Before There was Veteran's Day, There was the Feast of St. Martin of Tours

"As we hold individuals in high esteem those who conscientiously serve in the armed forces, so also we should regard conscientious objection and selective conscientious objection as positive indicators within the Church of a sound moral awareness and respect for human life." (U.S. Bishops, Declaration of Conscientious Objection and Selective Conscientious Objection.)

Today our government observes Veteran's Day and the Catholic Church observes the feast day of St. Martin of Tours the patron saint of both soldiers and conscientious objectors.

Martin of Tours was the son of an officer in the Roman army who, at the age of 15, joined Roman army himself. As a young man, he underwent a conversion after an encounter with a beggar. In a dream, the beggar he had encountered earlier that day, appeared to him as Christ.

Some time after his Baptism, he began to view his military service as incompatible with his Christian faith. Prior to a battle, he asked Emperor Julian for his release from the army declaring, "I have served you as a soldier; allow me henceforth to serve Christ... I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight".  He offered instead to stand unarmed between the Roman and Gothic lines.  Julian declined Martin's offer but he did throw Martin into prison until a truce was reached.

After his release, Martin returned to the place of his birth in the Alps and founded, what is considered to be, the first monastery. Some years later, he was reluctantly elected bishop. 

Today, let us hold in our thoughts and prayers all those who have suffered and sacrificed after an examination of conscience. Let us pray for those who are honored because, out of a moral duty, they served, and those who are persecuted and punished because, out of a moral duty, they refused. 

Our Children Deserve a World without War and a Society without Fear

I woke up today, as I most often do, thinking of my son. Today, however, I was thinking of the world that my generation would be leaving him.

I grew up in fear of a nuclear war. In the mid 70’s my grammar school was still holding duck and cover drills. I remember being led by our teachers into the hallway of our school and being told that this was a safe place in the event of a nuclear bomb blast because of the concrete walls. As a 1st grader, I knew this was not true. Along with preparedness for a nuclear war, we were taught to loathe communism and abhor the Russians and the Chinese.

When the Berlin Wall came down my anxiety lifted. To me, the destruction of the iconic symbol of the cold war meant an end to the state of perpetual war which had led our country to Korea, Vietnam, and covertly to participate in the dirty wars in Latin America. Our decades-long enemies were now our allies and it seemed as if anything were possible. The anxiety and fear of the future that I had carried since grammar school fell away like the stone of the wall. My trepidation returned, however, as our country replaced the cold war with the war on terror.

Currently our country is fighting two declared wars. Our troops are stationed in at least 150 countries and we are still training the soldiers of repressive Latin American governments at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning in Georgia. The U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile still stands at over 2500 warheads and a total of seven countries are known to have their own nuclear weapons. On top of it all, today President Obama is expected to announce that he will be sending as many as 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan. This morning I sobbed at the thought of my son growing up with the fear and anxiety that the state of perpetual war brings. Who will he be taught to hate? What will he be taught to fear? How will I raise him to be loving, compassionate and hopeful in spite of it all? The promise of a new path which was born of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall seems to have been forgotten.

I will pray for my son and all the world’s children. I will pray especially hard for myself and all parents that we have the courage to look for that new path which leads to peace and global solidarity. In the words of Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki “May my imagination overcome death and despair with new possibility. And may I risk reputation, comfort and security to bring this hope to the children.” My son and all of our children deserve to grow up in a world without war and a society without fear.

Conference on Freeing the World of Nuclear Weapons

Freeing the World of Nuclear Weapons

Sunday, May 31, 2009
1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
First Memorial Presbyterian Church
51 West Blackwell Street
Dover, NJ 07801

Admission Free

President Obama has catapulted nuclear disarmament to the front page from its obscurity over the past decade. The August 9 Saving Lives Task Force* has scheduled its second conference on May 31st to continue promoting the disarmament agenda. Join the group to learn what is happening in the disarmament movement and how you can support national and international efforts toward a nuclear weapons free world.


Timing is critical. The START Treaty** expires this year.

Speakers:

Brian Finlay, President of the Stimson Organization, Washington , D.C – The Domestic Politics of Nuclear Disarmament

Rick Ufford-Chase, Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Executive Director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Director of the Stony Point Conference Center – The Role of Faith-Based Groups

Larry Hamm, Director, People’s Organization for Progress – Redirecting Spending to Social and Humanitarian Programs

Anyone interested in becoming part of this important project is encouraged to contact:

Dave Mortensen at dmortnj@hotmail.com or 862-812-2324 and/or
Madelyn Hoffman, NJ Peace Action nj_peaceaction@yahoo.com

or 973-259-1126.

* The August 9 Saving Lives Task Force is a Partner with New Jersey Peace Action.

** The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and the USSR by late 2001 resulted in the removal of about 80% of all strategic nuclear weapons then in existence. There is still a long way to go.


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There is no charge to attend this forum. A free-will donation will be gratefully received.


ORGANIZERS & CO-SPONSORS OF THE MAY 31 PEACE CONFERENCE

Organized by:

Islamic Center of Morris County in Rockaway

Jam-e-Masjid Islamic Center in Boonton

Multifaith Peace and Justice Alliance

New Jersey Peace Action

Peacemaking Committee of the Presbytery of Newton (Representing 62 Presbyterian churches in northwest NJ)

Seeds of Peace of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship

Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sussex County

Co-Sponsors:

Essex County Chapter of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)

First Memorial Presbyterian Church of Dover

Lakeland Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Network of Spiritual Progressives

Northwest New Jersey Peace Fellowship

Pax Christi NJ

Tikkun

Veterans for Peace, Chapter 021

Vietnam Veterans Against the War - North Jersey

The August 9th Saving Lives Task Force is still seeking co-sponsors for this event. All we ask is that co-sponsors allow their name to be listed. If you can also help us publicize the event to your contacts and networks, that would be greatly appreciated. If you are interested in being a co-sponsor, please send an e-mail to nj_peaceaction@yahoo.com.

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Note: The church sanctuary where much of the program will take place is not air conditioned, but there will be fans.

Parking: When on West Blackwell Street with the church to the right - Make a left on to Prospect Street and go about 200 feet. There is a free public parking lot on the left. For people with special needs, there is limited parking behind the church. The driveway is located just before the church on your right. (Revised directions will be circulated shortly.)

CONTACT:

Madelyn Hoffman, Director of NJ Peace Action at director@njpeaceaction.org or (973)851-2136

David Mortensen at dmortnj@hotmail.com or (862)812-2324

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Soldiers of Conscience

"When are there situations in which loyalty to a nation state comes in conflict with loyalty to the kingdom of God?"

This is a question raised by Joshua Casteel in an interview for the documentary Soldiers of Conscience. He is featured along with Camilo Mejia and six other CO’s in this insightful documentary which will air on PBS’s P.O.V. on October 16th. They are from all walks of life and all ranks in the military but what they have in common is that they all chose to follow their conscience instead of a direct order.

Watch the trailer: