From kcarlyle at main.nc.us Thu Dec 2 11:40:13 2004 From: kcarlyle at main.nc.us (Kim Carlyle) Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 10:40:13 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] SAF -- First Call Message-ID: <007801c4d885$4b0e12c0$b86dc0d1@yourfulkl1oh2q> Dear Friends, There are only 29 shopping days left until the SAF editors begin compiling another fun-filled edition of the Southern Appalachian Friend. Please submit your news, original articles, opinions, jokes, poems, and holiday gifts to SAFeditor at sayma.org by 01/01/2005. Thanks, S&K Carlyle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freepolazzo at comcast.net Mon Dec 6 14:34:11 2004 From: freepolazzo at comcast.net (free polazzo) Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2004 13:34:11 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] Unembedded vs Imbedded in Ameica Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.2.20041206082107.02c57250@mail.comcast.net> Hi, Here are two links about the war in Iraq that I received in my in box this AM. One is from an "unembedded" reporter another is from an "embedded" reporter. I am not saying that everything is true in either piece, just that both, together, give a better picture of what might be happening in our names to increase our safety, than either by themselves. Please read both stories (not easy to do) and try to understand that all of us are choosing to be "embedded" or "unembedded", by what we read, Listed first is the "unembedded with the military" story. WARNING!! This story is very tough to read as the writer reports on the pain and suffering that is happening in Iraq. Pain is never easy to deal with and much of our culture is designed to limit our exposure to pain and suffering. Read as much as you can, to paraphrase George Fox. >------------------------------------- >Unembedded in Iraq http://www.alternet.org/story/20669 Then there is the story from the NY Times' embedded reporter, who is honest enough to mention his dilemma at being unable to speak to the Iraqis because of his need to stay with the US troops so he can be safe. What does that say about the state of affairs in Iraq? http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/06/international/middleeast/06guerrillas.html?th The reporter from the NY Times article quotes an American soldier: "We're going out where the bad guys live, and we're going to slay them in their ZIP code.", said Lt. Col. Mark A. Smith., commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Iraq" These words come from an american police officer who will NOT be giving the people he is attacking any of the rights that he was taught are needed to protect the innocent. Why are American's human rights more important than Iraqi's human rights? Aren't we there to spread human rights and democracy? How will that policeman live with his actions, after he returns home? How will his community? As we know from sad experience, all the participants in this war are losers, already. Even the ones who don't go into battle, like us. If one takes the time to let those words sink in to our hearts, we can see the pain that both reporters feel from having to be in Iraq and reporting their findings. My hope is that we can take those stories and report them further. It is my hope and prayer that once Americans see and hear what is happening in "our name" for "our safety" and "for out benefit" we will no longer be silent. To know and to still be silent is to be complicit in these hideous actions. Our Yearly Meeting is totally among the "Red" States that voted to support President Bush in the past election. God has put us here for a reason. To speak truth. I'd like Friends to help to organize every locality where they live to "Speak Truth" to our neighbors. They may not thank us at first, but they will come around, once they see we love this country as much as they do. We have done this before. Peace is never handed over, it seems. We need to demand and end to the war hysteria that is silencing our country and destroying our spirits. Many of us thought we wouldn't be in this situation, again, yet here we are. Another stupid war. Another administration that refuses to listen to it's own people or to those of countries from around the world. Another time to become vocal and public. Most studies show that a vast majority of Friends are introverts. Can we overcome that aspect our collective nature and recognize our unique situation and find ways that we can effect change in our war policy sooner than later? Can our Meetings and Worship groups come together to support each other in whatever we can do? Can Friends reorder their priorities so that we find the resources in time and money to take on this challenge? Blessings, Free Polazzo Anneewakee Creek Worship Group Douglas County, GA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nc_stereoman at charter.net Mon Dec 6 16:24:20 2004 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2004 15:24:20 -0500 Subject: Spam Alert: [saymaListserv] Unembedded vs Imbedded in Ameica In-Reply-To: <6.1.2.0.2.20041206082107.02c57250@mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <41B479A4.1175.1A887FE@localhost> Dear Friends, There are not enough opportunities in our lives to be mindful of the tragedy in Iraq, to hold all of the combatants, the politicians, and the innocent civilians in the Light, and to pray for an end to the violence. Thanks, Free, for calling us to attention with your posting. For many Friends, the Peace Testimony is the centerpiece of their political activism, so a lot of you may already be reading, thinking, writing, talking, and engaging in actions about the War in Iraq. If you are looking for a single source for a daily report that draws on a variety of sources, especially those in the Arab world, and if you appreciate the commentary of a deeply experienced historian, admittedly sympathetic to Iraqi self-determination, I recommend Jaun Cole's "Informed Comment", found at www.juancole.com Professor Cole's writing often reflects a deep compassion and a sense of fairness and concern for the truth that fits well in our Quaker testimonies, although he still reports quite frankly about the kinds of violence that would make most of us truly "quake" but are a cultural norm in Iraq. In America there are certain cultural norms that have grown and matured with our nation, among them the sense that certain kinds of violence are acceptable, even preferable, when combating certain kinds of enemies. It is not unexpected for police officers in the US to be applauded for intimidating protestors for example, or manhandling thugs, or shooting at armed gangs. Once a people are labeled as "the enemy", especially as "terrorists", many Americans would and do support wisespread violence, shooting and killing, even abuses such as those that took place and are taking place at Abu Ghraib. Free has taken a quote from the New York Times article showing how little regard is afforded to the perceived "enemy" by a former cop turned soldier, and he asked the rhetorical questions "How will he live with his actions after he returns home?" and "How will his community?" I would answer that they are guided by a different paradigm than we Friends, and in their frame of reference their actions are justified. For Friends the question becomes: How do we address our fellow citizens, when they hold such a cultural paradigm? For the purpose of encouraging discussion among Friends, I would pose this related query: what has been our experience in addressing our fellow citizens about the Iraq War? Many of us are already doing as