Sandy

Here's one way to help out those affected by the storm:

Occupy Sandy and Occupy Sandy's Wedding Registry
http://www.amazon.com/registry/wedding/32TAA123PJR42
Shipping Address: Occupy Sandy - Brooklyn, New York
Event Date: November 15, 2012
Couples' Style: Warm, non-perishable
Description: Help donate to the victims of Hurricane Sandy by shipping items to the Occupy Sandy relief outpost at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Clinton Hill (520 Clinton Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238). Our team: John Heggestuen, Alex Nordenson, and Katherine Dolan. We are Brooklyn residents and are in touch with the Occupy Sandy team who will receive the shipped items and organize daily deliveries to priority response areas. We are the updating the registry as we get updates on what is needed most in affected areas. PLEASE pay for the most expedited shipping - these items are needed ASAP! PLEASE NOTE the registry does not update automatically. Your purchases may not be reflected for 24-48 hours, but you will receive a purchase confirmation right away. ***UPDATE: To help us track inventory instantaneously send an email to sandyregistryinventory@gmail.com letting us know what you donated*** Please follow us on Twitter for further updates: @SandyRegistry ***@Sandyregistry is back up!!! Email sandyregistryinfo@gmail.com with questions/feedback on the registry and email sandyregistrypr@gmail.com for additional info about our team*** ***Tweet @amazon for free shipping and tech support for the registry!*** ***We are setting up an inventory management team at the church to ensure donations are accounted for*** ***If you are having any issues with the "Gift Registry" saved address for the church not auto-populating please enter it manually: The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew 520 Clinton Ave Brooklyn, New York 11238 ***

Keeping Quiet
by Pablo Neruda

English version by Alastair Reid

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the earth
let’s not speak in any language,
let’s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.

If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.

Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

May peace prevail on earth

A peace pole was installed by Kathryn Greene
and dedicated to the memory of Richard Greene.

Part of the dedication ceremony was a reading of
A HOPI ELDER SPEAKS

"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour,
now you must go back and tell the people that this is THE HOUR.


And there are things to be considered...

Where are you living?

What are you doing?

What are your relationships?

Are you in right relation?

Where is your water?

Know your garden.

It is time to speak your Truth.

Create your community.

Be good to each other.

And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate.





At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for."
Oraibi, Arizona Hopi Nation

“Grow a Row for the Food Bank”
Share the Bounty from Your Garden!
Bring home grown vegetables/herbs/fruit to the Food Bank on Fridays, 9am - noon
45 Stone House Lane (across from Henry Whitfield Museum)

Organic Produce grown here goes to Guilford Food Bank

This raised bed is sponsored by Len Hubbard Community Garden
A project of Watershed Partnership
for more information visit watershedpartnership.org
or the Greene Art Gallery (the red barn at 29 Whitfield Street)
http://greeneartgallery.com

Venus Transit

Excerpts from:
Venus Transit and Recall Elections
By Starhawk | Published: June 5, 2012

to read the entire article:
http://starhawksblog.org/


...  Venus passes directly in front of the sun, a sort of Venusian solar eclipse.  It’s an alignment that happened eight years ago—and not again for another century or more.  Coupled with a lunar eclipse last night.  I’m not much of an astrologer, but those who are say this is a potent moment for calling in the energies of harmony, nurturing and love, the return of the Goddess.

Goddess knows, we need those energies!  For today is the day of many state primaries, and the kickoff of the summer election season.

 Whatever your politics, whether you vote or don’t vote, whether you register Democrat or Republican, Green or Libertarian, you are about to be subjected to a barrage of negativity that will go on for months and months, fueled by the deep pockets of billionaires who are now free to spend as much as they want to buy elections.  The Republicans alone have a war chest of a billion dollars!  Think how many mortgages in trouble that money could save, or how many students could get a free college education!  Instead, it will be spent to blanket the country with a miasma of negativity, and the Democrats will be scrambling to do their own counterattacks.  Energetically, we can prepare to live under a kind of gray miasma, a kind of psychic smog.  Yuck!

