Religious communities must stop blessing war and violence...
Archive
Los Angeles Social Forum
Released 05 June 2008
By ICUJP
The ICUJP is co-sponsoring the Los Angeles Social Forum which will take place June 27-29, 2008.



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Released 02 March 2007
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Active-Duty, Reserve, and National Guard Members Call for End to US Wars and Aggression
Released 12 November 2006
By ICUJP Military Outreach Committee
As people of conscience currently serving in the U.S. military, we call for an immediate end to all the unjust and immoral U.S. wars, imperial policies and occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. We will follow our consciences before simply obeying any order, and we refuse to participate in war crimes. We understand that there are consequences to standing up for what we believe in, but there are graver consequences for blindly following orders. We stand in solidarity with our working-class brothers and sisters of all countries and will not fight them for the sake of the oil companies, the politicians, and the corporate profit empire. Religious communities must stop blessing war and violence. We pledge to do our part to spread this understanding, to build unity with workers, soldiers, and peace-loving people worldwide, and to dismantle the racist war system. Read more...

download this statement in Acrobat .pdf format here



Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center Beilenson Hearing: Stop the Cuts.
Released 31 October 2006
By ICUJP Political Outreach Committee
WHEN:
6 November, 2006
Monday

9:30 am

WHERE:
Board of Supervisors' Hearing Room
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles
directions

WHAT:
Proposed cuts to the services offered at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center include denial of care to an estimated 434 patients a month needing surgical care, 85 children needing pediatric care, 63 women needing obstetric care, 32 mothers and their babies needing neonatal intensive care and more...

The proposed cuts will net NO savings according to the hearing's official announcement (download here).

Please come to the hearing to voice your support for community health and the King/Drew Medical Center.



Statement of Fr. Chris Ponnet at September 25 Los Angeles Civil Disobedience to Stop the War
Released 25 September 2006
By Fr. Chris Ponnet
Today I join in solidarity with many people around the world in saying again NO MORE WAR NOT IN MY NAME!!!!

* Today as Director of Pax Christi Los Angeles, I join David Robinson and others who were arrested in Washington DC last Friday in prayer, fasting and civil disobedience. I renew my vow of nonviolence today which is central to Pax Christi ministry. Read more...



ICUJP Supports All Saints Church Pasadena's Resistance to IRS Investigation
Released 23 September 2006
By ICUJP
ICUJP: Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace expresses its solidarity with All Saints Church Pasadena in the investigation being conducted into its practices by the IRS. Religious organizations in the United States have both a duty and a constitutionally protected right to express their faith in word and action. All Saints Church has long been a beacon of prophetic witness for peace and justice, in the tradition of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Micah.

click here to read the sermon and mail it to a friend]

Read more...



Statement of Adalberto United Methodist Church on the Occasion of the Filing of a Federal Lawsuit on
Released 18 September 2006
By Rev. Walter L. Coleman

The valiant, courageous struggle of Elvira Arellano today begins a new chapter in the national discussion of immigration reform -- not only in the courts, but on the street corners, workplaces and churches of this nation, anew chapter in the national discussion that must soon reach to the halls of congress.



Support Maher Hathout
Attend Monday's (18 September 2006) Human Rights Commission meeting
Released 15 September 2006
By ICUJP Political Outreach Committee
Support Maher Hathout
Attend Monday's HRC meeting

18 September 2006
Monday
12:30 pm

320 W. Temple Street, Suite 1184,
Los Angeles

read more...



ICUJP Statement on Universal Health Care
Released 16 August 2006
By ICUJP Political Outreach Committee
Recognizing that many Californians do not have access to health care for themselves or their families, ICUJP goes on record in support of
Senate Bill 840, a California universal health care plan. Read more...



Interfaith Delegation Pushes for Ceasefire with U.S. Senators
Released 31 July 2006
By Dr. Maher Hathout, Rev. George Regas and Rabbi Leonard Beerman
Washington, DC -- On Monday, July 31, Dr. Maher Hathout, Rev. George Regas and Rabbi Leonard Beerman met with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in their Senate office building in Washington DC to discuss the recent crisis in the Middle East. The three religious leaders expressed a commitment to peace and human rights and articulated the need for an immediate cease-fire to the escalating violence in the Middle East. Read more...