Free exhorts us to do. What has been the effect of our actions, on ourselves? on others? How have our choices for action been influenced to change? I have a number of experiences to share but will wait in hopes that others will be moved to speak first. Steve From bright_crow at mindspring.com Mon Dec 6 16:48:38 2004 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Mike Shell) Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2004 15:48:38 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [saymaListserv] Fwd: American Library Association denounces proposed bill to banstate funds Message-ID: <28032326.1102366119121.JavaMail.root@wamui10.slb.atl.earthlink.net> Friends, Some disturbing news from American Library Association. Please share it. Blessed Be, Michael. > American Library Association denounces proposed bill to ban state funds > for gay and lesbian books > http://www.ala.org/ala/pr2004/december2004/Allenstatement.htm > > December 2, 2004 > > (CHICAGO) The following is a statement from American Library > Association (ALA) President Carol Brey-Casiano: > > "It is alarming and discouraging that Alabama state Representative > Gerald Allen is proposing to ban books about lesbian and gay people from > public libraries, schools and universities. Not only is the bill > unworkable, it is discriminatory and unconstitutional. > > "Libraries are for everyone - of all backgrounds and viewpoints - and > provide a broad spectrum of materials from which to choose. This is > what makes libraries the most democratic of institutions in this > country. > > "Every year, the American Library Association learns of hundreds of > attempts to remove books from our public libraries and schools. Most of > these books stay available because teachers, librarians and community > members stand up for literature and the freedom to choose what to read > and view. We trust that Alabama legislators will stand up to this > latest attempt to censor our library collections." > > > Larra Clark, Media Relations Manager > Public Information Office, American Library Association > 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611-2795 > Toll-free: 800-545-2433 x5043; Fax: 312-944-8520 > @ your library From bright_crow at mindspring.com Tue Dec 7 15:17:07 2004 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Mike Shell) Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 14:17:07 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [saymaListserv] Twelfth Month Update: SEYMpeace.org Message-ID: <5676283.1102447027963.JavaMail.root@wamui01.slb.atl.earthlink.net> Friends, Please visit this month's update of Peace and Social Concerns Committee of the Southeastern Yearly Meeting: http://www.seympeace.org/ Give particular attention to some interesting items under "What's NEW": http://www.seympeace.org/#NEW Blessed Be, Michael. From losborne at cn.edu Thu Dec 9 09:51:21 2004 From: losborne at cn.edu (Larry Osborne) Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 08:51:21 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] Friends Association for Higher Education: Call for conference papers Message-ID: Friends Association for Higher Education Annual Meeting 2005 Gathering: June 16-19, 2005 Haverford College, Haverford, PA "CENTERING ON THE EDGE: INTELLECT, SPIRIT, ACTION" For more information and call for papers: http://www.haverford.edu/hcweb/fahe/ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 3501 bytes Desc: not available URL: From moriah at preferred.com Sat Dec 11 01:46:42 2004 From: moriah at preferred.com (Mary Calhoun) Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 00:46:42 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] IMP^o^ 176 flip chart action items Message-ID: <016401c4df48$c82f5100$6464a2c6@abc> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMP ^o^ Bulletin 176 Winter Rep Meeting flip chart notes..... .....meeting & worship group action items ------------------------------------------------------------------ early alert -- more later in Rep Meeting minutes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (from the Administrative Assistant) <|> During the Dec 4th Winter Representative Meeting, a flip chart action-item list was accumulated -- things for representatives and other f/Friends to communicate to their meetings and worship groups. <|> The formal version of the following requests will appear later in the Rep Meeting minutes. <|> Please review the proposed Faith & Practice revisions that were distributed after Fall Rep Meeting, and send the response to Geeta McGahey, mcgahey at yancey.main.nc.us -- or let her know you don't have time to respond now. <|> Please notify monthly meeting nominating clerks that Sharon Annis, SAYMA Nominating clerk, wishes to consult with them. They're asked to identify themselves to Sharon. SharonAnnis at comcast.net 865-483-8783 869-A West Outer Dr, Oak Ridge TN 37830. <|> Please consider the Earth Charter and the new proposed minute about it from ECN (Environmental Concerns Network, a SAYMA committee, scarlyle at main.nc.us) <|> Please inform local members and attenders that the site of Yearly Meeting has changed -- back to Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa NC. The dates remain the same: June 9-12, 2005. <|> Proposals for Yearly Meeting workshops are sought; the due date is February 15th. More information later on how to submit a proposal. <|> Registrations for Yearly Meeting will be taken until May 20, but there will be a $35 late fee after May 1. <|> Any questions, contact AdminAsst at sayma.org, 276-628-5852, POB 2191, Abingdon VA 24212-2191 ~~~~~~ end ^o^ ~~~~~~ 1stpost 121004 ~~~~~~ _______________________________________ IMP ^o^ ... "Information Made Present" is a bulletin service of the SAYMA office to provide practical details to our geographically-challenged Yearly Meeting via our free list-server: semi-official information, bulletins that you can print, post, announce, publish, or pass around. Please address questions, corrections and additions to AdminAsst at sayma.org, 276-628-5852 (machine; in-person Tu/Th 5-7:30p), or SAYMA Admin Asst, PO Box 2191, Abingdon, VA 24212-2191. Thank you! ^o^ ----------------------------------------------------- To receive IMP^o^ bulletins, subscribe to the list server, sayma at kitenet.net. You can subscribe on the web at http://kitenet.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sayma. ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moriah at preferred.com Sat Dec 11 02:15:04 2004 From: moriah at preferred.com (Mary Calhoun) Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 01:15:04 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] IMP^o^ 177 SAYMA mtg schedule Message-ID: <016501c4df48$ca1db380$6464a2c6@abc> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMP ^o^ Bulletin 177 Schedule of Future SAYMA Meeting Dates ----------------------------------------------------- Representative and Yearly Meetings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (from the Administrative Assistant) <|> As of the end of Winter Representative Meeting, 12-4-04, the schedule of SAYMA Representative* and Yearly Meeting** sessions is as follows -- <|> 2005 -- April 2, West Knoxville TN* <|> 2005 -- June 9-12, Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa NC** <|> 2005 -- Sep 10, Nashville TN* <|> 2005 -- Dec 3, Atlanta GA* <|> 2006 -- April 8* (Birmingham AL?) <|> 2006 -- June** (8-11? 