4, Sunday ....... Potluck lunch at 11.30.
10, Saturday .... picnic at Eisenhower Park, NW Military Rd, 12 p.m.
11, Sunday....... Meeting for Business.
18, Sunday....... Forum – Chaps
24, Saturday..... Work Day on the Meeting grounds, 9 a.m.
25, Sunday ...... Forum – 11:30 Rachel Walsh, on peacemaking in Israel
Each Thursday, at 4-5 pm, a silent peace vigil is held at the NE corner of Main Plaza (Commerce and Dwyer or Commerce and Soledad, which is the same thing) near the San Fernando cathedral.
Clerk: Val Liveoak, e-mail: valliveoakATjunoDOTcom
Newsletter Editor: Ken Southwood, e-mail: jksouthwood@grandecom.net
Website: http://www.sanantonioquakers.org
Donations may be made to Friends Meeting of San Antonio, P.O. Box 6127, San Antonio, TX 78209.
Meeting telephone for meeting times or to ask for other information: (210) 945-8456
Friends Meeting of San Antonio
7052 N. Vandiver Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78209
Humanity Has 640 Million Guns, MissilesWASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) — Nearly 640 million small arms and light weapons are in circulation around the world, a new book warns.Nearly one third of a billion pistols, carbines, assault rifles, light machine guns and surface to air missiles are already in the hands of armies, militias, gangs, guerrilla movements and other groups globally, the new book The Small Arms Trade warns. "In the hands of irresponsible government armies, rebel groups, and terrorists, these weapons cause tremendous human suffering," the Center for Defense Information said in a statement Tuesday. The book was written by Rachel Stohl of the CDI, Matthew Schroeder of the Federation of American Scientists and retired Col. Daniel Smith, U.S. Army, of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. "The wars that ravaged Central America and that continue in Afghanistan, Liberia, the Sudan and dozens of other countries -- wars in which millions of innocent men, women and children have died and millions more have been deprived of the economic opportunities -- were (and still are) fought primarily with small arms," the CDI statement said. "Drug lords use them to eliminate competitors and assassinate government officials, abusive governments use them to suppress internal dissent and silence opposition, insurgents use them to kill soldiers on patrol, terrorists use them to elicit fear ..." "Small arms are the true weapons of individual destruction," said Rachel Stohl, senior analyst at the World Security Institute's Center for Defense Information. "Controlling these deadly weapons requires national governments, regional organizations, and international institutions to work cooperatively. They must simultaneously control supply, take existing weapons out of circulation, end misuse, and address demand." "Shoulder-fired missiles are a terrorist's dream and a law enforcement nightmare," said Schroeder. "For less than the cost of a used car, a terrorist can cripple a commercial airliner, and with it the airline industry."
—United Press International, cited by FCNL Kalazhnikov designed the AK47 after WWII after he had seen Soviets being slaughtered by Germans. It is simple, sturdy, reliable, and deadly. Seventy million have been manufactured, many by licensed manufacturers in other countries during the Soviet time, and still being made, along with many unlicensed copies. Kalazhnikov is said to have wished he had designed something less harmful.
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AFSC Nominates Colombian Peace Groups for Nobel Peace PrizePHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7 (press release) — The American Friends Service Committee has nominated two Colombian Groups for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their extraordinary commitment to nonviolence in the midst of the country’s 50-year-old conflict and their exemplification of organized efforts by many Colombians to end that conflict justly.The conflict among guerrillas, paramilitaries, and the Colombian armed forces has destabilized the already precarious living conditions for many of Colombia’s most vulnerable communities for decades. The Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó (Peace Community of San José de Apartadó) and the Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas del Norte del Cauca (Association of Indigenous Townships of Northern Cauca ACIN) have responded both creatively and nonviolently to avoid becoming enmeshed in the crisis while protecting their communities and their land.
