MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING

People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
August 22, 2009

People for Peace, Justice and healing met August 22, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. at Associated Ministries.  Present for check-in were:  Mark, Louisa, Susan, Karen H., Rob, Colleen, and Karen K.  

AGENDA/DISCUSSION

1. Journey of repentance to Japan (Karen H.)
Karen reported on her trip to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Tokoy, Japan as part of the eighteen-memeber Journey of Repentance organized by Father Bill ("Bix") Bichsel, and brought copies of Japanese newspapers.

2. Free speech at the Thursday farmer's market (Colleen).
Colleen called attention to what appears to be an attempt to restrict free speech at the Thursday farmer's market in downtown Tacoma to a "political discussion area."

3. Reading to children (Susan).
Research demonstrates many benefits of reading to children.

4. Cairns on Mr. Rainier hiking trails (Karen K.)
Karen K. reported on a proliferation of cairns on a hiking trail on the slopes of Mt. Rainier (trailhead: Paradise).

5. No Child Left Behind (Karen K.)
Karen K. called attention to deepening problems caused by the No Child Left Behind Act. She recommended three books on education: 1) Marshall B. Rosenberg, Life-Enriching Education (2003); 2) Matthew Fox, The A.w.e. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human (2006); 3) Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life (1997; 10th anniversary ed. publ. 2007).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Karen K.'s soirée is tonight! Begins 5:30 p.m.

2. Arlington NW, "A Memorial to the Fallen," will be held again on the Ruston Way Tacoma waterfront on Sat., Sept. 5 and Sun., Sept. 6., in Marine/Cummins Park. This labor of love is sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Tacoma Chapter #134. Volunteers are especially needed to help set up markers from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Sat., Sept. 5.

Respectfully submitted,
Mark