15-18? Warren Wilson College?) ~~~~~~ end ^o^ ~~~~~~ 1stpost 121004~~~~~~ _______________________________________ IMP ^o^ ... "Information Made Present" is a bulletin service of the SAYMA office to provide practical details to our geographically-challenged Yearly Meeting via our free list-server: semi-official information, bulletins that you can print, post, announce, publish, or pass around. Please address questions, corrections and additions to AdminAsst at sayma.org, 276-628-5852 (machine; in-person Tu/Th 5-7:30p), or SAYMA Admin Asst, PO Box 2191, Abingdon, VA 24212-2191. Thank you! ^o^ ----------------------------------------------------- To receive IMP^o^ bulletins, subscribe to the list server, sayma at kitenet.net. You can subscribe on the web at http://kitenet.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sayma. ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nc_stereoman at charter.net Sat Dec 11 10:08:44 2004 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 09:08:44 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] "You Can't Bury Water": reflections from Kathy Kelly on her way to prison Message-ID: <41BAB91C.5201.410FE2@localhost> Dear Friends, A number of SAYMA Quakers have been involved in civil disobediece actions at the "former" School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA, a facility that was revealed to be a training ground for torturers, and subsequently changed its name to obscure its legacy. Friends joined with other concerned people of conscience to keep the School and its awful legacy in the public eye, despite the name change, and many continued being arrested there. Among those arrested was Kathy Kelly, a co-founder of the Voices in the Wilderness organization and for twenty years a Christian Peacemaker in Latin America and the Middle East. Kathy describes her Moral Values in a way that is instructive to us Friends: "I feel a deep urge to be silent and listen to the cries of those most afflicted. Their cries are often hard to hear, but when we hear them, we’re called, all of us, to be like voices in the wilderness, raising their laments and finding ourselves motivated to build a better world." At her trial last Winter she was sentenced to four months in the Federal Prison at Pekin, IL, for her actions of witness to U.S. militarism. Before she left, she wrote a reflection on the way our nation's policies affect those who are "most afflicted". The metaphor about "burying water" is a poignant one, as water is more precious than gold to the poorest of our planet's people. Kathy's witness and her unrelenting personal accounts demonstrate a calling that transcends slogans, sects, bumper stickers, and political campaigns to address a most fundamental spiritual concern: what Jesus reportedly called "the least of my brethren" (Matt 25:40). Burying Water by Kathy Kelly In the summer of 1994, I was part of a four-person Christian Peacemaker Team dedicated to filing reports on human rights conditions in Jeremie, located in the southern finger of Haiti. When I arrived, I spent one day in Port au Prince, waiting to travel by ferry to the tiny coastal town of St. Helene. That day, eager to be Helpful Hannah, I joined some young girls to haul Hinckley Schmidt size water containers, destined for a neighborhood center in Port au Prince’s appalling Cite Soleil, across a ravine. My arms were trembling almost immediately. When we reached the cement ledge where the plastic water containers were lined up for vehicle transport, I dropped mine down with an exhausted hurrah and then watched in horror as it split. The girls flew into action trying to save some of the precious water. “Si ou cache verite, ou enterre dlo” – the Haitian proverb says that to hide the truth is like trying to bury water. The truth was gushing out. Throughout that summer I watched women carry water, on their heads, walking miles uphill. One day my friend Madame Ti Pa nearly fainted from the ordeal. Madame Ti Pa struggled to support three children: Natasha, 8, Petiarson, 2, and Patricia, 1. Natasha was an orphan whose parents were killed when the overcrowded Neptune ship capsized off Haiti’s coastline. Madame Ti Pa found Natasha wandering tearfully in the street and took her into her home. Natasha was elegible for financial help to attend school, but Madame Ti Pa couldn’t afford to buy her a uniform, socks and shoes. Nor did she have money to feed the children properly. The children appeared malnourished and were often feverish. Even so, they sang, laughed and cuddled together, obviously responsive to Madame Ti Pa’s animated spontaneity. St. Helene’s hilly roads were rocky and jagged, rough on wheels, shoes and bare feet. Beyond St. Helene, one path led to a smooth, paved road with attractive interlocking stones called “adoken”. Lined by gorgeous plants, trees and flowers, the road passed through the richest section of Jeremie. Our Christian Peacemaker Team members hurried along this route two mornings each week to make radio contact with Port- au-Prince. The sisters at the House of the Good Shepherd let us use their equipment. Afterward, it was always pleasant to chat with the kindly sisters and to hear of progress at the cooperative farm they sponsored. Sixty-five families were supported by women who cultivated crops in fields next to the sisters’ home. One day, Madame Ti Pa asked me to go with her to talk to the sisters about joining the project. A woman in Port-au-Prince had written her a letter of recommendation. Madame Ti Pa’s eyes shone with hope when she showed me the typed letter. Then, she asked for a bar of soap. She hadn’t been able to wash clothes for weeks, soap having become a luxury. Letter in hand, dressed in a clean skirt and top, Madame Ti Pa met me to walk up to the Good Shepherd House. When we reached the smooth road, Madame Ti Pa told me the story behind it. The “adoken” bricks were ordered by President Jean Bertrand Aristide to build a road through St. Helen, but the shipment was delayed and didn’t arrive until after the coup d’etat. The bricks were then confiscated and used instead to cover the already paved road through the richest section of town. The people of St. Helen felt disappointed and cheated. More disappointment was in store for Madame Ti Pa when we arrived at the Good Shepherd house. Sr. Angeline firmly told her that it was impossible for them to accept any more women into the project. Madame Ti Pa was one of many who had begged to join. Walking back along the “adoken” road, Madame Ti Pa trembled with weakness. She hadn’t eaten since the previous morning. I thought again of the attitude I’d heard macoutes express: “The poor are too lazy and stupid to run the country. They just want to cheat and steal.” On that road, even the very stones would cry out. (Habakkuk 2: 9-11) What could we say to people who had driven Haitians to raw despair? Days later I met a man reputed to have committed the worst crimes. He was accused of theft, torture and murder, yet because he had a gun, he had power. He used this power against simple people who had nothing and craved little more than basic rights. Yet, I had to ask, did I come from a country that had more in common with him or with the people he persecuted? A cold shiver ran through me when I recalled similar awareness of the power of water, the power of guns and the grinding power of poverty encountered in Basra, Iraq during the summer of 2000. Our small peace team, again four in number, wanted to settle into the poorest area of Iraq’s southern port city to study Arabic and better understand conditions in a neighborhood blighted by the effects of economic sanctions and a dictatorship’s abusive rule. Three of the first words I wanted to learn, in Arabic, were, “Don’t do that!” I wanted to shout the phrase at playful boys who, in the blasting heat, would