2010 International Day of Peace

Leader: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon announced this year’s Peace Day Theme as “Peace, Youth and Development.” The Advent season reminds us of our Divine bringing forth peace in the embodiment of a child. It was in the birth of Jesus that humanity was opened to the future of a life in peace. As one global family, we remember the passion for peace in our youth of today and the former youth of ourselves. We pray in hope that this universal desire for peace be realized through Christ who is our Prince of Peace. Amen

Reader 1: Every human being on the planet has the right to live in peace. In pursuit of this basic human right, Mahatma Gandhi concluded that the only hope for the human race was for everyone of us to become non-violent … Nonviolence, he determined, is our only way toward a future of peace and justice. Nonviolence therefore is the first and most essential ingredient if every human being alive is to possess all their human rights. “The principle on which the practice of non-violence rests” Gandhi suggested, “is that what holds good in respect of oneself equally applies to the whole universe.” ~John Dear SJ

Pause, then sing (with or without gestures) “Peace Before Us, peace behind us, peace under our feet. Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.” (#305 v.1)

Reader 2: “Welcoming the Christ Child” every day of our lives is to welcome the call to prophetic nonviolence. God’s love at the moment of creation bestowed on each of us dignity and passion for communion. Yet our world still proclaims violence as a solution to problems. What can we do when confronted with questions of conflict? Let us cry out, “No!” against the worship of violence. Let us cry out, “No!” against the harming and killing of our sisters and brothers. Let us cry out, “No!” and never believe in violent destruction of any sort. Instead let us look to the many role models around us and to those such as Mother Theresa, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ita Ford, Mahatma Ghandi, Jean Donovan, Daniel Berrigan, Sr. Helen Prejean, Martin Luther King Jr., and Thomas Merton.

Pause, then sing (with or without gestures) “Peace Before Us, peace behind us, peace under our feet. Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.” (#305 v.1)

Reader 3: For the people of Belize on their Independence Day, we pause to silently send peace and ask a blessing of justice. (PAUSE)

Reader 4: For the victims of political persecution, social and domestic violence, and economic hardship and poverty we pause to silently send peace and ask a blessing of justice. (PAUSE)

Reader 5: For all civilians, especially women and children who bear the burden of ongoing wars, especially those raped by armies in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (PAUSE)

Reader 6: For those women who are trafficked around our world and for the World Equestrian Games to be held in Lexington, Kentucky, we pause to silently send peace and ask a blessing of justice. (PAUSE)

Reader 7: For those children who are born into and experience violence in their countries, cities and homes, we pause to silently send peace and ask a blessing of justice. (PAUSE)

Reader 8: For those who survive acts of violence, we pause to silently send peace and ask a blessing of justice. (PAUSE)

Reader 9: For those who commit acts of violence against themselves or others, we pause to silently send peace and ask a blessing of justice. (PAUSE)

Reader 10: For those who conscientiously object to military orders, we pause to silently send peace and ask a blessing of justice. (PAUSE)

Ritual: Four individuals come from the four directions with a small pitcher of water to pour simultaneously into a larger bowl to offer hope as a symbol of the peace that comes from the many small projects for peace from around our world.

Leader: God of Compassion and Peace, help us to work for peace, pray for peace and live in peace with one another. May we respond to hatred with love, to injustice with total dedication to justice, to need with generosity and to war with peace. We ask all this through our Prince of Peace. Amen.

Closing Song: Blest Are They (verses 3 and 4); Prayer for Peace or other appropriate song

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Office of Global Ministries, 2010

Weekly Justice Highlights

Confronting Unjust Corporate Systems: Urge Hilton to prevent Child prostitution in their hotels by clicking here (look to right for action, act this week)

Human Trafficking: Urge Prime Minister Putin and President Medvedev to sign the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings this week located here (International Action Available)

Human Trafficking: Contact Attorney General Eric Holder at 202.353.1555 urging the Dept. or Justice to investigate and prosecute Vanderbilt Landscaping for criminal conduct including but not limited to labor trafficking, forced labor, unlawful conduct with respect to documents, and other crimes in coordination with the F.B.I. In addition, you are invited to contact Dept. of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis (202.693.6000) urging the Department of Labor to decertify Vanderbilt from further employment of guestworkers and pursue high penalties for OSHA violations in labor camps and at worksites. (Act as soon as possible)

Other Potential Actions:
The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill cleared genetically modified (GM) crops overriding the concerns raised by the general public and state governments against GM food. The Parliament will soon table the bill. However, Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) can force the Government to re-draft the bill with suggestions from the public. You are invited to sign an open letter to Sonia Gandhi asking NAC to make the Government consult people before tabling the bill located here (International action available)


Urge your Representative to support a peaceful and stable Sudan by co-sponsoring House Resolution 1588 located here (Act this week)

Urge your Representatives to Support H.R.6021, the Haiti Empowerment, Assistance and Rebuilding Act here (Act this week)

Urge Krogers/Ralphs to uphold the standards in their company’s Vendor Code of Conduct and take responsibility for your supply chain in support of Giumarra workers located here (Act this week)

Google is trying to buy its own exclusive fast lane on the internet. The deal made with Verizon would allow Google sites to load faster and take priority while potentially slowing down other websites to a crawl and could lead to a precedent for future corporate deals as well as future legislation on how the Internet works. Currently the Internet is an equal access place but this could change. Tell the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block the Google/Verizon proposal here (Act this week)

Water - Ohio River: Known as the most polluted river in America due to the dumping of 31 million pounds of toxic waste each year and is the main source of drinking water for many. Yet a proposal to allow coal-fired power plants and others industries to dump even more pollution into the water is being considered by the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission (ORANSCO). Urge ORANSCO to stop polluters from destroying our river as soon as possible

Weekly Justice Highlights

Good News: Thanks to the efforts of health care advocates who took action quickly, the House passed a new bill that extends Medicaid funding to states. That means the bill is headed to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law since the Senate has already passed this legislation.

