Meeting notes 11/10/2001

We met at Associated Ministries and Carl facilitated the meeting, Jude took notes - thank you both. The next meeting will be at the Associated Ministries, Saturday November 17, 10 am until noon - 1224 S. "I" street - PLEASE COME!

We are moving along with organizing a PUBLIC EVENT, probably on December 15th (or else the 14th), and we need your help and support with getting it rolling, so do please come to the next meeting and contribute.

Announcements

ONGOING VIGIL - WEDNESDAYS 4:30 to 6:00 pm and will be a candlelight vigil (bring a candle in a glass) - in front of the Fed. Blgd, bring a friend! If you can only come for part of the time, that's fine.

Our Website: The address is http://www.tacomapjh.org/ or http://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!

NEXT WEEK'S AGENDA: after our check-in, the meeting is dedicated to organizing our upcoming event. At this meeting, we determined that Retired Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll of the Center for Defense Information will (probably - nothing is finalized yet) be our speaker on the weekend of December 14th/15th. During this coming week, various committee members will be nailing down place, time and so forth. People will be bringing a draft of a publicity flyer and a draft of an outline of the event. We as a group will then finalize those items and make decisions about publicity procedures and so on. WE NEED YOUR HELP, please come!

Jude (me, your note-taker) is changing the layout of these meeting minutes from the way they've been written in the past. The meeting opened with a check-in, and a summary of the content of that check-in will follow the description of the meeting content. Here's what was accomplished today:

Sallie, as spokesperson for the Program Committee for the upcoming event, reported that she had received a tentative 'yes' from Admiral Carroll, and arrangements were discussed. [He is a retired Read Admiral of the US Navy and is founder of the organization Center for Defense Information at www.cdi.org (check it out, there is good information there, including his bio., - Jude)] Since other possible speakers had not responded to invitations , the group decided to proceed with inviting Admiral Carroll, who is seen as someone who might appeal to a wide public in this very military part of the world. (Other events with other speakers can of course follow.) Since so many of us have experienced being asked the question "what's the alternative to war?" when we speak of wanting peace, Admiral Carroll will also be an excellent person to speak to that question, as some of CDI's work is studying alternatives to military responses. CDI's position on the current situation is that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 require an international police action and response, and not a war.

After discussion about the make up of the event, it t was agreed that we will have Admiral Carroll as the main speaker, and perhaps invite an 'introducer' (Tom Donnelly might be asked - someone is looking into this) and then also have someone from our group be facilitator, giving a small talk at the beginning of the evening and another to close - the Program committee will be working on a draft of an outline of the whole event, which they will present next Saturday for discussion and decisions. Sallie will check to see if the Admiral is expecting an honorarium, though it seems he is not, as he responded to our offer of round trip airfare and hotel accommodations.

There was extensive discussion about an appropriate location for this event, with a number of options offered (U.U. Church, Tacoma Community College Theater, the History Museum downtown, High Schools, Pierce College, Bates Vocational). After discussion and consideration of finding a venue appropriate to this event, it was agreed that a neutral location (not a Church, not a University) would be best for this type of event (other events may be appropriate for another venue and visa versa). Pam will look into arrangements with the History Museum (seats 215) this afternoon, and will communicate with the rest of the committee via email. Their rental fee charges depending on the date and time of the event, and there is a discount for non-profit organizations. It is hoped we will have dates and location firmed up by next Saturday's meeting. (Friday night, Dec. 14, was considered last choice if there are no other options, because it is a Jewish and Muslim holy day.) Pam will also scout the location in person and report back about the layout, availability of tables, foyer space and so forth.

It was suggested that the foyer/vestibule space might be used for our tables (potential TPJH small groups and so forth) and in addition perhaps invite a few other well-selected groups like the ACLU, or the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Association, or Veterans Against the War. It was agreed that the Program Committee can address this. It was also agreed that we absolutely do not want a crowd of special interest groups/tables that are simply there to 'blow their own horn' so to speak.

There was discussion about co-sponsors of the event, or perhaps organizations that might support or endorse the event. It was agreed that while our long-term goals may include creating a coalition for an ongoing peace process here in Pierce County, this event may not necessarily be one that brings in members of that kind of coalition. So while the idea of co-sponsors was let go of, if you can think of any group that might want to endorse the event, contact Sallie (paint@associatedministries.org) or any other member of the program committee, because we do want to list endorsers on any written material we present (like the program, for instance). Does anyone know if the Veterans Against the War group from Seattle might be an endorser? Or whether they have a chapter in Tacoma?

It was agreed that the event be free, with the 'hat' passed for donations some time during the evening.