cup their hands, dip into the sewage ditch running alongside the road, and pour water over their heads to cool off. By the end of the summer, my companions and I would sometimes clap our hands over our eyes and shout “OK, my turn,” then pucker our lips as the boys poured water over our heads. The alternative was to pass out under the harsh sun as the temperature rose to 140 degrees. Each morning, in the household where I stayed, Nadra, whose name means “exceptional,” would rise at 4:00 a.m. to begin scrubbing every surface in the sparsely furnished home. Her next task would involve removing a stone, lowering an electric pump into the well below, and siphoning off some of the available tap water supply. Nadra was one of a very few people who could afford such a pump. Our team members didn’t drink the pumped water, for fear of becoming deathly ill. We drank bottled water and spent more money on two days of bottled water for ourselves than Nadra’s household spent for an entire month. So you can see the pecking order: Americans get purified bottled water, an Iraqi family in the good graces of the regime could at least manage to pump somewhat sanitized water, and the poor would be the most vulnerable to water-borne diseases. Again, memory takes me to a scene of painful conflict over water. I’m remembering a time when our friend Caoihme Butterly walked into the wretched remains of the Jenin Camp on the West Bank, in April of 2002, carrying two heavy six packs of bottled water. Immediately, small boys ran up to her, eager to greet her. “Caoihme, Caoihme!” they shouted. Caoihme is a tall woman. She towered over them, holding the valuable water. I watched her eyes fill with tears when the boys, in frustration, began to fight with each other as they reached up to grab her cargo, eager to bring a bottle home to their family. I wonder how Natasha, the eight year old orphan whom I met in St. Helene, has fared. Is she an eighteen year old woman with luminous eyes and a gorgeous smile? Would she remember waiting outside her home, each morning, to run and greet me when I stepped out of mine? I hope she doesn’t remember a morning when she was crouched on the ground and looked away when I called her name. I walked toward her, wondering if I had done something to hurt the child’s feelings the previous day. Drawing closer, I could see tiny pebbles glistening on Natasha’s lip. Natasha hadn’t run to see me because Natasha was eating dirt. “You can’t bury water,” said our Haitian friends. “And you can’t bury truth.” The British medical journal, the Lancet, estimates that upwards of 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the war. Child malnutrition is escalating and chronic outbreaks of such diseases as hepatitis and cholera occur regularly. After 18 months of US war and occupation, contaminated wells cause water borne diseases; rivers are so polluted that not even animals can safely drink from the rivers; the lack of electricity means food and medicine can’t be preserved and water and sewage can’t be treated. Because of chaos and corruption in the US occupation, Iraqis remain in desperate need of jobs, services and security. A decade has passed since I first met children in Haiti. Next month, Voices in the Wilderness will mark a decade since we first declared our intent to become “criminals” by traveling to Iraq. Several of our members are returning from recent trips to Haiti with stories worse than mine. I hope the children we’ve met and all those who hunger and thirst for justice will teach us to tell the truth, nonviolently, and to never be so foolish as to think you can get anywhere by burying water. Many of the people in Haiti and Iraq have the truth but don’t have the water. We have the water, but we don’t have the truth. http://vitw.org/archives/718#more-718 Steve -- Steve Livingston nc_stereoman at charter.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nc_stereoman at charter.net Sun Dec 12 20:18:58 2004 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 19:18:58 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] followup: a meeting without a clerk Message-ID: <41BC99A2.12316.937EF8@localhost> Dear Friends, Some time ago I posted an account of how my home meeting in Asheville found itself in the position of being without a clerk. Since that time, many Friends have shared stories from their own experience, and I have felt that our Meeting was being held in the Light. I extend to you all the gratitude of our community. We still do not have a clerk. However I am writing at this time to report that as is often the case, Way has opened in an unexpected manner and given our community a number of gifts that may not have come about had we stubbornly insisted on getting ourselves a clerk right away, rather than waiting expectantly and seeking the Truth that lay beyond what appeared to be an immovable obstacle. Our community has wrestled with the question of "what makes it so hard for a Friend to serve as clerk" with the result that many Friends have come forward to assume responsibilities that had previously been relegated to (some might say, dumped on) the clerk. We have drawn closer as a community as a result of our recent residential retreat, and holding this matter in the Light as a central theme in our retreat has resulted in a refreshed attitude that as Friends, we have "abolished the laity". Attendance at meetings for business has increased by 25%, and the meetings have been more worshipful and more respectful of good process. Our Spiritual Enrichment Committee, which was laid down some time ago, has vaulted back into existence with a well-rounded constitution and great enthusiasm. Our Ministry and Counsel Committee has become more focused, and more spiritually based in its work. Our Nominating Committee has adopted a more worshipful process for their work as well. All of our committees are operating with greater autonomy and greater trust from the community. We have employed a number of different ways to discern who will clerk our upcoming business meeting, but this past month's process was quite miraculous. A young woman, essentially unknown to the community having attended for only a few months, volunteered during the previous meeting for business, and Friends were moved in the moment to approve her heartily. She clerked the meeting today, and demonstrated such skill and poise that Friends acclaimed her for the subsequent month. How many years might have passed before we became aware of this young Friend's gifts, if we were not "a meeting without a clerk"? Would individuals and committees in our meeting be taking as much initiative, and enjoying as much trust? Would we have drawn as close as a community, and would we still be seeking to draw closer? There is no way to know the answers to these questions, because things only happen one way. But the way they happen is the Way, and Way has opened for us in what might otherwise be thought of among Friends as a most unfortunate situation. Steve From freepolazzo at comcast.net Mon Dec 20 10:00:06 2004 From: freepolazzo at comcast.net (free polazzo) Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 09:00:06 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] "Battlefield Earth" talk by Bill Moyers Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.2.20041219093551.02d95e18@mail.comcast.net> Hello Friends, It is amazing to me, as a Friend who was raised as in the Jewish faith and culture, that Rabbi Jesus, who was also raised in the Jewish faith and culture, is used to literally scare the hell out of many Christians. (and others,too. . but that's another e-mail) Until