Torture—legalized.
* Immigrants Dehumanized and Deported
The act passed last week stripped the fundamental right of habeas corpus
for 14,000 detainees in secret prisons around the world
and to anyone anywhere that the president accuses of being an enemy combatant -
all without any real opposition in the halls of power.
This is how fascism happens here
with an orderly transfer of power to the executive branch,
to a president and administration claiming war time powers -
in a war promised to last generations;
to a president who lied about Iraq
and is now laying plans for a catastrophic war with Iran;
to a president who believes he is on a mission from God.
The World Can't Wait -- Drive Out The Bush Regime
http://www.worldcantwait.net/
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Spirituality & Activism
Hope is a Choice, Action
"Hope is the refusal of complicity. . . .
Hope is to work for something because it is good. . . .
All of this is a way of saying that I do not think that hope is a feeling.
Hope is a choice and then it is an action.
It is inevitable that as people committed to peacemaking and reconciliation,
we should sometimes feel despairing in the face of our own knowledge of complicity,
and this is particularly the case when all our efforts at refusal
seem to be met with governmental intransigence and duplicity.
But this is not a time to lose our nerve.
To feel hopeful is a luxury mostly only enjoyed by people
who live in stable, peaceful democracies
who have the option to feel despairing.
To live hopefully is a daily decision
made by people who have nothing else to retreat to."
--Rev. Kathy Galloway, Leader of the Iona Community
Read her entire speech, "Hope in a Time of War"
given Oct. 5, 2006 at UConn, Storrs at the
Loyola Colloquium, St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel
http://www.for.org.uk/hope_galloway.doc
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Middle East Peace
US Aircraft Carrier with Nuclear Weapons Heads Toward Iran!
Last week the President gave a "prepare to deploy" order
to the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower and its
attendant strike force.
Their destination is the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Iran.
Is this simply an escalation of the administration's saber-rattling?
An attempt to provoke Iran and create a Tonkin Gulf-like rationale
to justify military strikes?
Or is this actually the first step of planned military action against Iran,
with the administration's declarations of attempted diplomacy
just as phony as they were before the Iraq war?
Read: "The March to War: Naval Build-Up in the Persian Gulf
and the Eastern Mediterranean" by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
of Global Research:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=NAZ20061001&articleId=3361
The article examines the geopolitics behind this military deployment
and its relationship to the Battle for Oil.
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Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land:
U.S. Media and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (a film)
Wednesday, October 11
2:00 PM
Torp Theater
Davidson Administration Building
Central CT State University
The film will be presented and discussion afterward will be led by
Sut Jhally, producer of the film and
Professor of Communication, University of Massachusetts at Amherst,
Founder and Executive Director, Media Education Foundation.
Free and open to the public.
============================
Current Aspects of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Amir Ofek, Consul for Public Affairs
at the Consulate General of Israel in New York
Wednesday, October 11
5:00 PM
Torp Theater
Davidson Administration Building
Central CT State University
Mr. Ofek has previously held diplomatic positions in the Republic of
Georgia, Belarus and Chile. He will discuss recent developments in the
Middle East, including Israeli policies and perceptions of the Palestine and
Lebanon situations. A question period will follow the presentation.
Sponsored by the Peace Studies Program, History Department, Political
Science Department and the Middle Eastern Studies Program of IAS.
========================================================
Breaking the Ramadan Fast: An Interfaith Gathering
You are cordially invited to
“A Breaking of the Fast
in
An Interfaith Gathering”
Wednesday, October 11
5:30- 7:30 PM
Hartford Seminary Meeting Hall
77 Sherman Street
Hartford, CT 06105
Sponsored by
Harmony Foundation
No RSVP Required
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Reception/Fundraiser: Three Women from Jerusalem
Saturday, Oct. 14
3-5 PM
331 W. Shore Avenue,
Groton Long Point, CT
Hosts: Peter and Liz Viering, Marge and Hassan Fouda
You are cordially invited to a
Reception/Fundraiser
For
Partners for Peace
a non-profit organization
based in Washington, D.C.
that brings the voices of
Jerusalem Women
from all three faiths
to America
and gives these women the opportunity to be heard.
Meet the 2006 New England Tour Speakers
Jerusalem Women Speak: Three Women, Three Voices, One Shared Vision
Ghada Ageel of Khan Younis, Palestine
Shireen Khamis of Beit Jala, Palestine
Rela Mazali of Herzlia, Israel
Light refreshments will be served.
Please come and meet these extraordinary women
who have just arrived from the Middle East.
RSVP: 535-2487 or 536-4640
www.partnersforpeace.org
========================================================
Queer Rights
Engendering Conversation 4-Part Series
Starts Tuesday Oct 10
7 PM
Charter Oak Cultural Center
21 Charter Oak Ave, Hartford CT
Part 1:
Crossing Borders: How We View Those Who Transverse as if They Transgress
Panel featuring an Immigrant Rights activist,
Trans person, Queer member of the Religious Community,
and an activist member of ADAPT
(American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit)
discussing their journeys’ in crossing physical,
internal, social and religious borders.
Panel moderator is Regina Dyton!
Suggested donation, $5
Sponsored by
Connecticut TransAdvocay Coalition
http://www.transadvocacy.com
and
Charter Oak Cultural Center
http://www.charteroakcenter.org
Proudly endorsed by People of Faith CT
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National Queer Coming Out Day
Wednesday, Oct. 11
This year's theme:
"Talk About It."
The theme is to encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans,
as well as straight allies, to talk openly and honestly about their lives
and the issues that TBLG Americans face under law.
When you ‘Talk About It’ with the people in your life, you begin to change minds one at a time,
and that’s the most lasting kind of change.
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/coming_out_day_kit
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A Coming Out Prayer
for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People
and Those Who Love Them
Adapted from the Sha'ar Zahav Siddur Prayers, Poems, and Songs
O God of truth and justice,
the evasions and deceits we practice
upon others and ourselves are many.
We long only to speak out and to hear the truth,
yet time and again, from fear of loss or hope of gain,
from dull habit or from cruel deliberation,
we speak half-truths, we twist facts,
we are silent when others lie, and we lie to ourselves.
Whether we are lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, or questioning,
family or friends,
we sometimes feel forced to pretend to be
that which we are not,
to present ourselves in ways which are not truthful,
and sometimes with outright lies.
But as we stand before You,
our words and our thoughts
speed to One who knows them before we utter them.
We do not have to tell untruths to You
as we are often forced to do in the world.
We know we cannot lie in your presence.
May our worship help us to practice truth
in speech and in thought before You,
to ourselves, and before one another;
and may we finally complete our liberation
so that we no longer feel the need to practice evasions and deceits.
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