Peace Advocates: Our Activities
Be sure to visit the BringOurSoldiersHome.org website for a list of actions that you can take to help make our opposition to the war in Iraq known to our local, state and national communities.
Sunday Table Mornings
We display the number of lives
lost and wounded in the Iraq War in the church lobby. We have
a table each Sunday where we provide information about events
and other opportunities for UUs to attend. We give out peace
stickers for church nametags and have a variety of bumper stickers and peace
pins that people can purchase. We also feature regular letter signing
opportunities at the table.
Vigils
Three times each month we hold "Troops
Home Now vigils": 1st Thursday mornings (7:30-9am), 2nd Tuesday
evenings (4:40-6pm) and 3rd Wednesday mornings (7:30-9am).
These are held in front of the church and at other locations
and are open to newcomers and members of other faith communities.
We also encourage members and friends to attend the Peace Action
and Education vigils held on Sundays from 1:00-2:00pm at
East Ave and Goodman Street. Click
here for a detailed list
of all 1st Unitarian and community group vigils.
Toy Soldiers
We want to remind people that while they
are going on about their lives, people are suffering and
dying. We want people to pay attention to what is going on
and to do what they can to end to the war and occupation, and bring the
troops home now and take care of them when they get here. "Bring
me home now" toy soldiers
are part of this – and have drawn a letter
of appreciation from a member of Military Families Speak Out in NYC.
Billboard Project
This bold project placed "BringOurSolidersHome.org" onto
6 billboards around Rochester for the month of September, with the goal of
creating 1.62 million impressions! The design work was
donated and the billboard space was provided at buy-one-get-one-free
with a not-for-profit discount. We continue to work
to make this message loud and clear – Bring Our Soldiers
Home! For more information about how to make a contribution
email uupeaceadvocates@hotmail.com or
call 330-3568. Click
here to visit the site.
Peace Cairns
In October 2007 our congregation dedicated an assortment of peace cairns in our Memorial Garden to mark the 4th anniversary of Congress' authorization of the use of force in Iraq.Monthly Cost of War Meditations
Most Sundays we lift
up the joys and sorrows, struggles and celebrations of our
church community in “a time of centering, meditation and prayer.” On
the last Sunday of each month, we put aside our own struggles
and celebrations and instead bring into our hearts and minds
those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Often this is
done by reading the names of US soldiers who have died the
past month and also reading a representative list of Afgan
and Iraqi dead. We have also read poems that speak to the spiritual
and emotional devastation and played amoving reflective video
"Wage
Peace"
put together by the American Friends Service Committee as religious
citizens of a country at war (no matter how each of us feels
about the war), we feel it is imperative to keep ourselves
in touch with the consequences of war, in some small way making
the pain of those who suffer most partially "our
own."
Outreach and Support to the Military
We hold seasonal
UU Military Families Dinners, which offer military families
in our congregation a means to connect, share stories and
support one another. We hope
to extend this support dinner concept to the wider Rochester
area in the coming year. We also plan to send cards of solidarity
and support to UU and Rochester area military in an attempt
to make re-entry into civilian life a bit easier.
Peace Concerts
We periodically host and organize musical
events such as a Jazz concerts for peace and Memorial Day
Concerts that involve groups such as the Finger Lakes Chamber
Ensemble and world music performers.
Youth Work
We are working to better involve our youth
in our work. We hope to develop programs such as obtaining conscientious
objector status and creating conversations between youth
and adult activists. Another
idea is to have a special children’s vigil for peace this coming
year.
Walking the Labyrinth and Sitting in Silence
Whether
you are a returning military, a family member of someone
who is serving or an anti-war activist, all of us need a
means of finding solace, healing and reconnection with our
deepest selves and passions. First
Unitarian offers two resources to help with this. "The Thoreau
Room" is a dedicated
contemplative space available anytime to groups and individuals
who need a space for quiet reflection and restoration. We also
encourage people to walk our outdoor labyrinth in the First Unitarian garden
(below the lower parking lot).
Your Ideas?
The Peace Advocates are always looking
for new ways to bring the war into the consciousness of others.
We welcome your ideas about how we can better work to redirect this disastrous
war and ensure that similar tragedies are avoided in the future.
November 13 2007