recently, I had believe that when Christians spoke of a "Second Coming" it must have been what Jews believed about The Messiah coming, except Jews believed that they were still waiting for the First Coming, while Christians believed that this was the Second Coming. So I thought to myself, "What is One Coming, between Friends? " Recently, I have discovered how wrong I have been about God's plans to return to earth being simply a counting error. What happens seems to be really different in two explanations of the event. The process is VERY different, and as I understand it, process is at the heart of all we Friends do/believe. Please take the time to read this admittedly long speech by Bill Moyers. Since we are located smack dab in the heart of bible country, his talk is even more relevant to those of us who live in SAYMA's geographic boundaries. Blessings, Free >------------------------------------- >Battlefield Earth >http://www.alternet.org/story/20666 > >The environment is in trouble and the religious right doesn't care. It's >time to act as if the future depends on us ; because it does. >------------------------------------- > > > >Battlefield Earth > > > > > > > > > > > >By Bill Moyers, AlterNet >Posted on December 8, 2004, Printed on December 19, 2004 >http://www.alternet.org/story/20666/ > > > > > > > >Recently the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard >Medical School presented its fourth annual Global Environment Citizen >Award to Bill Moyers. In presenting the award, Meryl Streep, a member of >the Center board, said, "Through resourceful, intrepid reportage and >perceptive voices from the forward edge of the debate, Moyers has examined >an environment under siege with the aim of engaging citizens." Following >is the text of Bill Moyers' response to Ms. Streep's presentation of the award. > >I accept this award on behalf of all the people behind the camera whom you >never see. And for all those scientists, advocates, activists, and just >plain citizens whose stories we have covered in reporting on how >environmental change affects our daily lives. We journalists are simply >beachcombers on the shores of other people's knowledge, other people's >experience, and other people's wisdom. We tell their stories. > >The journalist who truly deserves this award is my friend, Bill McKibben. >He enjoys the most conspicuous place in my own pantheon of journalistic >heroes for his pioneer work in writing about the environment. His best >seller "The End of Nature" carried on where Rachel Carson's "Silent >Spring" left off. > >Writing in Mother Jones recently, Bill described how the problems we >journalists routinely cover – conventional, manageable programs like >budget shortfalls and pollution – may be about to convert to chaotic, >unpredictable, unmanageable situations. The most unmanageable of all, he >writes, could be the accelerating deterioration of the environment, >creating perils with huge momentum like the greenhouse effect that is >causing the melting of the Arctic to release so much freshwater into the >North Atlantic that even the Pentagon is growing alarmed that a weakening >gulf stream could yield abrupt and overwhelming changes, the kind of >changes that could radically alter civilizations. > >That's one challenge we journalists face – how to tell such a story >without coming across as Cassandras, without turning off the people we >most want to understand what's happening, who must act on what they read >and hear. > >As difficult as it is, however, for journalists to fashion a readable >narrative for complex issues without depressing our readers and viewers, >there is an even harder challenge – to pierce the ideology that governs >official policy today. One of the biggest changes in politics in my >lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from >the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in >Congress. For the first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a >monopoly of power in Washington. Theology asserts propositions that cannot >be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a world view despite being >contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and >theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always >blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to >the facts. > >Remember James Watt, President Reagan's first secretary of the Interior? >My favorite online environmental journal, the ever-engaging >Grist, reminded us recently of how James Watt told >the U.S. Congress that protecting natural resources was unimportant in >light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. In public testimony he said, >"after the last tree is felled, Christ will come back." > >Beltway elites snickered. The press corps didn't know what he was talking >about. But James Watt was serious. So were his compatriots out across the >country. They are the people who believe the bible is literally true – >one-third of the American electorate, if a recent Gallup poll is accurate. >In this past election several million good and decent citizens went to the >polls believing in the rapture index. That's right – the rapture index. >Google it and you will find that the best-selling books in America today >are the 12 volumes of the left-behind series written by the Christian >fundamentalist and religious right warrior, Timothy LaHaye. These true >believers subscribe to a fantastical theology concocted in the 19th >century by a couple of immigrant preachers who took disparate passages >from the Bible and wove them into a narrative that has captivated the >imagination of millions of Americans. > >Its outline is rather simple, if bizarre (the British writer George >Monbiot recently did a brilliant dissection of it and I am indebted to him >for adding to my own understanding): once Israel has occupied the rest of >its "biblical lands," legions of the anti-Christ will attack it, >triggering a final showdown in the valley of Armageddon. As the Jews who >have not been converted are burned, the Messiah will return for the >rapture. True believers will be lifted out of their clothes and >transported to heaven, where, seated next to the right hand of God, they >will watch their political and religious opponents suffer plagues of >boils, sores, locusts, and frogs during the several years of tribulation >that follow. > >I'm not making this up. Like Monbiot, I've read the literature. I've >reported on these people, following some of them from Texas to the West >Bank. They are sincere, serious and polite as they tell you they feel >called to help bring the rapture on as fulfillment of biblical prophecy. >That's why they have declared solidarity with Israel and the Jewish >settlements and backed up their support with money and volunteers. It's >why the invasion of Iraq for them was a warm-up act, predicted in the Book >of Revelations where four angels "which are bound in the great river >Euphrates will be released to slay the third part of man." A war with >Islam in the Middle East is not something to be feared but welcomed – an >essential conflagration on the road to redemption. The last time I Googled >it, the rapture index stood at 144 – just one point below the critical >threshold when the whole thing will blow, the son of god will return, the >righteous will enter heaven and sinners will be condemned to eternal hellfire. > >So what does this mean for public policy and the environment? Go to Grist >to read a remarkable work of reporting by the journalist, Glenn Scherer – >"The >Road to Environmental Apocalypse." Read it and you will see how millions >of Christian