ICUJP Denounces the School of the Americas (SOA)
Released 24 July 2006
By ICUJP Political Action Committee
It is our responsibility as people of faith and conscience to speak out against violence, torture, and oppression wherever they occur. Read more...



WE CALL FOR AN END TO THE GAZA AND LEBANESE INCURSION
Released 14 July 2006
By ICUJP
It is our moral responsibility as a people of faith and conscience to speak out against war and violence wherever it occurs.

We denounce the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, and condemn violence against Israeli citizens. Read more...



RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES DEMAND THE CLOSING OF GUANTANAMO BAY
Released 01 July 2006
By ICUJP
Conditions at Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp can be summed up in one word: torture.

Four hundred and sixty detainees remain, many of whom have been held four and a half years without charges. Of the 747 who have been held since the opening of the prison, only 10 have been brought to trial. None have been convicted. Reports of prisoner abuse have repeatedly surfaced, and despite official denials, human rights organizations have not been allowed access. As many as 131 prisoners have engaged in hunger strikes over the last two years. Suicide attempts have been numerous, more are inevitable, some are likely to succeed. Read more...Download a .pdf of this statement



The Foundation and Importance of the Separation of Church and State
Released 09 June 2006
By Stephen F. Rohde
Yet again, with the threat of Theocracy spreading across America, we need to explore one of the most important — and often misunderstood — aspects of the Bill of Rights: the separation of church and state.

I would like to address the issue of separation of church and state in three parts. First, let me introduce the controversy that surrounds this important topic. Next, I would like to explore in some detail the historical background against which the tradition of church-state separation should be viewed. Finally, I would like to discuss several of the current hot button controversies which have grabbed the public’s attention when it comes to this issue. Read more...
download a print version



Citizens and Immigrants: Unite Against Racism and the War System
Released 22 May 2006
By ICUJP
As members of the INTERFAITH COMMUNITIES UNITED FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE (ICUJP) we assert that our faith traditions have in common the injunctions to love our neighbors as ourselves and to aid the strangers in our midst. They do not tell us to aid strangers only if they have the proper papers, or to love our neighbors only if they will work for low wages in our factories, fields, and homes.

ICUJP affirms that a comprehensive immigration policy should include:
    1. A pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who live and work in the United States, including earned permanent residency

    2. Facilitation of family unification in a timely manner

    3. Protection of civil rights, human rights and civil liberties

    4. No criminalization of immigrants or their allies for human service and other activities that are not illegal in any other context.

Read more...



The Power of The Powerless: A Salute to Mary Harris Jones
A reflection given by Dick Bunce for an ICUJP gathering on May 12, 2006
Released 14 May 2006
By Dick Bunce
As we approach Mother’s Day, I’d like to talk about a truly memorable mother. Her name is Mary Harris Jones, better known as Mother Jones. She never got the message that women are to be the caretakers, leaving the pioneering to men. She was both caretaker and pioneer – especially the latter. And what a pioneer she was.



12 things you can do to help make your religious community more relevant to the peace and justice movement
Released 05 May 2006
By The ICUJP Congregational Outreach Committee
The events of 9/11 and the ongoing wars that have taken place in its aftermath have inspired religious and secular leaders in Southern California to form a growing network of peace and justice advocates called Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP). Those involved in ICUJP know only too well how difficult it can be to witness for peace and justice in these trying times. Religious leaders have two major roles: to care for the spiritual well-being of their religious community and its individual members, and to speak out against injustice, oppression, bigotry and violence, even when such a stance is unpopular or risky. Balancing these two roles -- "the pastoral and the prophetic" -- can be a major challenge. These suggestions for how to become a more effective peace and justice advocate in your religious community are based upon our collective experience. If you would like to confer with an experienced ICUJP leader to learn more, or to share what you have learned with us, please contact us at:
ICUJP, P.O. Box 483 Pasadena, CA 91102-0483.
Tel: 626 683-9004.
Fax: 626 796-4749.
Email: icujp@pacbell.net (ICUJP Admin)



Declaration of Peace and an Action Strategy
Released 24 April 2006
By Pace e Bene
The Declaration of Peace is an organizing strategy featuring a pledge to take nonviolent steps to support a deadline for initiating a timetable for US withdrawal from Iraq. It’s goal is to establish and activate an official, concrete US withdrawal plan by the Declaration Day of September 23, 2006 -- with the plan’s completion no later than the fourth anniversary of the US invasion, March 19, 2007.
Read more...