— www.afsc.org
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AFSC Sees in 2008 Budget Proposal “Little to Reflect Our Values”WASHINGTON, February 7 (excerpted from press release) — The federal budget is the ultimate embodiment of our nation’s priorities and direction, a roadmap of our shared plans as a society. What will our tax money buy? What are the moral mandates we share? What are our national aspirations today? What are our intentions with regard to future generations?The Fiscal Year 2008 budget request released by the Administration this week offers a troubling response to these questions. The request seeks the highest level of military spending in two decades—even before supplemental funds for current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are taken into account. It includes supplemental FY07 war funding for Iraq and Afghanistan that would bring the annual expenditure for those conflicts to a level more than five times higher than the entire State Department budget for the same period. It proposes cuts to essential programs that help children receive health care and elders pay their heating bills, while spending billions for a “virtual fence” on our southern border. The proposed FY 08 budget sets a course toward deepening the nation’s investment in war over diplomacy, walls over community-based development, and tax breaks for the wealthiest over the long-term needs of children, elders, and others who are particularly vulnerable. The American Friends Service Committee has an important role to play in articulating a different course for our nation’s moral map. AFSC’s engagement spans from comprehensive work on community-based human needs to multifaceted international peacebuilding—we stand in a unique position to offer an alternative vision for U.S. priorities. Recognizing this special niche, AFSC has raised the issue of budget priorities as one of its top areas of focus for the 110th Congress. The AFSC Washington Office looks forward to working with the board, staff and constituents of AFSC to bring a clear message to Congress as it considers this request and advances its own proposal: Build a federal budget that reflects the best of our nation’s ideals and dreams, not the worst of its greed and fears.
—Aura Kanegis, AFSC Washington Office To read the press release in full, visit www.afsc.org
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Save Darfur Coalition UpdateThe Save Darfur Coalition has announced three major campaigns designed to raise awareness of the crisis in Darfur: The Global Day of Action for Darfur on April 29, when organizations around the world will draw attention to Darfur and call for immediate action; the Targeted Sudan Divestment, designed to put pressure on companies who enable the genocide in Sudan; and Voices from Darfur, a national tour of Darfurian speakers who will raise awareness of the crisis in their homeland.To stay abreast of these events, visit the Save Darfur website at http://www.savedarfur.org/ and the San Antonio Interfaith Darfur Coalition page at http://www.savedarfur.org/page/group/SanAntonioInterfaithDarfurCoalition.
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Quaker Tapestry on Display in EnglandPart of the Quaker Tapestry, telling of 350 years of history, is going on display at Worcester Cathedral in England. It has 77 panels and was created by 4,000 people in 15 countries. It is one of the world's largest community textile projects. The tapestry is not the work of experts. —www.news.bbc.co.uk(To see the Quaker Tapestry, visit http://www.quaker-tapestry.co.uk/)
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Friends in Kenya: A Prayer RequestLauri Perman of Baltimore Yearly Meeting writes:
Dear Friends, Although Friends attending the General Board Meeting are safe, undoubtedly their families will rest more easily when they return home safely. John Smallwood (Langley Hill) and Rich Liversidge (Sandy Spring) planned to be there and it is likely that other BYM Friends are as well. Please share this prayer request with your Monthly Meeting. This violence resulted in the death, among others, of a Kenyan Friend, Dr. Job Bwayo, an internationally-regarded AIDS researcher, and serious injury to his wife Elizabeth Bwayo and Carol Briggs, a member of Northwest Yearly Meeting.
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Friends in Iran: A Prayer RequestMary Ellen McNish of AFSC writes:
Friends, We will be meeting with Muslim religious leaders, President Ahmadinejad, women members of Parliament and will be trying to meet the Jewish community in Teheran. We are also trying to meet with women’s rights and human rights activists. The purpose of our trip is to encourage diplomacy and dialogue between the US and Iran, keep the US from a military attack on Iran, and encouraging Iran to meet the deadline of the IAEA and the UN Security Council resolution preventing their attainment of nuclear weapons. We will be accompanied by a video journalist from the PBS program NOW. We plan on a press conference when we return and several days of lobbying in congress and the State Department to try to move the US toward a more reasonable foreign policy.
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Interested in South Central Yearly Meeting?You may now register for South Central Yearly Meeting at www.scym.org. Organizers strongly encourage online registration, as it saves SCYM considerable expense and paper. Register prior to March 20 to avoid being assessed a late fee.