There are some things we can do about this in the practical realms—ranging from contributing money to good causes to getting out in the streets and staying there, as the students and workers in Quebec have been doing for weeks.  A good, loud casserole—that means banging pots and pans each night as a political protest—might help drive away some evil spirits.

 But I want to talk about what we can do energetically.  If you are an ultra-rational sort who doesn’t believe in the woo-woo stuff, here’s where you can stop reading and go do something productive with your day.  But I will say this—whether or not you believe this can influence the larger world, this kind of magic will help shift your own energy.  If you find yourself spinning off into cycles of fear—anguish—despair—fear, this will help!   And if you have more positive energies of your own available, you will be more effective at all the practical things you do.

So if you’re with me, let’s work on shifting the energy around all this.  Why should we quietly lie down and suffer under the toxic thought-blanket the political fabricators are laying over us?  What would happen if a whole lot of us used our intention and focused imaginations to shift the energies?  And why not use some of the energy of this Venus transit—energies which will continue to flood in over the next weeks.

... this election isn’t just about Democrats and Republicans, it’s a test of whether or not massive amounts of money can determine who gets into office or who stays.  Generally the answer to that is ‘yes’—whoever spends the most wins the race.  Money is one form of energy, and most of us don’t have a lot of it.  But we have other forms of energy—let’s see what we can do!

Memorial Day

Excerpts from
Memorial Day: Pick Your Perversion
an article by  Leah Bolger
on the Veterans for Peace web site:
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2012/05/25/memorial-day--pick-your-perversion

Memorial Day, originally known as “Decoration Day,” was created in the aftermath of the Civil War as a day to honor the memory and sacrifice of Union soldiers who had died in battle. It later broadened to include the theme of reconciliation, honoring Confederate soldiers as well; and through the years has become a day to remember all U.S. military personnel who have died in combat. Increasingly, it evolved from simply decorating the graves and solemn memorialization of those killed, to opportunities for flag-waving, nationalistic displays with parades, marching bands and political speeches. Today, it has become a perversion of its original intent in two ways.

Perversion #1—Commercialism/Consumerism/Entertainment

Nearly all American holidays have been transformed from their original intents and into opportunities for economic profits, and Memorial Day is arguably the best example. Memorial Day has turned into Memorial Day weekend—a time for shopping, watching the Indianapolis 500, and kicking-off the summer.
...

Perversion #2—American Exceptionalism

This perversion of Memorial Day is typified by the glorification of war and everyone who participated in it. God is always on our side (which means we are always right). Politicians try to outdo each other in their effusive thanks for the military, and refer to everyone who has ever worn a military uniform as a hero. God, guns and glory are wrapped up in the flag, and the whole package is given the credit for all that is good: liberty, freedom, justice, and the American Way of Life. Perversion #2 is of much more concern because of the ideology that it represents.

It is very dangerous when the people of a nation believes it can do no wrong; that it can operate outside of international law; and that God is on its side. Because when a nation is so confident in its righteousness, it loses any capacity for objectivity. On Memorial Day we remember the American war dead, but never question the necessity for the battle. We cannot bear to think that American lives lost in war might have been in vain, and so we continue to insist that we are on the side of right.

We never second guess our country, because if we come to the realization that the war is wrong, for whatever reason, then we have to accept responsibility for all of those killed in our wars—not just our own. In the cases of Iraq and Afghanistan, that seems way outside the capacity of the American public, who are only now starting to question whether the sacrifice of more U.S. troops is “worth it.” We have not even thought to question whether the sacrifice of Iraqis and Afghans is worth it—more than 90% of whom were non-combatants.
...

On this Memorial Day, Veterans For Peace asks you to mourn not only for Americans killed in battle, but also for those killed by Americans in battle. We ask you to be willing to accept the fact that these war deaths did not have to happen—that they are actually in vain.

Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have died in American wars of aggression. That is a tragedy and is a truth that must be accepted and for which we must take responsibility.