Iraq & America’s Future
Released 28 January 2006
By ICUJP
what the war is costing us -- the special challenge for people of faith
   • frequently asked questions
   • what we can do
   • a ritual and a prayer

ICUJP has drafted a faith-based Discussion Guide on Iraq and America's future, dealing with the cost of the war in human, spiritual and monetary terms.

We often hear that the cost of the Iraq war and occupation to date is $235 billion in taxpayer dollars and the lives of over 2200 members of the U.S. armed forces. The actual cost is much, much greater.

At this sad and yet hopeful juncture in the life of our nation and world, our hope is that clergy leaders and many others will use this discussion guide to spur small group conversations that may or may not blossom into activism but that will be valuable in their own right if they yield fresh insights and touch the heart.

download this file as an Acrobat .pdf



Call for Complete Inquiry of Bush's Possibly Impeachable Actions
Released 20 January 2006
By ICUJP
January 20, 2006: the Steering Committee of ICUJP adopted the following Resolution --

ICUJP, a community of faith deeply concerned that President Bush and his administration have violated the Constitution and international treaties since 9/11 in, among other things, the War on Iraq, illegal wiretapping within the United States, subverting democratic principles, threatening the security of the people and failing to faithfully execute the laws, calls on Congress to conduct a full and complete inquiry and if warranted, to initiate impeachment proceedings.



ICUJP Statement on Iran Policy
Released 06 January 2006
By ICUJP
We unequivocally oppose military action by the United States or any other country against Iran.



If Jesus Debated Senator Kerry and President Bush
Released 08 November 2005
By Rev. Dr. George F. Regas, Converer, ICUJP
News reports concerning an IRS investigation of All Saints Church in Pasadena sound an alarm for everyone who values religious freedom and respects the importance of a free pulpit.

This is the sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. George F. Regas on October 31, 2004 that has sparked the IRS investigation.

Also please see the Los Angeles Times article that revealed the investigation to the world. 'Antiwar Sermon Brings IRS Warning' November 7, 2005



The Two Gulfs: ICUJP Statement on Katrina Disaster
Released 07 September 2005
By ICUJP
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) adds our voice of prayer and action to the humanitarian cry arising from the appalling destruction wrought in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This tragedy is only in part a natural disaster. It presents us with gruesome evidence of the terrible toll that the war against Iraq is taking here at home. It is a sobering indictment of a racist war system which values empire but not empathy, property but not the poor. And it has revealed not just the indifference and impotence of the national bureaucracy in the face of suffering, but the resourcefulness and compassion of the ordinary people of New Orleans and elsewhere who have stepped into the breach.



PRESS RELEASE -- January 10, 2005
Released 10 January 2005
By ICUJP
PRESS RELEASE -- January 10, 2005 -- ICUJP
Religious Coalition Decries Selective Enforcement of the Law

In response to the human cost of the recent pattern of unjust arrests, detentions and harassment of Muslims, a broad coalition of religious leaders and victims of civil liberties violations will visit detained Muslims, present grocery baskets to families of detained Muslims and hold a prayer service for the civil rights of Muslims.



Mixing Politics and Religion is a Holy Task
Released 12 September 2004
By Rev. Dr. George F. Regas, Converer, ICUJP
Rev. Dr. George F. Regas is Rector Emeritus of All Saints Church, Pasadena...
Dr. Regas' address at the Progressive Christians Uniting Conference, "Eyes On The Prize" at Ward AME Church, Los Angeles

"...Some people would say I was very political in my ministry over my 28 years at All Saints Church. But all life is political. Jesus sent his apostles out to heal the sick -- and caring for the sick is one of my primary responsibilities as a priest. Today just saying the words health care plunges us into a political maelstrom. In the midst of all that, I have tried to remember that I had been ordained as a priest to speak truth to power..."



