A Day of Prayer, Peace and Protest
Friday November 29, 2002
Answering God's Call to Love
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Don't let President Bush
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Pilgrims of Peace join us in a celebration of Peace. We are calling for the Friday after Thanksgiving November 29, 2002 to be a day of Prayer, Peace and Protest. Turn your local place of worship into a sanctuary for the day or come to Syracuse, the North Star country home of the Peacemaker, and gather around the sacred shores of Onondaga Lake, Syracuse NY (Sacred Space). Help us reinvigorate the spirit of a Peace, born on the shores of Onondaga lake that lasted many centuries and served as a model for the founders of our great country.(Prayers for Peace) Go any time or join us at 1PM.
Onondaga Lake Park 1PM We will be gathering on the west shore trail about 200-300 feet from the western most foot bridge over I-690 by the first lakeside clearing going towards the north end of the lake (Seneca River). The area will be marked. There are two ways of getting there:
a)Corner of Beach and Iona Streets in Lakeland-Take exit 5 (Van Vleck-State Fair Blvd) off of Route 690 . Turn left onto State Fair Blvd going towards Lakeland. About a 1/2 mile down take a left onto Beach. Go a few blocks until you come to Iona Str and Railroad tracks. Park your car there. Cross the RR tracks and cross the foot bridge and take a left. From the foot bridge it is about 200-300 feet to the sacred spot where we will be gathering. The cinder path will connect with a paved path. About a 100 feet on your right you will see a clearing with a bench and an overflow duct that gives the appearance of a stream. Total time 5 minutes from parking,
From parking lot for the John Haley Memorial trial- across from Long Branch Park. Park in the lot or in the Long Branch or Willow Bay parking lots. There will be a 20-30 minute walk to where we will be praying and creating sacred space. Stay on the paved walk. Look for the spot mentioned above. You have gone to far if you come upon a right turn onto a cinder path for the foot bridge. Go back a 100-200 feet.Dress warmly, it will be cold and there could be a strong head wind with little shelter. Indoor facilities are located in the Willow Bay section of the park there is an outdoor facility in the parking lot.
Servant of "We the People" The Peacemaker radicalized the thinking of our founders and turned the European concept of leadership and rule upside down by making the ruler the servant of the people. The idea of ruler servitude embedded in our law is a farce today |
As democracy decays so do Peace and justice. The vote giving President Bush carte blanche to attack Iraq is testament to the victory of special interests over "we the people". With our ability to influence our government lost, it is time for us to move inward, to seek the counsel of our hearts upon which God's will is written (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Just as special interests have hijacked government to war a similar group of zealots and fundamentalists are doing the same with the word of God.
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We need new methods For 30 years special interests have successfully waged war against democracy to win control of government. Yet many continue to use time honored methods of protest and petition--to no avail. Those methods are designed for a democracy, not the plutocracy of wealth we have become as Kevin Phillips, Paul Krugman and others note. |
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A world at risk The greatest risk to the world comes from fundamentalists and religious zealots who ignore God's call to love and follow a God of wrath as they smite evil doers. They defy the teachings of the teachers and prophets God has sent us: |
If you cannot join us in North Star country turn your place of worship into a sanctuary of Peace on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Encourage people to come and pray, gather in community and reflect upon peace. Hold events, actions or protests around the concept of sanctuary. If you feel like writing anyone in government, write President Bush and tell him that God calls us to love one another and not kill each other--violence and hate are never justified. Join in solidarity with Adbuster's campaign to make Friday 'Buy Nothing Day' and refrain from shopping--our country once had Blue Laws. Make Friday November 29, 2002 a day of Prayer, Peace and Protest.
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The Haddith a collection of the life stories of the Prophet Mohamed tells Muslims to look to the life of the prophet for examples of right living. When we begin to focus on the actions and examples of the prophets our path becomes clear. Jesus went to Jerusalem to confront the misuse of the temple not Pontius Pilate-- the government. Today we must stand tall as a witness to God's call to Love. |
By creating sanctuary we are testifying to God's call to Love and telling our President that he cannot take God on his un-holy Crusade to attack Iraq. We are also bearing witness to the fact that great leaders of non-violence and peace were spirit led--a further testament to the belief that if we are to make a better world we need the guidance of God. It will also put on notice those that draw inspiration from and invoke the spirit of Gandhi and King that they are similarly calling upon God--because the spirit of these great leaders was inseparable from that of God's. Consider the words of Gandhi:
"For me, politics bereft of religion are absolute dirt, ever to be shunned. Politics concern nations and that which concerns the welfare of nations must be one of the concerns of a man who is religiously inclined, in other words, a seeker after God and Truth. For me, God and Truth are convertible terms, and if anyone told me that God was a god of untruth or a god of torture, I would decline to worship Him. Therefore, in politics also we have to establish the Kingdom of Heaven.' (Young India, 18.6.1925)Of King:
"It is quite easy for me to think of a God of love mainly because I grew up in a family where love was central and where lovely relationships were ever present.
My parents would always tell me that I should not hate the white man, but that it was my duty as a Christian to love him.
Even though I have never had an abrupt conversion experience, religion has been real to me and closely knitted to life. In fact the two cannot be separated; religion for me is life."
An Autobiography of Religious Development (Nov. 1950 essay)
It is time that all people of faith become witnesses to God's call to Love. What this means, where it brings us, how we do it--none of us can know with certainty. What we do know is that if we are to make the world safe we are going to have to put our faith and trust in God. To answer God's call to Love.
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Can our faith deliver us? Do you believe it? How far can your faith take you? And where and in what do you put your faith in? All important questions to contemplate on the Day of Prayer, Peace and Protest-- A Day to Look Inside! |
For more about Jubilee Initiative and madis senner go to: About Us or contact madis senner at:
To email madis
315-463-5369
For more information about the Onondaga Lake ceremony see Prayers for Peace or contact David Yarrow, TERRA:
518-477-6100
To email David
Please check back we will be updating this site frequently with pertinent information.
THANKSGIVING THANKS "7. Whenever the Confederate Lords shall assemble for the purpose of holding a council, the Onondaga Lords shall open it by expressing their gratitude to their cousin Lords and greeting them, and they shall make an address and offer thanks to the earth where men dwell, to the streams of water, the pools, the springs and the lakes, to the maize and the fruits, to the medicinal herbs and trees, to the forest trees for their usefulness, to the animals that serve as food and give their pelts for clothing, to the great winds and the lesser winds, to the Thunderers, to the Sun, the mighty warrior, to the moon, to the messengers of the Creator who reveal his wishes and to the Great Creator who dwells in the heavens above, who gives all the things useful to men, and who is the source and the ruler of health and life.
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