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peaceCENTER
1443 S. St. Mary's
San Antonio, TX 78210
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THIS WEEK IN PEACE & JUSTICE HISTORY

April 30: Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a sermon entitled, "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam" at Riverside Church in New York City. Read the speech. (1967) May 1: 340,000 went on strike in Chicago for the 8-hour workday. (1886) May 1: The Catholic Worker newspaper was founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. (1933) May 1: Soviet youths openly defied police and danced the twist in Moscow's Red Square during May Day celebrations. (1967) May 2: Hundreds of children ranging in age from six to eighteen were arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, as they marched from Kelly Ingram Park to downtown singing, “We Shall Overcome.” (1963) May 4: A group of Freedom Riders left Washington, DC for New Orleans in a first challenge to racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals. (1961) May 4: Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others. (1970) May 5: Biology teacher John T. Scopes was arrested for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in a Dayton, Tennessee, high school in violation of state law. (1925) May 5: Over one million Sicilians, a fifth of the Italian island’s population, signed a petition against the deployment of more than 100 U.S. cruise missiles at the Comiso Air Base. (1983) May 7: American veterans of the Vietnam War reached a $180-million out-of-court settlement with seven chemical companies in a class-action suit relating to use of the herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam.(1984) May 10: Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president. He had won the country’s first election in which all South Africans could vote, regardless of race. (1994) May 13: Brazil, which had imported more African slaves than any other country (nearly 40% of the 11 million Africans shipped to the western hemisphere), abolished slavery. (1888) May 15: The National Labor Relations Act was passed, recognizing workers' rights to organize unions and bargain collectively with their employers. (1935) May 16: The Nazis crushed the Jewish uprising in the Warsaw ghetto after a month of bloody fighting. 56,000 died in the struggle. (1943) May 16: Tens of thousands of Britons supporting Jubilee 2000 formed a human chain around the meeting place of the G7 Summit in Birmingham, England, urging the major international lending countries to relieve the massive indebtedness of poor countries around the world. (1998)

PEACE NEWS

Truthout: critical news and commentary on world events World Press Review: News from the world's newspapers Z-Net: A community of people committed to social change Independent Media Center: Grassroots, non-corporate media coverage Common Dreams: Breaking news and views for the progressive community FAIR: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, criticism of media bias and censorship Sojourners: Christians for Justice & Peace

DO YOU TEACH PEACE? Bookmark the Class of Nonviolence Blog to get the latest updates to the Facilitator's Manual for the Class of Nonviolence. You can buy the manual on Amazon.com. As always, the 48 essays of the Class of Nonviolence are available for free online!

COMPASSION BEADS ARE HERE!!!!

 

COMPASSION BEADS

It starts with Compassion and ends with Love: Compassion, Dignity, Equinimity, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Humility, Integrity, Justice, Kindness and Love. Capped off with a golden bead symbolizing the Golden Rule: Treat Others as you wish to be treated yourself. Watch our video about the meaning of Compassion Beads and order from our ETSY Store.

We've started a BLOG for CompassionNET, the peaceCENTER initiative to have San Antonio recognized as a compassionate city. Visit it for information about upcoming events in the Pilgrimage of Compassion, photos and videos of past events -- and news in general. You'll find it at sacompassionnet.blogspot.com.

Sunday, May 19:   6:30-9 pm, Compassionate Learning: Education Under Fire, at the Baha’i Center, 735 W. Magnolia Ave., 6:30-9pm.  Baha’is and Muslims in Iran have risked their lives helping Baha’i student continue their educations—the government has raided their meeting places, confiscated their equipment, and imprisoned their teachers. The San Antonio Baha’i community has helped. View a short film co-produced by Amnesty International, meet students and teachers and learn about Baha’i teachings about compassion. Enjoy music & food. Free and open to the public.  This is part of the peaceCENTER's Pilgrimage of Compassion.

Other upcoming events

The Rotary Foundation is now accepting applications for the world-competitive Rotary Peace Fellowship. For more info, www.rotary.org/rotarycenters. All applications are due 1 July 2013.

Every Thursday since 2001: Peace Vigil, 4pm-5pm @ intersection of Flores & Commerce.

May 11: Don't forget to vote in the San Antonio City Council election! Early voting begins April 29.

June 15: World Refugee Day celebration at St. Francis Episcopal Church on Bluemel. 10-1:30, free & open to the public. We'll be there with the CompassionNET banner so YOU can sign the Charter for Compassion! DOWNLOAD THE POSTER

Saturday, June 22, 8:30-10:30 am
LABYRINTH OF COMPASSION:
Walk the labyrinth at Episcopal Church of the Reconciliation, 8900 Starcrest. Labyrinths have been around for over 4,000 years and are found in many religious traditions. Today, labyrinths are used for reflection, meditation, prayer and comfort. Information will be available about Abode, which provides compassionate care for dying persons by their loved ones and hospice and serves as a community education center that honors death and dying as a natural rhythm of life. This is part of the peaceCENTER's Pilgrimage of Compassion.

Thursday, July 25, 7:00 pm: COMPASSIONATE POTLUCK:
Celebrating our diversity at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 5955 FM 78, San Antonio, TX 78244. (210) 452-3206. Bring a vegetarian food dish that celebrates your faith or ethnic heritage and the recipe to share with everyone; bring info on a community garden, farmer’s market, a cookbook, or a restaurant that provides healthy, diverse foods and a non-perishable food item for the Food Bank. The recipes and information will be combined into an “Compassionate Food Folder” for people to share. Lord of Life will provide utensils, plates & beverages. This is part of the peaceCENTER's Pilgrimage of Compassion.