Ground the Drones White House Vigil
Dear Friends, In light of the Drone Summit taking place this weekend in DC, the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will focus on the urgent need to resist and end the use of Drones during its weekly White House vigil. Please come to this vigil on Friday, April 27 from Noon -1:00 pm and spread the word.
DC Catholic Workers among the 13 arrested to close the SOA!
Monday April 16th, human rights activists took to the streets around Capitol Hill in a spirited parade, culminating a week of trainings, workshops, music and lobbying to close the School of the Americas. Police on foot, bicycle, motorcycle and in vehicles prohibited free passage of the march, limiting SOA Watch activists abilities to be heard and seen by Congressional staff. Thirteen were arrested as they tried to lead the march down Independence Avenue in front of the Congressional buildings, but were impeded by dozens of police who blockaded their passage and expression of free speech.
Dorothy Day Catholic Workers Amber & Kevin Mason were among the 13 arrested for taking the demand for the closure of SOA into the streets on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC
The 13 were released over 6 hours later and ironically charged with “blocking passage”. They are to appear at Superior Court on Tuesday, May 8th in room 115 at 8:30am where a trial date will be given.
Who are the SOA 13?
Amber Mason- Dorothy Day Catholic Worker (26; Washington, DC): “I refuse to be complicit in war and injustice committed by my government in my name and I believe you can not claim to be for peace and justice unless you are publicly actively against war and injustice. For these reasons, I chose to risk arrest, and stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Latin America, and all around the world calling for end to all militarization. As Dr Martin Luther King Jr said, ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’.”
Kevin Mason- Dorothy Day Catholic Worker (29; Washington, DC): “The
reasons for my actions had a lot to do with my faith, and my conscience. I believe we are all one family in the human race. We need to get to a place where we do for others as we would want them to do for us. I believe then that justice would flow like a mighty river. Dorothy Day put it this way: ‘Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy rotten system’, and this is part of my motivation.”
Read all 13 of the statements here and go to www.soaw.org for more info, pics and videos of the action.
Atlantic Life Community Mothers’ Day Retreat 2012
When: Fri, May 11, 2012 from 6:00 pm to Sun, May 13, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Where: Mariandale Retreat Center 299 North Highland Avenue, Ossining, NY 10562
You are invited to join us for the ALC Mother’s Day Retreat this May in beautiful upstate NY! The theme for the Mother’s Day weekend is “You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down” with guest speaker Shelley Douglas.
We will have dinners on Friday and Saturday nights from 6PM to 7PM (so that the staff can clean up and go home to their families); we will have Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8AM to 9AM; we will also have lunch prepared for us on Saturday from noon to 1PM. Coffee & tea will also be provided throughout the weekend. The staff will work to have each meal out on time and we need to work hard to be prompt in getting to the retreat and getting our families to the dining room. Folks are encouraged to bring Snacks for between meals or for late night cravings. We are asking everyone coming to please bring some cash or a check so that we can offer The Dominicans our fair share for the gift of their quiet hospitality, our sleeping quarters, our meeting & child care spaces. In addition to that, all of our meals will be prepared and offered by the staff at Mariondale so it is so important to be economically just and fair to the Sisters and their staff. Based on past attendance and previous ALC offerings, we hope to present the Sisters at Mariondale with at least $1850 dollars. So we are seeking the following from YOU, if you plan on gathering with us and if you have special dietary needs : and then simply RSVP TO US Number of attendees ( how many of you are coming) ;let us know when you will be arriving and if you are staying for the whole retreat; sleeping request – most rooms sleep 1 if you need a bigger room let us know, ideas for childcare, ideas and interest for workshops, ideas for child centered activities, will you bring crafts, games, musical instruments or other.
We need every person, family and or community to RSVP to us confirming your plans. These questions need to be answered so that we can organize sleeping arrangements and so we can give the staff at Mariondale an accurate number of adults and children who will be eating meals.
Please send detailed RSVPs to Amber Mason at amber.bmason( at )yahoo.com or 202.882.9649
Send talent show cast to Kevin Mason at kevin.bmason( at )yahoo.com or 202.882.9649
Call Kathy Boylanfor workshop ideas at 202.882.9649
People should contact Rosemary Thompson RMthompson( at )missionhelpers.org for organizing child care. Or call 410-823-8585 ext 244
April Days of Action to Close the SOA and End Militarization!
Come to DC from April 14-17 for four days of lobbying, conferences, strategy sessions, concerts and street theater, as we continue to make our demands heard for a just world! Prior to the Days of Action, we will hold a Direct Action Training camp from April 11-13 to train movement activists in the skills needed to carry out effective actions to put the SOA and militarization on the national agenda.
Schedule for the April Days of Action
Wednesday, April 11 – Friday, April 13: Direct Action Training Camp
Saturday, April 14: Conference – “International (In)Security”. 9:00am – 5:00pm Metropolitan Community Church, 474 Ridge St., NW, Washington, DC. AFSC 2nd Annual “If I Had a Trillion Dollars” Youth Film Festival. 6:00pm – 9:00pm, Busboys and Poets, 2012 14th Street, NW. (See AFSC for more info)
Sunday, April 15: Strategy Sessions. Georgetown University Law School, McDonough Building, 101 F St., NW, Washington, DC. Contact Becca@soaw.org to confirm attendance and receive materials. Concert! 7:00pm – 10:30pm Live music & plenty of dance space! Haydee’s Restaurant, 3102 Mount Pleasant St, NW.
Monday, April 16: Lobby training, visits & call-in, Rally, March, Direct Action. Lobby training 9:15am – 10:15 am. Stewart Mott House, 122 Maryland Ave., NE. Rally, March, Direct Action: 12:00 – 2:00. Upper Senate Park.
Tuesday, April 17: Lobby training & visits. Lobby training 9:15am – 10:15 am, Stewart Mott House, 122 Maryland Ave., NE. Lobby visits 10:30am – 5:00pm.
CLICK HERE for more details!
Days of Action Outreach Material
- Download and Distribute Flyers
- Put up Posters in your Neighborhood
- Spread the Mobilizing Videos
- Send the Public Service Announcements to your Local Radio Stations
- Post the facebook event page on your facebook profile
- Get your organization to endorse the Days of Action (to endorse, please send an email with your organization’s name to Maria@soaw.org)
- Send an email message about the Days of Action to your family and friends
Download and Distribute the 8.5″ x 11″ Flyer (two-sided) for the April Days of Action in English and Spanish:
The Risk of the Cross
Swords into Plowshares
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters
Democracy Now!
Common Dreams
Winter Soldier 2008
The Story of Stuff
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Washington, D.C. 