HOLY WEEK FAITH & RESISTANCE RETREAT

When: Wednesday, April 4 — Good Friday, April 6, 2012

Where: St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church, 1525 Newton St. NW, Washington, DC 20010 (corner of 16th St. and Newton)

What: As we enter into Holy Week to commemorate the Last Supper, arrest, torture, trial and crucifixion of Jesus, please join in a time of prayer, reflection, community building and acts of nonviolent resistance focusing on the theme:“PUT AWAY THE SWORD; FOLLOW JESUS IN NONVIOLENT REVOLUTION.”

We will begin the retreat on April 4 (the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.,) with a 6:00 p.m. dinner followed by a talk by Cathy Breen, from the Maryhouse Catholic Worker in NYC, about her recent visits to Syria and the Middle East. The retreat, which will include time for communal reflection and engaging in several nonviolent actions, will conclude on Good Friday following a noon-time nonviolent witness at the White House.

The retreat is sponsored by Jonah House and the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.

For more info contact: Jonah House at 410.233.6238 , disarmnow@verizon.net and www.jonahhouse.org, and Dorothy Day Catholic Worker at 202.882.9649, c/o artlaffin@hotmail.com, and  www.DCcatholicworker.wordpress.com.  

April Days of Action to Close the SOA and End Militarization!

Join us for SOAW Days of Action April 14-17, 2012

We continue to push forward for our demands of closing the SOA/WHINSEC and an end to U.S. militarization.

Engage in our march on Capitol Hill, in addition to lobbying, street theater, music, as well as a conference and one-day strategy session, to strengthen the anti-militarization movement in DC in April.” 

CLICK HERE for more details!

 

 

Lenten Prayer Services for Peace and Justice @ the White House

Remaining Lenten Vigils for Peace and Justice 

 

Friday, March 23, 2012, Noon-1:00 p.m.: On the eve of Archbishop Romero’s assassination, Scott Wright, long-time peacemaker and author of Oscar Romero and the Communion of Saints, will lead a prayer service commemorating the martyrdom of Romero. We will also include prayers remembering the 16 civilians recently murdered in Afghanistan. 

 

Friday, March 30, 2012, Noon-1:00 p.m.: As we approach Holy Week and remember the torture and execution of Jesus, torture survivors from TASSC International will lead a prayer service remembering the tortured of our world and calling for the abolition of torture.                                                                      

 

Where: White House (north side on Pennsylvania Ave.)

 

Why: Lent is a time for personal and societal repentance, a time for radical conversion, renewal and transformation. Living under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire, Jesus declared: “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk.1:15) Living in the U.S. empire, which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described as “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,” we need to heed Jesus’ proclamation now more than ever.   

 

Please join us and publicize it through your networks!

 

For more info contact: Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 0r Art Laffin artlaffin@hotmail.com, 202-360-6416.

Mass for our muslim brother Shaker Aamer held at Guantanamo Bay

Wed, March 28^th. 7:30 pm at St Francis of Assisi, 6701 Muncaster Mill Rd, Derwood MD 20855.

Mass for Shaker Aamer, who is a Saudi Arabian citizen and the last British resident held by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.  He was captured in Jalalabad , Afghanistan, on 24 November 2001 and was brought to Guantánamo on 14 February 2002, where he has now been held for over 10 years. Aamer has never been charged with any wrongdoing and has never received a trial and his lawyer says he is “totally innocent”. He has been cleared for release by the Bush administration in 2007, and the Obama administration in 2009.but Aamer remains in Guantánamo. He has been described as a charismatic leader who spoke up and fought for the rights of fellow prisoners and some have speculated that this might be a reason for his continued detention. Aamer alleges that he has been subject to torture while in detention. 

Aamer was born and grew up in Medina in Saudi Arabia . He left the country at the age of 17, living and traveling in America , Europe and the Middle East .He moved to the United Kingdom in 1996 where he met his British wife, Zin. They married in 1997 and have four British children. Aamer has never met his youngest son Faris, who was born after his imprisonment.

For more info, please contact Paul Popernack at ppopernack(at)gmail.com

Lenten Prayer Services of Repentance at the White House and Pentagon To Mark The 9th Year of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq

When and Where:

Friday, March 16, 2012, Noon-1:00 p.m. — White House (north side on Pennsylvania Ave.)

Monday, March 19, 2012, 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. — Pentagon (outside Pentagon Metro entrance on the southeast side of the building)

What: March 19, 2012 mark’s the 9th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. As part of the Lenten Witness for Peace and Justice that is being organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and co-sponsored by other groups, there will be a prayer service at the White House on March 16th and at the Pentagon on March 19th to remember the victims of U.S. warmaking in Iraq, to repent for the war crimes the U.S. has committed, and to demand that reparations be made to the Iraqi people. We will also call on all remaining CIA personnel and U.S. private contractors to leave Iraq immediately. Ray McGovern, retired CIA analyst, peacemaker, writer and member of Intelligence Members for Sanity (VIPS) will speak at the prayer service.

Why: For over 20 years the U.S. government and military has waged war against Iraq. U.S. bombings, U.S. UN-led sanctions, invasion and occpation has resulted in the death’s of over 2 million Iraqis and has traumatized an entire nation. Several million Iraqis have been displaced. In December the U.S. withdrew its troops from Iraq, but an estimated 5,000 private U.S. “security contractors” and the CIA remain. U.S. Drones patrol Iraqi skies. The Iraqi people continue to suffer from the effects of U.S. warmaking and occupation. We remember,too, the 4,801 soldiers who died in Iraq and the unknown numbers of soldiers who committed suicide, as well as the countless thousands of soldiers maimed, injured and traumatized for life.  We will also remember Rachel Corrie, the U.S. peaceworker who was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in Gaza on March 16, 2003.

Lent is a time for personal and societal repentance, a time for radical conversion, renewal and transformation. Living under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire, Jesus declared: “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk.1:15) Living in the U.S. empire, which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described as “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,” we need to heed Jesus’ proclamation now more than ever.

Please join this March 16th and March 19th witness and publicize it through your networks. 

For more info contact:

Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 0r Art Laffin artlaffin@hotmail.com, 202-360-6416.