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Meeting notes 12/22/01We met at Associated Ministries, and thanks to Chris for facilitating. NO MEETING NEXT WEEK. The next meeting will be at the Associated Ministries, Saturday January 5th, 10 am until noon - 1224 S. "I" street - PLEASE COME. ONGOING VIGIL - WEDNESDAYS 12:30 to 1:30 - in front of the Fed. Blgd, bring a friend! If you can only come for part of the time, that's fine. We have extra signs, so you don't have to bring one, but your support would be appreciated. Colleen mentioned that it has become an important weekly presence, but we need more people. Even if you can only come for part of your lunch hour, that would be great. Our Website: The address is <www.tacomapjh.org/> or <tacomapjh.org> The notes for all of our meetings are posted on the website, and there are many articles and links, with new ones posted often. Take a look! The meeting began with the community check-in with reflections on last week's Event. Some of the comments are summarized as follows: happy bout the event, filling the house (there were between 200 and 240 people there), and the standing ovation that Admiral Gene Carroll received; had fun, delighted to get to know Gene and to have him in my home; happy to see people in the military services attending; hadn't thought we'd fill the place, so doing so was an affirmation; inspired by the event and the articles in the paper, and the organizing capabilities of this group, and now see the challenge of discovering how I fit in and what do we do next? How do we get to the point of transformation and then move onward, nationally and culturally?; my hopes for the even were surpassed and I have a new respect for what people can do when they come together; I got hope at the event and felt pride at being a member of this group, now I wonder how we can sustain this momentum and yet not burn out; I hope that what we accomplished changes something, and I was very moved by the event, and by Gene's speaking of his grandchildren, as it helped me remember what our efforts are all about; I was amazed at the turnout; I had fun and spent an amazing few days, and I was also constantly challenged: It was really fun being with Gene and I got energized in terms of forward movement; I'm curious about who we are now; it's exciting to be planning to have coffee with one of the marines who spoke; I was happy that the event was able to touch other people like me who have been despondent about the war and are happy to finally hook up with others, what a relief! I'd like to see this group reach people in the working class and the military to give them something to connect with and have their questions answered; I was exhilarated by the event and the Admiral's logical and clear perspectives and I also feel that we could include more emotion in future events, because emotion is energizing; the unity in the room was exhilarating and I hope we keep that energy in the future. I feel we are part of building a future possibility for world peace and perhaps it will come in the next generation; amazed at the speed of organization and really impressed with this group; people were hungry for information and appreciated getting it, and perhaps at the next event we can give out even more; the event planted seeds for peace that will grow in the future, and I'm happy to have been of service to a group which has served this community in a special way. ANNOUNCEMENTSVivien brought an invitation for a speaker from this group to attend the February meeting of the Tacoma Chapter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. This organization began as a conference of pastors trying to prevent WWI and had grown worldwide throughout the 20th Century. We will send someone, and decide who that is at the next PJH meeting - volunteers welcome. Look for the Fellowship's Peace Pledge sign up information posted on the TacomaPJH website soon. It is garnering thousands of signatures worldwide. Also watch our website and emails for information on:
Meeting Notes:New members are invited to our next meeting, which is on January 5th, and we will discuss how we want to organize ourselves, our meetings and our activities to sustain and continue the group's work together. Ken volunteered to facilitate the meeting and Audrey volunteered to take notes. We need volunteers for both roles for future meetings. Facilitator training was mentioned, and it was suggested that the book "The Zen of Groups" would be useful for people who want to teach themselves a bit more about facilitating groups. The group took some time to process last week's event: attendance was between 200-250, and donations raised somewhere between $1200 and $1400 after expenses! A big thank you to all who donated, as the funds will allow us to proceed with arranging more free events (at which we will continue to pass the hat..). Sallie reported that the meals with Gene were an interesting process, and that in the future it would