fundamentalists may believe that environmental destruction is >not only to be disregarded but actually welcomed – even hastened – as a >sign of the coming apocalypse. > >As Grist makes clear, we're not talking about a handful of fringe >lawmakers who hold or are beholden to these beliefs. Nearly half the U.S. >Congress before the recent election – 231 legislators in total – more >since the election – are backed by the religious right. Forty-five >senators and 186 members of the 108th congress earned 80 to 100 percent >approval ratings from the three most influential Christian right advocacy >groups. They include Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Assistant Majority >Leader Mitch McConnell, Conference Chair Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, >Policy Chair Jon Kyl of Arizona, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and >Majority Whip Roy Blunt. The only Democrat to score 100 percent with the >Christian coalition was Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who recently >quoted from the biblical book of Amos on the senate floor: "the days will >come, sayeth the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land." he >seemed to be relishing the thought. > >And why not? There's a constituency for it. A 2002 TIME/CNN poll found >that 59 percent of Americans believe that the prophecies found in the book >of Revelations are going to come true. Nearly one-quarter think the Bible >predicted the 9/11 attacks. Drive across the country with your radio tuned >to the more than 1,600 Christian radio stations or in the motel turn some >of the 250 Christian TV stations and you can hear some of this end-time >gospel. And you will come to understand why people under the spell of such >potent prophecies cannot be expected, as Grist puts it, "to worry about >the environment. Why care about the earth when the droughts, floods, >famine and pestilence brought by ecological collapse are signs of the >apocalypse foretold in the bible? Why care about global climate change >when you and yours will be rescued in the rapture? And why care about >converting from oil to solar when the same god who performed the miracle >of the loaves and fishes can whip up a few billion barrels of light crude >with a word?" > >Because these people believe that until Christ does return, the lord will >provide. One of their texts is a high school history book, America's >providential history. You'll find there these words: "the secular or >socialist has a limited resource mentality and views the world as a pie >... that needs to be cut up so everyone can get a piece." However, "[t]he >Christian knows that the potential in god is unlimited and that there is >no shortage of resources in god's earth ... while many secularists view >the world as overpopulated, Christians know that god has made the earth >sufficiently large with plenty of resources to accommodate all of the >people." No wonder Karl Rove goes around the White House whistling that >militant hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers." He turned out millions of the >foot soldiers on Nov. 2, including many who have made the apocalypse a >powerful driving force in modern American politics. > >I can see in the look on your faces just how hard it is for the journalist >to report a story like this with any credibility. So let me put it on a >personal level. I myself don't know how to be in this world without >expecting a confident future and getting up every morning to do what I can >to bring it about. So I have always been an optimist. Now, however, I >think of my friend on Wall Street whom I once asked: "What do you think of >the market?" "I'm optimistic," he answered. "Then why do you look so >worried?" And he answered: "Because I am not sure my optimism is justified." > >I'm not, either. Once upon a time I agreed with Eric Chivian and the >Center for Health and the Global Environment that people will protect the >natural environment when they realize its importance to their health and >to the health and lives of their children. Now I am not so sure. It's not >that I don't want to believe that – it's just that I read the news and >connect the dots: > >I read that the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency >has declared the election a mandate for President Bush on the environment. >This for an administration that wants to rewrite the Clean Air Act, the >Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act protecting rare plant and >animal species and their habitats, as well as the National Environmental >Policy Act that requires the government to judge beforehand if actions >might damage natural resources. > >That wants to relax pollution limits for ozone; eliminate vehicle tailpipe >inspections; and ease pollution standards for cars, sports utility >vehicles and diesel-powered big trucks and heavy equipment. > >That wants a new international audit law to allow corporations to keep >certain information about environmental problems secret from the public. > >That wants to drop all its new-source review suits against polluting >coal-fired power plans and weaken consent decrees reached earlier with >coal companies. > >That wants to open the Arctic [National] Wildlife Refuge to drilling and >increase drilling in Padre Island National Seashore, the longest stretch >of undeveloped barrier island in the world and the last great coastal wild >land in America. > >I read the news just this week and learned how the Environmental >Protection Agency had planned to spend nine million dollars – two million >of it from the administration's friends at the American Chemistry Council >– to pay poor families to continue to use pesticides in their homes. These >pesticides have been linked to neurological damage in children, but >instead of ordering an end to their use, the government and the industry >were going to offer the families $970 each, as well as a camcorder and >children's clothing, to serve as guinea pigs for the study. > >I read all this in the news. > >I read the news just last night and learned that the administration's >friends at the international policy network, which is supported by >ExxonMobil and others of like mind, have issued a new report that climate >change is "a myth, sea levels are not rising," [and] scientists who >believe catastrophe is possible are "an embarrassment." > >I not only read the news but the fine print of the recent appropriations >bill passed by Congress, with the obscure (and obscene) riders attached to >it: a clause removing all endangered species protections from pesticides; >language prohibiting judicial review for a forest in Oregon; a waiver of >environmental review for grazing permits on public lands; a rider pressed >by developers to weaken protection for crucial habitats in California. > >I read all this and look up at the pictures on my desk, next to the >computer – pictures of my grandchildren: Henry, age 12; of Thomas, age 10; >of Nancy, 7; Jassie, 3; Sara Jane, 9 months. I see the future looking back >at me from those photographs and I say, "Father, forgive us, for we know >not what we do." And then I am stopped short by the thought: "That's not >right. We do know what we are doing. We are stealing their future. >Betraying their trust. Despoiling their world." > >And I ask myself: Why? Is it because we don't care? Because we are greedy? >Because we have lost our capacity for outrage, our ability to sustain >indignation at injustice? > >What has happened to our moral imagination? > >On the heath Lear asks Gloucester: "How do you see the world?" And >Gloucester, who is blind, answers: "I