ICUJP Statement on the Arrest of Saddam Hussein
Released 24 December 2003
By ICUJP
The recent capture of Saddam Hussein presents the world community with a clear opportunity to validate international law regarding genocide and crimes against humanity and to prosecute Mr. Hussein's case through a genuinely multilateral process.



Where the Real Danger Lies
Released 17 September 2003
By Eisha Mason
17 September 2003
Remarks of Eisha Mason, Executive Director, Center for the Advancement of Nonviolence from the Panel at ICUJP's September 8 Monday Night forum, All Saints Church, Pasadena.

"...The Bush White House presumes to know the will of God, to speak for God, to act on behalf of and as God. The Bush White House presumes the Authority of God."



Formation Of Nonviolent Peaceforce Study Group
Released 25 June 2003
By ICUJP
This past week, the group has committed to begin a ten week study of the book From Violence To Wholeness, a publication of Pace e Bene. The group will self facilitate the study.



National Security Strategy of the USA
Released 20 June 2003
By Rev. Dr. George F. Regas, Convener, ICUJP
"...This pugnacious assertion of a New American Empire has long been in the works among the plotters who form the continuum from Bush I to Bush II.

But now this strategy document endorsed by George W. Bush states unequivocally that the U. S. plans to rule the world, militarily and economically. The overt theme is unilateralism - but it is ultimately a story of domination, of hegemony.

We establish a military presence in Iraq - control the world's 2nd largest oil producing nation and reign supreme in the Middle East and around the globe with our 156 military bases. Our troops are deployed over 81% of the world.

It is within this context that I suggest we respond to the Iraqi War. The U. S. went to war with Iraq not to fight terrorism or because Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. The plan to go to war with Iraq and change the regime predates our 9/11 tragedy...."



On Nonviolent Opposition to the Escalation of War Against Iraq
Released 04 April 2003
By ICUJP
ICUJP Statement on the commencement of U.S. War against Iraq.



"Ashes to Ashes" -- Interfaith Peace Witness
Released 05 March 2003
By Dr. David L. Wheeler
Interfaith Peace Witness remarks by Dr. David L. Wheeler, Steering Committee member, ICUJP



Shalom Aleichem wa- Aleikam Salaam
Released 05 March 2003
By Rabbi Steven Jacobs
March 5, 2003 address by Rabbi Steven Jacobs at the ICUJP National Moritorium Day Interfaith Service.



Ashes To Ashes: Nonviolent Witness Against War On Iraq
Released 05 March 2003
By A.W. Goldstone
Address at March 5, 2003 ICUJP National Moratorium Day Service and Civil Disobedience



A New Declaration of Independence
Released 05 March 2003
By Stephen Rohde, ICUJP Steering Committee
Stephen Rohde at the ICUJP Rally in Support of the National Moratorium to Stop the War on Iraq



Stephen Rohde's January 11 address for ICUJP
Released 15 January 2003
By Stephen Rohde, ICUJP Steering Committee
Address by Stephen Rohde on behalf of ICUJP to the Peace Rally, January 11, 2003, Los Angeles, CA. Includes a message delivered via George Regas from NELSON MANDELA to the rally.



Why A Nonviolent Action Campaign
Released 04 January 2003
By Eisha Mason, Steering Committee, ICUJP
To paraphrase Einstein, "you can't solve the problem at the level of the problem." To win, we must play our game, build on our source of power - people power-the power of the spirit within us. Our power, at its essence, is our conviction that Love, Brotherhood, Dignity, Justice-are the destiny of humankind. Our power is the spirit of Life that flows in and through all beings. It is the wild card which cannot be factored by the opposition nor ultimately countered because they do not understand this power nor its laws. Dorothy Day, co-founder if the Catholic Worker movement in America, a lover of the poor and a thorn in the side of the war machine, called for, not a revolution of arms, but a "revolution of the heart." This is the source of our power.