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Jurgen Moltman on EschatologyEschatology is not among Friends’ favorite subjects, but this view of it comes closer to Friends’ concerns in this world, as the following paragraphs show. Moltman sees it as central to Christianity, possibly paralleling the conventional view of eschatology.—Ken Southwood “‘ Any Last Judgment with Christ at the center must answer the cries of human victims for justice, without simply meting out vengeance on the perpetrators of injustice,’ Professor Moltmann suggests. A Christian eschatological vision would involve not the retributive justice of human courts but ‘God’s creative justice,’ which can heal and restore the victims and transform the Perpetrators.
The goal of a final judgment, in this interpretation, is not reward and punishment but victory over all that is godless, which he calls ‘a great Day of Reconciliation.’ Professor Moltmann argues for the universal preservation and salvation not only of humans, as individuals and as members of groups, but also of all living creatures.” —Peter Steinfels, NYT 1/20/07
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Books: If God is LoveThis book is by Phillip Gulley and Robert Mulholland, two Quaker pastors, one former Catholic and one Baptist/Methodist. They write about the church today and show how we have drifted from Jesus’ message of grace, love and hope. Sue Gibson states, "It is remarkably readable and a moving account of the two forms of Christianity. The first is fear-based and emphasizes threat, requirements, righteousness and reward. The second is grace-filled and emphasizes relationship, transformation, love and justice. An easy read and a call to belonging to the path of truth for each individual. The theme is Universal Salvation."
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Bishop Spong Lectures in San AntonioLast month, the D.L. Dykes, Jr. Foundation and Madison Square Presbyterian Church hosted a lecture series by retired Episcopal Bishop and noted author John Shelby Spong. Spong opened his lecture series Jesus for the Non-Religious with a talk entitled “Separating Myth From History,” which he delivered on the evening of February 9 at Trinity University’s Parker Chapel.Dr. Spong began his discussion by suggesting a tension which confronts the Christian intellectual: that between “living with integrity as a citizen of the twenty-first century and remaining faithful to the Jesus of history.” We live, Spong said, “on the other side of Copernicus…Galileo…Newton…Darwin…Freud…and Einstein,” so our framework for understanding Jesus is radically different from that of the gospel writers, who provide our only real source of information about his life. Their interpretation of Jesus is necessarily “time-bound and time-warped” by first-century creeds and structures, so if we attempt to read the gospels literally, we get hung up on their logical inconsistencies and “lose the Jesus experience.” Spong offered a comic example of this dilemma when he recalled a discussion with Carl Sagan about Jesus’ ascension: Sagan pointed out that, even if Jesus had ascended 2000 years ago at the speed of light, he still would not have reached the outer limits of our galaxy—he’d not in be in heaven, that is, but in perpetual orbit. Readers must respond to the gospels’ logical problems, Spong said, not by closing their minds or rejecting their faith, but by freeing Jesus from the “tribal notions of the deity” which contain him. The reader must recognize that the mythological accounts of Christ reveal the gospel writers’ earnest attempt to communicate Jesus’ significance. The powerful symbols surrounding him (the star of Bethlehem, the virgin birth, and the ascension, for example) were intended to suggest his pull and power. “[When we read the gospels], we are not dealing with historical fact, but with interpretive material,” Spong said, “[the writers] intended to show us who it was that was crucified and why his death mattered.”
Spong concluded his discussion by challenging his audience to discover the Jesus experience beneath biblical myth; the first step to creating a living faith, he said, is not to become “religious,” but “to become whole and free, to love wastefully, and to live life abundantly.” —Lindsay Ratcliffe Note: Spong’s latest book, Jesus for the Non-Religious (Harper Collins Canada), hit bookstores on February 15.