see it feelingly.'" > >I see it feelingly. > >The news is not good these days. I can tell you, though, that as a >journalist I know the news is never the end of the story. The news can be >the truth that sets us free – not only to feel but to fight for the future >we want. And the will to fight is the antidote to despair, the cure for >cynicism, and the answer to those faces looking back at me from those >photographs on my desk. What we need to match the science of human health >is what the ancient Israelites called "hochma" – the science of the heart >... the capacity to see ... to feel ... and then to act ... as if the >future depended on you. > >Believe me, it does. > > > > >© 2004 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved. >View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/20666/ > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kcarlyle at main.nc.us Mon Dec 20 15:37:23 2004 From: kcarlyle at main.nc.us (Kim Carlyle) Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 14:37:23 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] SAF second call Message-ID: <001f01c4e6cf$db578020$a66dc0d1@yourfulkl1oh2q> Dear Friends, As visions of sugar plums dance through your heads, perhaps they will inspire you to write an article for the yearly meeting newsletter, the Southern Appalachian Friend. Here are some possible topics: your views on moral values; ten favorite cookie recipes; how you felt on 11/03/2004; why you love your monthly meeting; how to cope with the climate crisis; guidelines for vocal ministry; your hopes for the new year; what you want for Christmas (ten page limit); or any topic of your choice. Send to SAFeditor at sayma.org by 01/01/2005. Thanks and Merry Solstice! K&S Carlyle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bright_crow at mindspring.com Tue Dec 21 11:32:01 2004 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Mike Shell) Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 10:32:01 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [saymaListserv] Winter Solstice Message-ID: <3912002.1103643122845.JavaMail.root@wamui04.slb.atl.earthlink.net> Dear Friends, In recent years, Winter Solstice has come to be in some ways my favorite sacred day. As I've grown older I've become more sensitive to the shortening of days from Fall Equinox on, more subject to feeling tired, discouraged or even depressed as the sunlight weakens and the hours of light dwindle. Through my early 40s I didn't understand this and sought all sorts of "reasons" for why I felt so down. (I am very good at imagining "reasons" for "trouble.") Fortunately, before I turned 50 I realized that the only real reason for this winter gloominess is that I am a mammal, and that my body wants to stay indoors (preferably by a fire), to store up fat, and to sleep more until spring. Living first in South Carolina and now in Florida, the signals have tended to be more confusing than they were in my northern youth. My conscious mind says it's still warm and sunny and there's no snow. My brain stem, though, "knows" that it is winter, simply because there is not as much light. Having now made peace with my brain stem , I am much less unhappy during this part of the yearly cycle. Though I'm writing about biology, I believe these same truths are quite literally relevant to our spiritual life. We are all children of the Divine One, which means that spiritually we are invulnerable to the changes of the seasons. Nonetheless, the blessing of life is that we are mortal beings, animal beings, and that we are meant to enjoy and to suffer both the cyclic and the accidental changes of life. This means that it is very important for us to observe and to honor the changing of the seasons with all deliberateness and reverence. Most human calendars have some sort of sacred acknowledgement of this day "when the sun returns." Many also have religious or cultic festivals to celebrate the day. For those of us who have the birth of Jesus as part of our spiritual heritage, our religious history includes the decision centuries ago to commemorate his birth at this time of year. This is because his birth represents to us the return in our awareness of God's Light. That Light never actually leaves us, never actually dwindles. Yet we often suffer under the illusion that it waxes and wanes, because our attentiveness to it waxes and wanes. The Romans called December 25th Dies Natalis Solis Invictus, the Birth Day of the Unconquered Sun. Christians recognize this as an appropriate calendar date to remember that other Birth. A dear Friend, formerly from Columbia (SC) Meeting, always used to insist that Quakers should not observe Christmas, because Jesus is reborn in us every day, not just once a year. In one sense I agree with her. The Light is always present, always available. Even so, it helps my mammalian brain stem to use both the natural event of the winter solstice and the artificial event of a day on the human calendar to "reset" my awareness, to point my attention much more firmly toward Christ's Light, which is always and everywhere. May it be so for you as well. Blessed Be, Michael. From nc_stereoman at charter.net Tue Dec 21 12:35:25 2004 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 11:35:25 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] Winter Solstice In-Reply-To: <3912002.1103643122845.JavaMail.root@wamui04.slb.atl.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <41C80A7D.25306.B08516@localhost> Dear Friends, Thanks to Mike for encouraging an opening about the celebration of Christmas. Asheville Meeting has in years past had a rather elaborate celebration, and it was looked upon as the best opportunity for those Friends who are seldom seen in our Meetinghouse to come out and join in the singing of carols, the decorating of a tree, and feasting on traditional turkey, trimmings, and other "traditional" foods. Lately our Meeting has been reflecting on how some of our practices reflect on our testimonies. As we began planning for what we had decided to call our annual "Holiday Gathering", we felt a growing sense that we should shed some of the elaborateness of this event. One very seasoned Friend, who has been among us for only a short time but has become a central figure in our community, commented that perhaps we should observe Christmas as early Friends did: "in other words, not at all!" We also recognized, as Mike points out in his message, that the Winter observance is really not the anniversary of Jesus' birth, but is a Pagan rite to commemorate the change of seasons and the return of light. It was simply co-opted by the Church to allow Christians to celebrate the Festival of Light without having to give any regard to the Pagan origins of the various rituals: the Christmas Tree, the Yule Log, the exchange of gifts, the ringing of bells, etc. We are choosing, as a community, to simplify our celebration this year, coming together at our regularly scheduled midweek worship time rather than on a weekend afternoon, opening our time together with a period of expectant worship, foregoing the tree and the decorations and the turkey and trimmings, offering only "finger foods", joining in singing of carols from many traditions, and sharing around the theme "peace begins at home". For myself and my adoptive family, we celebrate the Festival of Light for a period of two weeks, with a traditional tree, the exchange of gifts, and the making of promises for the coming year. For my Monthly Meeting, I see our new practice as an opportunity to encourage Friends to follow their own practices while finding in their faith community the