Action Alert from Clergy and Laity Network
THE IRAQ WAR AND BEYOND
End the Violence! Embrace Our Neighbors!
Claim God's Future for Us All!
Join a faith witness to the nation: March 19 - April 4...and Beyond!
For too long the attacks on freedom and justice endorsed by religious voices from the right have gone effectively unanswered. Now progressive religious communities are organizing and their respected religious leaders are speaking out. Please add your voice!
On March 19 America's people of conscience are turning up the volume. That's the day a coalition of antiwar believers, social justice organizers, progressive interfaith leaders including conservative and evangelical Christians, and others led by their ethical commitments -- a remarkable and growing Community of Conscience! -- will begin a new address and challenge to the nation and its directions.
On that day, CALC-I (Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq) launches its prophetic public witness against the Iraq violence, in a dramatic gathering in New York at the Riverside Church. CALC-I will be taking peace and social justice teachings to every local faith community where its witness is welcome. It looks ahead to launching a "sanctuary movement" of pastoral care for those who resist participating in the Iraq War.
Simultaneously from the Midwest FREEDOM RIDE 2005 kicks off. A national bus tour, it provides a rolling forum for hundreds of thousands of caring Americans who want to speak out against the Iraq War and its conduct, and to speak out as well for economic, civil and social justice in our own land.
To contribute to and learn more about this progressive interfaith movement go to www.drivedemocracy.org. More information is also available at the Clergy and Laity Network (CLN): www.clnnlc.org. You can find more about CALC-I's antiwar and social justice agenda at www.unitedforpeace.org.
FREEDOM RIDE 2005 will initially visit Dallas, Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Washington and Philadelphia, stopping also for rallies along the way. Suggestions for route stops are welcome. FREEDOM RIDE 2005 will arrive in New York on the eve of April 4 for the major event planned there. To learn more about FREEDOM RIDE 2005 and how you can help to make it happen, click here: drivedemocracy.org.
These events, begun in March in New York at Riverside Church, will now climax in an open gathering on April 4, also at Riverside Church. A MEMORIAL SERVICE AND RALLY on Monday, April 4, will claim for our time the faith and courage voiced in Dr. Martin Luther King's prophetic sermon "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence." It was delivered from the pulpit of Riverside Church on April 4, 1967. Dr. King's antiwar heritage and social justice commitments remain strikingly relevant today.
Also to be presented in the service will be A DECLARATION TO THE NATION drawn from one million committed Americans! So, get this WRITE-IN invitation to everybody:
JOIN A VIRTUAL "WRITE-IN RALLY"
with ONE MILLION FAITHFUL PEOPLE
Sending A DECLARATION TO THE NATION against the Iraq War
and Affirming God's Future for Us All
One million Americans committed to peace and justice will share their ideas and visions online. The WRITE-IN uses a friendly new collaborative writing system. You can participate from any Internet computer anywhere. You can focus your passion and concern over the Iraq War, share your insights, and create fresh new ways of speaking for peace and justice in our time, all while participating from your own computer space. You will need to register March 20 - 27 at www.faithvoices.org. You can also receive further details at that site.
Co-sponsors include the National Council of Churches, United for Peace and Justice, Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq (CALC-I), Fellowship of Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalist Association, The Shalom Center, Faith Voices for the Common Good, DriveDemocracy. org, Disciples Justice Action Network, Progressive Christians United and a growing number of religious and social justice bodies. The Riverside Church, New York, is graciously the host church. Clergy and Laity Network (CLN), also a co-sponsor, serves as coordinator. A growing list of co-sponsors is posted on the Clergy and Laity Network website: www.clnnlc.org.
