Memories of Burma, 1998
Indigenous Peoples Day

Fasting for Peace

Religious leaders of all faiths are joining together this coming Monday, October 8th, for an Interfaith Fast to End the War in Iraq. Rabbi Arthur Waskow, co-author of The Tent of Abraham, forwarded this call to participate, which you can read in full at his Shalom Center blog:

In grief we see that our culture, our society, our public policies, are honeycombed with violence. Daily murders in the streets of our cities, recurrent mass murders in our schools, violence in our families, on our television programs, our films, our computer games—and in Iraq.

On October 8 we will gather to focus on the last and bloodiest of these. We must end the shattering of Iraqi and American lives by offering American generosity and support—but not control—for international and nongovernmental efforts to assist Iraqis in making peace and rebuilding their country, while swiftly and safely bringing home all American troops.

Today we call for Americans to join in a fast from sunrise to sunset on Monday, October 8, to bring the spiritual renewal and empowerment of fasting to bear on healing ourselves.

Of course, Monday is also a civic holiday—one with highly problematic provenance. Next week we'll get an explanation of the alternative to Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, from Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. We're also honoring National Coming Out Day next Thursday with thoughts from Kai Wright and Massachusetts State Representative Carl Sciortino. Remember to check that RSS feed!

Comments