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Summary of February Meeting for BusinessMeeting opened with silent worship.Bill Wilkinson presented the treasurer’s report, which the meeting accepted. Janet Southwood presented the Ministry and Oversight Committee’s report. She related that, with Vivian Rule’s guidance, the committee had gathered enough information for a State of the Meeting report, which will be read at South Central Yearly Meeting in April. The committee will distribute the report to members and attenders for comments. Janet also announced that during Forum time on February 25th, meeting will welcome Russell Gainer from Funeral Consumer’s Alliance, who will discuss end-of-life planning; in addition to the materials he presents, Janet said, an FMSA form will be available “which shows in what ways Friends would like Meeting to be involved at the time of death.” Finally, Ministry and Oversight announced that it is considering ways in which the travel fund may to help Friends to attend out-of-town workshops and conferences. Val Liveoak then suggested that, due to potential schedule conflicts, the next meeting for business be rescheduled to April 29th. Her recommendation was accepted. Grounds Committee then read its report into meeting. The committee reported that a recent gift allowed the meeting to purchase landscape lights for the entrance path to “enhance personal safety and property security.” Fencing along the creek was repaired at the same time the lights were installed. The committee announced that plans to build the conversation pit will be delayed until drier weather permits heavy machinery on the grounds. Finally, the committee announced a work day on March 24th to weed, remove debris, and protect young trees. The work day will run from 9:00-11:30 a.m., followed by lunch. Friends interested in participating are encouraged to bring gloves and weeding tools with them from home. Finally, Ken Southwood read the Outreach Committee report. He said the committee recommended that $100 be donated to support the visit of Noa Baum, an Israeli peacemaker. The committee also recommended donating $110 to the Darfur Solar Cooker Project; meeting approved that a donation basket be made available at March Potluck for those who wish to contribute additional funds to the project. Last, Ken announced that Jim Jacobs is continuing to develop signage for the meeting.
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PersonalFrancesca Barre’s life continues to rise and fall. Senator Cornyn has been very helpful, and she was told that standards would be relaxed in Idriss’s special case. This was a great relief. Then a message from Idriss came, saying that the consular official in Djibouti says that she will have to make a special study of the case, which will take at least three months.Ken and Janet Southwood are settling in at William Penn House. Janet says, “We are keeping busy and adjusting to the colder weather, but Penn House is a warm and welcoming place, and we are enjoying meeting interesting people.” Ken adds, “[We’re] struggling to cope with strange telephone, myriad procedures, changing schedules, [and] sharing bathrooms...and then there’s running down from the fourth floor and down into the basement and up to the second floor and back to the fourth floor and...Today we have a meeting in the Corey Room of people from all over the world who are discussing what they’ll be saying to the World Bank tomorrow. I just hope the World Bank is listening.” We wish them the best.
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Bric A Brac- Guilford College is among institutions like Earlham College in Indiana that still maintain particularly strong ties to their respective regional Quaker associations. Other colleges — founded by Quakers and still embracing parts of their philosophy — are now officially secular. These include Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore Colleges in Pennsylvania. —Values and Questions/Inside Higher -Ed/Washington/30-Jan 07- Remember Terry Waite? 15 years ago he was released by Islamic Jihad kidnappers in Lebanon after being held for 1,763 days. When kidnapped in 1987, he was an advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury, but he reports that he is no longer a part of the Anglican Church—he attends Quaker services instead. —Time - Barclay’s Bank in Britain was founded by Quakers. When someone proposed that the Nets’ new Brooklyn arena be called the Barclays Center, the idea was shot down because of the family’s historical ties to slavery. In his 1801 book An Account of the Emancipation of the Slaves of Unity Valley Pen, in Jamaica, David Barclay wrote, “Having been a slave owner, and much dissatisfied in being so, I determined to try the experiment of liberating my slaves; firmly convinced, that the retaining my fellow creatures in bondage was not only irreconcilable with the precepts of Christianity, but subversive of the rights of human nature.” A historian has said that all banks ultimately drew funds from slavery at that time. What are we all ultimately drawing funds from now?
