Meeting Notes for People for Peace, Justice, and Healing

Saturday, December 18, 2004

People for Peace, Justice and Healing met at Associated Ministries, December 18, 2004 at 10 a.m.

Present for check-in and a lot of holiday goodies brought spontaneously and without planning were: Mark, Rob, Karen, Laura, Colleen, Vivi, Karen, Sally, and Sallie. Check in was sacrificed in favor of a short business meeting, the watching of a CD brought by Laura Karlin and feasting on holiday goodies such as cookies, satsumas, pretzel mix, halvah, muffins, sweet breads, et al., egg nog, coffee and spirited conversation including pressures to contribute to charities and NGOs. Suggestion that this subject be placed on future agenda.

AGENDA

CONVERSATION CAFE: Discussion -- What do you think of the French law which forbids the wearing of Muslim and other religious symbols of any sort in the French school system? Discussion segued into the place of religious and cultural symbols in the U.S. public school system. After deciding the first question will be used at a later time, Tuesday night's question to be developed by Mark will evolve around the place of Santa in the public school system.

Discussion of Peltier event on February 5 postponed until after first of the year. Karen is inviting young soldier/poet who has just returned from service in Iraq to meeting after first of year.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND AND COUNTING: One thousand volunteers are needed for death tableau in Olympia on January 15. Each volunteer will represent Iraqi civilians killed in the Iraq war. Contact is Robb Iyall at stout_trout@yahoo.com Web site: www.omjp.org/100Thousand.html They are looking for co-sponsors to this event.

GROUND ZERO: Also on January 15: the Martin Luther King traditional Ground Zero action at Bangor. For those interested in civil disobedience -- meet at 9 a.m. Event begins at noon.

PEACE WHEELS and Peace Symbols Workshop -- January 21 at Guadalupe House, 1417 South “G” Street. Participants will make wheels from bike tires (just the tire) and fabric. Potluck at 6:00 p.m., program at 7:00 p.m. If you can, bring a bike tire and scrap or loose fabric.

JANUARY 22 MEETING: Annie Phillips of Seattle will join and Sallie Shawl and Ken Miller of Tacoma at 11:00 p.am. to discuss their adventures campaigning out of state for John Kerry.

TBA: Dates and places for ANTI-INAUGURAL BALL, sponsored by UFPPC -- to take place around the time of the Bush inauguration and a PROTEST against the nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales as Attorney General.

The movie: Further meeting postponed to watch Trust Me, a 60-minute film about a week long camp sponsored by the United Methodist Church in North Carolina. Boys from Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths, about the ages of 10 to 11, attended a camp together to become better acquainted with one another's cultural differences. Discussion following film: Speculation about possibilities of sponsoring a similar camp for young people in our community.

Respectfully, Karen