same abiding sense of communal worship and communal seeking that is present in any of the other fifty-one weeks of the year that we come together. Steve On 21 Dec 2004 at 10:32, Mike Shell wrote: > Dear Friends, > > In recent years, Winter Solstice has come to be in some ways my > favorite sacred day. > From nmwhitt at samford.edu Tue Dec 21 12:39:15 2004 From: nmwhitt at samford.edu (Nancy Whitt) Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 10:39:15 -0600 Subject: [saymaListserv] Christmas Message-ID: Each year Birmingham Friends Meeting celebrates Christmas by working together on a project--gift bags for a church for the homeless, AFSC boxes, etc. This year we invited families whose parents are working on their GED's through a World of Opportunity organization. It felt really good having a variety of races and economic levels in our meeting house. We got to talk to our visitors, who want to come back for a backyard cookout in the Spring. We've tried in several ways to become part of our mixed-race/econcomic community and this one was successful. We also give the equivalent of our property tax to our local grammar school each Christmas (learned this from Nashville FM). Preparation for our party is minimal--everyone brings munchies--and we enjoy it. Also, for First Day for kids on Sunday we have a little boy whose father is Jewish. This past Sunday I brought a menorah and read a wonderful story on respect written by a local muslim woman (three Christian, Muslim, and Jewish girl are best friends; the mother of one finds a clever way to serve special food at supper meeting the needs of each child without embarrassing any of them; it also teaches respect through the care of cats!). Am late for an appointment-- Love and peace, Nancy From freepolazzo at comcast.net Thu Dec 23 11:49:20 2004 From: freepolazzo at comcast.net (free polazzo) Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 10:49:20 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] Christmas and proselytizing Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.2.20041220085027.02e5e060@mail.comcast.net> Dear Freinds, Thanks to those Friends who wrote about how their meetings handled the concern that Christmas was being given too much importance, compared to other days of the year. I look forward to other meetings telling us how they handle the Christmas tsunami. Because I was raised Jewish, I have always seen the many Christmas messages and songs and movies as part of the Chrisitan community's efforts at proselytizing their faith. Even in the public schools in NYC in the 50's, my twin brother and I were asked to perform in a Nativity play, much to the horror of my concentration camp survivor mom. Some say that Hannukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, had it's significance as a celebration elevated to give the Jews something to offer their children that could help inoculate them from the onslaught of Christmas messages. We unprogrammed Friends do not proselytize, but we don't usually discuss the effects of that choice on our faith community or on our children. Steve's message had me appreciating how difficult our testimony on equality must be for Friends with Christian backgrounds with children. How do you teach them that December 25th is just as important a day as every other day of the year? Those of you who are interested in the whole issue of missionaries and how a faith that does NOT proselytize deals with it can get some insight from the Jews for Judiasm site: (A site that reaches out to "lapsed" Jews. ) They have a complete book on line called "The Real Messiah: The Jewish Response to Missionaries". http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/pdf/RealMessiahBookPages_v4ab.pdf May the truth prosper in each of us. Blessings, Free From bright_crow at mindspring.com Wed Dec 29 23:14:07 2004 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Michael Austin Shell) Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 22:14:07 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] Fwd: AFSC on Iraq Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.0.20041229221348.0292b7e0@pop.mindspring.com> Friends, This information comes from Joyce Miller, director of AFSC's Community Relations Unit. Please visit and share these weblinks. Blessed Be, Michael. >Subject: AFSC on Iraq >Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2004 19:07:44 -0500 >From: "Joyce Miller" > >AFSC Statement Urging Immediate Withdrawal >http://www.afsc.org/iraq/guide/board-statement.htm > >Questions and Answers about AFSC’s Position >http://www.afsc.org/iraq/guide/position-qa.htm > >Christmas Has the Taste of Ashes for Us – New Correspondence Journal >http://www.afsc.org/iraq/corres_journal/entries/20041220.htm > >Iraq Peace Petition >http://ga3.org/campaign/iraq_peace > From bright_crow at mindspring.com Thu Dec 30 17:41:17 2004 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Michael Austin Shell) Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 16:41:17 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] FW: AFSC Responds to Natural Disaster in Asia Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.0.20041230164045.02929c60@pop.mindspring.com> Dear Friends, Please share this information. Thank you, Michael. >------ Forwarded Message >From: Ruth Seeley >Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 12:03:07 -0500 >To: Ruth Seeley >Subject: AFSC Responds to Natural Disaster in Asia > >Dear AFSC Board and Corporation members, > > We are all stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy that has > struck the people of Asia. The full extent of the devastation for those > who survived will take some time to become fully known. We hope that the > combined efforts of many agencies and governments can bring immediate > help to feed and shelter people, and long-term help in rebuilding their lives. > > Betsy Deisroth, AFSC director of development, has sent out > the following message: > >"AFSC is accepting donations and you are welcome to send us a check or go >to our web site >http://www.afsc.org/emap/default.htm >and make a donation to the Crisis Fund. Gifts received in our Crisis Fund >as of December 27th will go to relief and recovery in Asia. AFSC is >presently accepting financial donations only and is not collecting >materials nor sending volunteers. > >We are assessing the situation with staff on the ground presently. We >will: let the local people determine what response is most needed; we will >provide support for groups or communities that might not be served by >larger aid responses and we will offer pragmatic immediate help that also >builds longer-term recovery so that communities can rebuild long after the >media attention and compassionate responses for aid have diminished. Thank >you for thinking of AFSC to help the people in Asia who are suffering from >this devastating natural disaster." > >May the New Year bring relief for all those people who are suffering >around the world. > >Peace, > >Ruth Seeley From nmwhitt at samford.edu Fri Dec 31 14:21:42 2004 From: nmwhitt at samford.edu (Nancy Whitt) Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 12:21:42 -0600 Subject: [saymaListserv] Fwd: Re: tsunami relief Message-ID: I'm sending this, because some SAYMA Friends have interests in India. Nancy Whitt, Ph.D. Professor and Chair English Department Samford University Birmingham, AL 35229 Phone: 205-726-2458 Fax: 205-726-2112 -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Lauren ungar Subject: Re: tsunami relief Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 10:07:12 -0800 (PST) Size: 5849 URL: