Peace Advocates Task Force

Opportunities to Witness for Another Way
The efforts are many: vigils, marches, billboards, "bring them home" soldiers throughout the city, keeping count of the cost of war, outreach to military and their families. The "Peace Advocates Task Force" of First Unitarian Church is open to all and works to bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and to question our reliance on military might in general. From the beginning, our congregation recognized that there is wide opinion about the Iraq War among us, but we all support the efforts of our Peace Advocates group to act on their consciences. We believe that the Peace Advocates work is especially important in our culture that treats dissent and questioning of authority as "Un-American." The Peace Advocates remind people that speaking truth to power is one of our most patriotic acts and also an act of great love for our troops and the Iraqis.

To learn about our efforts and how you can get involved check out the information on this page and in the following sections:

Resources: A list of organizations and websites highlighting pro-peace content and communities.
Activities: What does the Peace Advocates Task Force do? Find out here.
Events: A schedule of First Unitarian and other community vigils & events.

Also don't hesitate to contact the Peace Advocates Chairpersons, Marilyn Lambert-Fisher or Bill Fisher via email.

Visibility & Public Impact

Actions do make an impact, and visibility counts. Following are a number of media articles featuring efforts of Peace Advocates Task Force members:

March 23, 2007 article in the Unitarian Universalist Association's magazine, UU World. This article highlights the work and leadership of our Peace Advocates Task Force.
Life Now Radio (http://lifenowradio.org) featured First Unitarian members, Bill Fisher and Marilyn Lambert-Fisher discussing their Gulf Coast walk with other military families and veterans for victims of Hurricane Katrina and against the War in Iraq. The show is titled "The Courageous Walk" and can be listened to or downloaded by clicking here.
Casey Asprooth-Jackson, a member of our task force, was presented with the 2006 Youth Ambassador for Peace Award by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Greater Rochester Commission at the annual King Day observance on January 15 2007.
R News (cable channel 9) coverage of morning antiwar vigils at four churches on December 7, 2006.
"Bring me home now" toy soldiers cited in City Newspaper, June 28 2006 (scroll down to the War Signals story).
Marilyn Lambert-Fisher's letter [PDF] was published in the Democrat and Chronicle in late March, 2009.
An open letter [PDF] from several groups was published in City Newspaper, April 1 - 7, 2009.

July 2 2009