be wise to reserve private rooms in the restaurants and to create a way for the meal discussions to be facilitated so that each attendee has an equal chance for questions and conversation. It was suggested that setting parameters for the discussion when invitations are issued would be helpful. It was agreed that the facility (History Museum) was an excellent choice of location which lent a professional aura to the event, and made it easy for some to invite professional colleagues. The people at the Museum were very nice and extremely helpful and also seemed to appreciate our group. Karen's efforts and her sister's contribution of flowers added just the right touch, and we thank them both very much for their efforts and donations. We are looking forward to holding more events there. Jean will be putting the information from the feedback papers on an Excel file. Those papers indicate that KUOW and NPR were significant publicity sources. Sallie noticed which mailing lists we can eliminate. A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERY PERSON WHO HELPED IN ANY WAY - WITHOUT EACH OF YOU IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUCH A FINE EVENT! There were sign ups of people interested in joining both Conversation Cafes and Study Groups, so two committees were formed. These committees welcome additional members. If you are interested, contact the people mentioned below:
THE FILM COMMITTEE REPORTThis committee is made up of Janie, Pam, Sallie, Flo, Gabe, and Sandy - and they welcome more members, so contact Janie at starrboogie@qwest.net or come to THE NEXT FILM COMMITTEE MEETING, which is January 10th from Noon until 2:00 at Janie's FGC office which is upstairs at Associated Ministries (1224 S. "I" St.) Budget: covered by donations from last event; hat will be passed Mailing Party for flyers: Friday January 4th 9am - 2pm Associated Ministries, please come for any part of it Event itself: January 20th at History Museum, 2-5pm, movie and discussion "Long Night's Journey Into Day". The movie is about South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and presents 4 cases. It is very intense and very well done. After the movie, there will be facilitated discussion intended to expand the topic to ask how and where this kind of process could work in our society. Ron Slye, Associate Professor of Law at Seattle University has offered to be a part of the event, and others are being considered. Sallie is coordinating email promotion with Carrie and Jean. The News Tribune will promote it as part of the MLK weekend events. If you want a copy of the Press Release, contact Janie at starrboogie@qwest.net You can pick up posters for the event at the next regular meeting of Tacomapjh (January 5th). HELP WITH PROMOTION: We need to get a poster up at the Grand and flyers next door at the Kickstand. We also want to reach out to a wider community, so if people from this group who work at academic institutions would approach their campus multi-cultural groups to publicize this event, that would be a help. Elaine is putting together the program, Karen is handling flowers and aesthetics again. Contact Janie to volunteer or offer suggestions for the program, and particularly if you can suggest discussion questions for after the film (starrboogie@qwest.net) CIVIL LIBERTIES EVENTThe group discussed the intention to create an event addressing the current threats to civil liberties. Feeling that one even a month might be too much to undertake, it was agreed that this even will be held in mid-March. Colleen (cwaterhouse@att.net) offered to convene a committee/work group to put this event together. (Carl and Flo have offered to be part of that work group.) ACLU will co-sponsor the even and can provide speakers, hand outs, and will do a mailing to their 300 members, although they want to make it clear that they do not take a position on war or any issues other than civil liberties. The group suggested names of speakers. Since our ongoing these is "Seeking Alternatives to War", the event could underline the understanding that when this country goes into a war mode, then civil liberties are always challenged, and it can address such questions as What Are the Issues? What Are the Implications? And What Can We Do? Contact Colleen if you have program suggestions or would be able to help with that event. Colleen will convene the committee in early January, and they will report back to this group at the 2nd meeting in January. WONDERINGS FOR FUTURE REFLECTION
The group thanked Jude for doing the notes these last months and gave her a lovely 'going away for a while' card, and Jude thanked them all right back. (I'm Jude, and it's been an honor to meet you all and to be of service to such excellent people - see you in late February - you will all be in my heart and my prayers.) Happy Holidays, Happy New Year - May you all be well! To subscribe to our mailing list, please email
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