- Brief Historical Note: In 1900 a research team, including Karl Pearson, one of the grand old men of statistics, investigated part of Darwin’s theory, that the fittest individuals should leave more offspring. They used English Quaker records and those of the Whitney family in Connecticut. Their conclusion: “fertility is correlated with longevity even after the fecund period is passed” and “selective mortality reduces the numbers of the offspring of the less fit relatively to the fitter.” —Proc. R. Soc. London, 67: 159-179. (The Quaker records were probably the best available – our predecessors were very concerned that records should be complete and accurate.) - What is a "threshold ecology"? It's the essence of St. Paulite Mary Rose O'Reilley's book The Love of Impermanent Things. O'Reilley, the author of The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd, teaches at St. Thomas College. She found that the 9/11 attacks on New York City called into question all kinds of certainties, and she struggled with the death of her mother and a past haunted by divorce and spiritual questing. Rebelling against things that confined her spirit, O’Reilley challenges readers to recover their daring, to open up spaces where "the holy and its corollary, the comic," can enter their lives. She advocates heading to the artistic edge and discovering your true calling. (Milkweed Editions, 2006) - A San Antonio resident has asked the Houston chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State to help organize a San Antonio chapter. If you are interested in creating a local AU chapter, please contact HoustonAU@flash.net.
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March 2-4: The next Radical Encuentro Camp will be held at Belle Springs outside of Austin on March 2-4. REC is a weekend of training for activists interested in acquiring new skills as well sharpening old skills. The theme for the weekend is Climate Change, Climate Justice. Four tracks will be offered on environmental/climate justice and environmental racism, skills for organizing, anti-oppression and liberation activism, and spirit-in-action training. Cost is on a sliding scale of $15-$50, but none will be turned away for inability to pay. All meals are free and will be vegetarian or vegan. Limited indoor sleeping accommodations are available for participants who need it. For everyone else there are abundant, beautiful, and relatively private campsites available. Space is limited, so register early. No dogs, drugs, alcohol, or weapons are allowed. For more information, go to http://radicalencuentro.org. March 6: The peaceCENTER is offering The Class of Nonviolence: Living Faithfully in a Violent World at the University of the Incarnate Word. The public is invited to sit in and add its reflections to those of the students enrolled in Sr. Martha Ann Kirk's class. The class is free, and materials are available for free online at http://1.salsa.net/peace/conv/ or are available in print for $10 at the session. The class meets in the basement of the Fine Arts Building in room B303 (on the corner of Broadway and Hildebrand, facing Broadway.) The peaceCENTER's portion of the class lasts from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. The March 6 session is entitled The Pity of War and the Methods of Nonviolence. March 9: Meet representatives of Neve Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam, the Oasis of Peace village in Israel, composed of an equal number of Jewish and Palestinian families. The event is scheduled for 12:00-1:15 p.m. at La Posada del Rey, 999 E Basse Rd (where Basse, Broadway, and Nacgodoches converge). Admission is free; lunch prices start at $4.95. Seating is limited, so please RSVP with Lynn Powell at the Mission Presbytery: (210) 826-3296. March 9-11: Women Speak 2007 at the Henry Gonzales Convention Center: “Join this gathering of women of all nations and creeds and honor the unspoken wisdom held by the Spirit within a woman’s heart. We must think differently in order to effect change in the world. Reach for the power and compassion that lies within. Respond to the beauty and power that is already yours.” For more information, visit the website at http://www.womenspeak2007.com/. March 25: ICOSA sponsors The Sounds of Prayer 2007: Expressions of Multicultural Spirituality in Song, Dance, and Chant. The event runs from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the Carver Cultural Center (226 North Hackberry). Refreshments from the various cultures will be served following the program. For more information, visit http://www.interreligiouscouncil.org. March 30-31: See Uprooted: The Katrina Project, a unique, arts-based response to the Katrina disaster. Visit Jump-Start's Web page at http://jump-start.org for more information. March 31: The 11th annual César Chávez March for Justice will process from the Westside to the Alamo in celebration of the life and legacy of this extraordinary civil rights leader. The march assembles at Plaza Avenida Guadalupe (1321 El Paso) at 11:00 a.m., and marchers begin walking at 1:00 p.m. For more information contact Jaime Martinez (210 842-9339/IUEORG@aol.com) or visit http://www.sachavezfoundation.org/. The Peace Choir will sing at both the assembly program and the ending rally. For more information about the music and rehearsals (you need to attend only one hour-long rehearsal to participate), visit http://www.songsofpeace.org/.
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