Leah Bolger

Bio: Leah Bolger spent 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy and retired in 2000 at the rank of Commander. She is currently a full-time peace activist and serves as the National President of Veterans For Peace.

Our society today is one that finds violence acceptable and inevitable. In many small ways our culture teaches us that war is noble. To end war we will need to become a society where peace is so much part of who we are that war becomes utterly unacceptable. Veterans For Peace helps create that culture in politics, music, schools, poetry, celebrations and much more. We invite you to enjoy and to join us!
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/building-a-culture-of-peace/

The Veterans For Peace mission statement states that we pledge to work for peaceful conflict resolution and the elimination of war—the ultimate violence. As veterans of conscience, we are compelled to take a stand against police violence.
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/building-a-culture-of-peace/veterans-peace-teams/

... how do we put a price tag on the grief in a mother's heart when her child comes home in a coffin; on the anguish a father feels after he's taken down his son's body from a noose; on the unending pain and surgeries of a soldier burned and disfigured in an explosion; on the terror that wakes a veteran, sweating and shaking, out of too-frequent nightmares?
What about the "opportunity costs" as economists call them -- when the blood of future doctors, teachers, farmers, inventors and engineers drain into the sands of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, Yemen and who-knows-where-else?
Who tallies the cost over decades of "ripple effects" as families and communities pick up the pieces left by veterans who can't quite hold a job, raise a family, finish school or stay out of jail under the pressures of PTSD?
...
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/true-costs-of-war/

Healing the wounds of war is central to the call for peace - whether those wounds be in the countries where bombs were dropped or in the homes and hearts of veterans in our own society.
...
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/healing-the-wounds-of-war/

Patience, fearlessness, and a quick wit

from: Florida-style gun laws sub impulse for thought

"As a reporter who spent much of a 40-year career covering wars, crime, and prisons, I've learned that your best weapon of self-defense is your tongue. Rarely does one find oneself in a confrontation that can't be talked out of, and where having a gun would have made things safer."

"Stand Your Ground laws are perilous.
They get people killed, because they substitute impulse for intelligent thought."

"Patience, fearlessness, and a quick wit are more likely to save your life,
and they trump guns any time."

"Americans' faith in guns is sorely misplaced.
Ultimately, they encourage fear and fantasy, and they leave everyone more insecure."

Walter Rodgers
Florida-style gun laws sub impulse for thought
The Christian Science Monitor Weekly
April 30, 2012

Happy Mother's Day

 Leetes Island Garden Club's 40th annual plant sale.
 The money raised helps fill and maintain the planters on the Green, on Whitfield Street, at the Town Marina,  and the plantings on "Leetes Island Lane," the alley just off the Green.

"In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace."

Mother's Day Proclamation  by Julia Ward Howe, 1870
To read the entire proclamation go to:
http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/0000/1870_howe_mothers-day.htm

Passing the hat

 Dues are suggested, not required. They are not tax deductible, so you may prefer to give directly to an organization that has tax deductible status. Below are some of the organizations we have been donating to. We also spend money on parade supplies, programs we sponsor, mailing costs. You are welcome to look into our records any time.

Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy   http://lcnp.org/

Peace Action

American Friends Service Committee.    http://www.afsc.org/

Greater New Haven Peace Council   http://uspeacecouncil.org/?p=1079

Friends Cttee on National Legislation    http://fcnl.org

Fellowship of Reconciliation    http://forusa.org

CT United for Peace     http://ctup.wordpress.com/

Women for Women International    http://www.womenforwomen.org/

Doctors Without Borders     http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

International Rescue Committee    http://www.rescue.org/
             
Campaign for Peace and Democracy     www.cpdweb.org      

American Red Cross/Japan     http://www.redcross.org

Father Simon Harak/VOICES in the Wilderness   http://mepeace.org/profile/GSimonHarakSJ

 Thankyou!

A world at peace comes about once we relate to each other as peaceful beings, one individual at a time.
Deepak Chopra
Peace Is the Way