ICUJP Statement on INS Detentions
Released 21 December 2002
By ICUJP
ICUJP calls upon the Justice Department and the Administration to repeal this program, which is based on the discredited notion that ethnic profiling is an effective way to combat enemy activity on U.S. soil, a notion that in the past led to the incarceration of Japanese-Americans and other shameful episodes of American history. Any governmental program that targets people based upon national origin, race or religion is repugnant to the core values of our Constitution...



Why We Are Here
Released 08 December 2002
By Lisa Smithline, ICUJP Steering Committee
"Faced with the threat of war on Iraq, a so called War on Terrorism which feels a lot more like a war on those of us who want to preserve democracy and speak up for those that cannot speak for themselves, we come together with even more urgency...."



ICUJP Rejects War in Iraq
Released 11 October 2002
By ICUJP
With impassioned and burning anguish, we - Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace - representing over eighty Southern California religious, civil liberties, and civic organizations reject Presidents Bush's calls for waging war against Iraq.



Lies, Deceptions and their Consequences:
Released 17 September 2002
By rev. Paul Sawyer, Minister Emeritus, Throop Memorial Church, Pasadena CA
I and other members of the Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace mourn the tragedy of 9/11 and subsequent events of our present history. We condemn the deception, violence and the demonstrable inability of our present government to protect our people and further the peace and well being of world citizens.



Religious Communities Must Stop Blessing War
Released 10 September 2002
By Rev. Dr. George F. Regas, Convener, ICUJP
Address by Rev. Regas delivered at the Gathering for Peaceful Tomorrows, First Baptist Church, Los Angeles, September 10, 2002



Support SB 1264
Released 06 September 2002
By ICUJP
SB 1264 promotes academic achievement of low-income CalWORKs children. We strongly urge your approval of this legislation.
Sample letter to Governor Davis included.



The Lie of the "Just War"
Released 30 August 2002
By Leonard I. Beerman, Maher Hathout, James Lawson, George F. Regas
ICUJP position on U.S. War against Iraq Published in the Los Angeles Times, Monday, September 16 2002.
by Leonard I. Beerman, Maher Hathout, James Lawson, George F. Regas



HR 2977: Preserve the Heavens from War
Released 12 August 2002
By ICUJP
The Space Preservation Act recently introduced by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and supported by hundreds of groups worldwide, offers the first opportunity to outlaw space-based weapons while we still have the chance to do it.



ICUJP Floor Letter In Support of SB 1680
Released 02 August 2002
By ICUJP
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) is pleased to sponsor Senate Bill 1680. SB 1680 seeks to prevent harsh penalties or sentences for nonviolent civil disobedience when used for political expression. Historically, these actions - protests, sit-ins, vigils, and others - are useful means to draw attention to unjust laws or conditions, which impede justice in civil society.



ICUJP Statement On The Middle East
Released 02 August 2002
By ICUJP
The terrible escalation of violence in Israel - Palestine over the last few weeks is a clear and bitter testimony to the utter failure of violence as a means to end violence.



Why We Are Here
Released 26 April 2002
By Toni Vincent, Steering Committee, ICUJP
From ICUJP - April 14, 2002
Hamilton Methodist Church

Worship and Dialogue --
The L.A. Uprising, 10 Years Later - Injustice at Home and the War on Terrorism



Can't We All Get Along?
Released 11 April 2002
By Stephen F. Rohde, Steering Committee, ICUJP
Despite President Bush's platitudes, his administration's policies smack of racial profiling and have added to an atmosphere of hate and bigotry, which has led to several murders and thousands of acts of vandalism, hate crimes and discrimination against Muslims, Arabs and Sikhs.

Once the stench of racism toward some groups begins to spread, especially with the endorsement of the nation's highest officials, it contaminates other groups and breeds bias and prejudice, the very inflammatory conditions which were ignited ten years ago.

Efforts to encourage tolerance and mutual respect among religious and ethnic groups, begun in earnest ten years ago must now be redoubled. ICUJP has pledged itself to that cause.



Unleashing the Demons of War
Released 09 October 2001
By Fr. Chris Ponnet, Steering Committee, ICUJP
As bombs rain over Afghanistan, Pax Christi restates its position that violence, whatever the provocation, cannot end violence or establish peace with justice. The violence of war, once unleashed, is difficult to control.