Titles for the event were discussed, including "Seeking Alternatives to War", and Sallie agreed to email Admiral Carroll and ask what title he is comfortable with, as we all realized that it would be best not to surprise him with a title/topic that he does not intend to speak about.

Audrey and Karen agreed to generate a draft version of a flyer by next week, so that it could be viewed, played with, and perhaps finalized at next Saturday morning's meeting. Title, dates and so on can be added when they are finalized, but it will be nice to have a draft ready to work with by Saturday.

Here is a summary of the check-in that took place at the beginning of the meeting (there were only 11 people present this Saturday - we need more members to attend - please come to the next meeting!). At the beginning of the meeting, Janie lit the candle.

Check-in

• It was a tough week at work for me emotionally because I feel that it is unprofessional for me to discuss my personal opinions at work. But this week I did feel I could at least say "I'm against the bombing because it makes more people suffer." One client mentioned a European friend of hers who said "Right now I don't want to deal with anything American." I was strongly aware of how we need more information from the rest of the world right now.
• I speak with teens about personal violence, domestic violence, domestic 'terrorism' and I know that I never recommend that the victims of that kind of experience seek out and hunt down their attackers as part of appropriate response and healing. So then why is that the appropriate response on a national scale?
• My son is performing in a play about Jules Feiffer's comic characters, and sometimes the material seems dated and sometimes seems directly related to current events. I found myself laughing and not laughing. There are topics of racism, war, despair, abuse. On the one hand it is nice to know that some language has shifted since those days, but on the other hand it seems very little else has really changed in the world. The play felt metaphoric. And there's also joy for me in knowing this wonderful young man who is my son, and seeing his growth.
• I have been traveling in Europe recently, and I was also out of the country on 9/11 - my travel has me in contact with other budget travelers, and it is clear there is a very different view of things in the rest of the world. There was a huge peace March in Assisi. When I went there I realized it to be a place of unusual peace. And there was a large peace march in Rome. There were many peace signs in Italy. And I returned home to many many emails from this group. And I want you to know that I was glad to have them, glad to feel in touch. So if you are wondering if anyone wants them or reads them, I am glad to have them. And I attended the vigil on Wednesday, and that was nice.
• I have received many emails from foreign students offering their concern for my well being and the well being of this country. I also experienced a new student having turned my letter of introduction back to the post office because she didn't recognize the return address - and that made me see once more just how much fear is in the country right now. So my experience is such a mixture of things.
• I attended the vigil this week and it was nice. I have been reflecting more on how to carry the message that's in my heart. Hearing bits of the President's address this morning put me in a bad mood. And yet I saw that he is genuinely responding to concerns, and he almost sounded defensive, and that's a good sign because it indicates that he isn't feeling he can continue doing what he is doing without being questioned. So that indicates to me that we just need to keep doing the work that we are doing.
• Lately I've been just doing rather than being - doing a lot of things.
• I went to the vigil this week for the first time and I liked it very much. Going helped my feel more involved. I have has some struggles with co-workers who want to argue with me about my position, and I don't want to talk to people who just want to argue. I brought a poem by the Sufi poet Rumi to read to the group:
  Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
  and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
  and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
  Let the beauty we love be what we do.
  There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
• I also heard the President's speech and wonder, have we paid our dues yet? Last week I went shopping for gifts for my father, and so I was carrying 2 books by Ronald Reagan. I never see anyone I know in the bookstore, but I saw 3 friends this time, and I found myself trying to hide the books while I said hello to each of them. I think I need to be more out there with how I feel.
• Last week I went to see a poplar tree that I've known and she's been there for 100 years or more. At the previous visit, her leaves had been part green and part golden. This time she had fallen, and I saw that she had a hollow core that had rotted away. Her upper branches were strong, so she looked strong and health. But the inside had been rotting away, invisible to sight. There's a lesson there about going inside to see that what sustains us is deeply rooted in the earth and nourished from roots deep in the earth.
• One thing that is sometimes needed at work is to go to the International Mail Facility at SeaTac to inspect incoming mail. I don't usually do it, but I did do it last week, and we were asked to leave the facility because they'd received a package from overseas addressed urgently and in rough handwriting to Laura Bush. So the whole facility was shut down, and various agencies arrived to inspect it and so forth. When the package was finally opened, it turned out to be an invitation to a peace conference. (She certainly should go!) These are strange times when an invitation to a peace conference shut down the whole International Mail Facility at SeaTac.

(Those were the check-in comments that began the meeting. We passed the hat for the heating bill, held our meeting, and then held hands at the end with a silent wish for peace. There were only 11 of us present on this Saturday, and we did get a lot done and felt great about that, but we'd love to have more members present, and we need more help to put on this event. Please come back and join us, and help us create this first public gathering.)

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Last updated: 11/12/2001 11:24 AM