Challenging unjust structures: Bangladesh workers are being punished as a result of Walmart’s lack of aggressive action to Nassa Global Wear in stopping human rights violations. Urge Walmart to use their full influence to encourage Nassa and the government of Bangladesh to stop persecuting workers and labor leaders here

Other Potential Actions:
Urge the Obama Administration to commit to $6 billion to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria over the next three years by clicking here

Urge Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call for an impartial, international investigation into the recent violence that has taken place in southern Kyrgyzstan by clicking here at

Urge U.S. Senators to provide $15 million for the ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) Research Program in 2011 here (scroll down page to BLUE box)

Recently, U.S. citizens learned of $8.7 billion missing from the Iraqi Development Fund. Inexplicably, the Department of Defense doesn’t know where 95% of a critical reconstruction program went. You are invited to contact Congress and the Obama Administration here

Bread for the World Sunday is October 17 in many congregations/parishes throughout the United States. Materials can be downloaded here Spanish resources can also be downloaded at the same web site.

Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform has put out a “Reel images of Immigration study guide for the movies: Made in L.A., Dying to Live, and The Visitor. It can be downloaded here

Louisville, KY: On August 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Cultivating Connections will host a screening and discussion workshop on Fuel: Change Your Fuel, Change the World at St. Matthews Episcopal Church (330 N Hubbards Lane). FUEL is a comprehensive and entertaining look at energy in America: a history of where we have been, our present predicament and a solution to our dependence on foreign oil. Participants are asked to bring their own lunch and reserve a seat by contacting cultivatingconnections@insightbb.com or call 502.897.2721 Donations are requested.

Weekly Justice Highlights

Care of Earth: Write the Minister of Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh of India urging him to protect the coasts of India by opposing all new ports and the expansion of old ones (over 300 ports are planned) here (International action accepted)

Care of Earth: On August 6 – 8, thousands of religious leaders and people of faith across the country will express their dismay with regard to inaction on the part of Senators with regard to Climate Change legislation. Send a message to Senators this week here

Confronting Unjust Systems: Call on Rajan Kamalanathan, Walmart’s Vice President of “Ethical” Sourcing to support workers in Bangladesh who are calling for a garmet worker minimum wage of 35 cents an hour by clicking here

Other Potential Actions:
Last week U.S. citizens learned of $8.7 billion missing from the Iraqi Development Fund. Inexplicably, the Department of Defense doesn’t know where 95% of a critical reconstruction program went. You are invited to contact Congress and the Obama Administration

The Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act (S. 3663) would implement commonsense reforms to our broken and corrupt oil and gas leasing processes, ensure oil companies like BP are held responsible for the damage they cause, protect our nation’s natural heritage, and provide incentives to reduce oil consumption and energy use. Urge Senators to support this bill as a first step to comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation here

Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced the Ten Million Solar Roofs Act that would work toward solar power development, a source of green energy. Additionally, PACE (Property-assessed Clean Energy Programs) are under threat by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who are blocking the implementation of the PACE program. Urge legislators to fund solar roofs and preserve the PACE program by clicking here


Frankfort, KY: On August 11, the Interim Judiciary Committee will take testimony about ending the death penalty for severely mentally ill persons. Dr. Sheila Schuster will guide the discussion before the committee. If you are a constituent of any of these members, please contact them urging support of this legislation. The number is 1.800.372.7181 to leave a message with your State Senator or Representative.
SENATE: Sen. Tom Jensen, Sen. Perry B. Clark, Sen. Carroll Gibson, Sen. Ray S. Jones, Sen. Gerald A. Neal, Sen. Mike Reynolds, Sen. Jerry P. Rhoads, Sen. John Schickel, Sen. Dan "Malano" Seum, Sen. Katie Kratz Stine, Sen. Robert Stivers, Sen. Jack Westwood HOUSE: Rep. John Tilley, Rep. Johnny Bell, Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, Rep. Joseph M. Fischer, Rep. Kelly Flood, Rep. Jeff Hoover, Rep. Thomas Kerr, Rep. Stan Lee, Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, Rep. Harry Moberly, Rep. Darryl T. Owens, Rep. Tom Riner

Louisville, KY: On August 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Cultivating Connections will host a screening and discussion workshop on Fuel: Change Your Fuel, Change the World at St. Matthews Episcopal Church (330 N Hubbards Lane). FUEL is a comprehensive and entertaining look at energy in America: a history of where we have been, our present predicament and a solution to our dependence on foreign oil. Participants are asked to bring their own lunch and reserve a seat by contacting cultivatingconnections@insightbb.com or call 502.897.2721 Donations are requested.