A New U.S. Foreign Policy for a Post-COVID-19 World Ursala Knudsen-Latta, Friends National Committee on Legislation

 I'm really pleased that ICUJP continues to be a strong supporter of FCNL and its peacemaking efforts.

Please join us online ICUJP Friday Forum January 15, 7:30-9:30 am Pacific A New U.S. Foreign Policy for a Post-COVID-19 World Ursala Knudsen-Latta, Friends National Committee on Legislation Join videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83700601674 Call in by phone: +1 (669) 900-6833* Meeting ID: 837 0060 1674 PASSCODE: 019077 Passing the Virtual Bucket We can't pass the bucket in person, but ICUJP still needs your support. Please give as generously as you can: • On our donation page. You can set up recurring gifts too! • Use the Give+ app for iPhone or Android • Text a gift amount to 323-701-1467 Thank you! ---------- Help Support Families in Need The need for Immanuel Presbyterian's Food Pantry is greater than ever. Please donate here. Thank you! *Meeting controls for call-in attendees: To mute/unmute yourself: *6 To raise hand: *9 The world stands at the crossroads between the well-trodden road of rising authoritarianism and militarism and an uncharted path of peacebuilding and global cooperation. COVID-19 has exacerbated conflict and fragility around the world, leading to rising violence and decimated economies that will far outlast the virus itself. By some metrics, 25 years of development have been undone in 25 weeks. Additionally, the State Department and USAID are facing these mounting global crises without the resources to address them. U.S. foreign policy needs a major reorientation. Ursala Knudsen-Latta, of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), will speak about her recent report Prioritizing Peace: A New U.S. Foreign Policy for a Post-COVID-19 World. Join us to discuss how the U.S. can choose the path less traveled and put peacebuilding at the core of its foreign policy. As FCNL’s Legislative Representative for Peacebuilding. Ursala lobbies Congress for U.S. foreign policy that prevents, mitigates, and transforms violent conflict and builds sustainable peace. Previously, she has worked with Saferworld, the Alliance for Peacebuilding and Women in International Security, as well as with interfaith organizations. Ursala currently chairs the Advisory Board of STAND, a student- and youth-led movement to end mass atrocities, and previously chaired the U.S. Civil Society Working Group for Women, Peace and Security. She holds an MA in international peace and conflict resolution from American University and a BA in religions and theology from the University of Manchester (U.K.), where she focused on religion and conflict in south Asia. ----- Start your morning with us! Reflection: Stephen Fiske Facilitator: Rubi Omar Zoom host: Susan Stouffer * Link to this week's agenda. *   ** Meetings begin promptly at 7:30 am Pacific. ** ----- Here's how to join the online meeting: To join by video conference, you'll need to download the Zoom app on your computer or mobile device. Click on the link to join the meeting and then enter the Meeting ID number and passcode. You'll be able to see slides and video, as well as speakers and other attendees. If you prefer to join by phone, you'll be prompted to enter the Meeting ID number and passcode. You won't be able to see the visuals or attendees, but you can view them on the meeting video recording afterward.  If you're new to Zoom and would like to use the video option, we recommend you download the app well ahead of time. ICUJP Friday Forum 01/08/21 Time: 07:30 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Option 1: Join videoconference: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83700601674 Meeting ID:  837 0060 1674 PASSCODE: 019077 Option 2: Dial in by phone only: +1 (669) 900-6833 US (California) Meeting ID: 837 0060 1674 PASSCODE: 019077 (To find a dial-in number closer to you, go here.) ----- Please note: Our Friday Forums and other events are open to the public. By attending, you consent to having your voice and likeness recorded, photographed, posted on ICUJP's website and social media, and included in ICUJP materials and publications for noncommercial purposes. If you don't want to be photographed or recorded, please let the facilitator know. FRIDAY FORUMS JAN 22: Open Forum: ICUJP Past, Present, and Future You are receiving this email because you are a part of the ICUJP Mailing List. You cannot reply to everyone through this email. If you wish to send something to the entire discuss list, email: icujp-discuss-list@googlegroups.com. Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace     Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace · 3300 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010, United States This email was sent to communications@icujp.org. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace on Twitter or Facebook. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders.

Housing our Unhoused Neighbors During this Winter of Pandemic

 

 

Am I Invisible?  

 

By Jacob Folger

(January 26, 2018)

​

People pass me by
I must not be here
Sitting alone, down and out
No one will come near.

No gaze from another
No concern for me
I am completely by myself
On this cold street.

In the Morning I wake
From my Homeless sheets
Where I slept the night before
Should I even call it sleep?

Homeless I am
Forgotten by the world
Am I invisible?

Am I invisible?

During our Quaker Holiday Talent Show, I felt led to share this moving poem by a homeless man and also mentioned that Pasadena’s Weather Shelter will not be open this winter. The Bad Weather Shelter was started in the 1980s when a homeless person died of hyperthermia here in our city. For the last 30 years it has provided shelter for those living on the streets whenever the temperature drops below 40 or it is raining. Due to COVID, the Bad Weather Shelter will be closed and Union Station is operating at one third capacity. The reason for this is that congregate sheltering is unsafe for staff and volunteers as well as for those needing shelter. To prevent spread of disease, it is considered best practice to provide individual housing in motels

It is of course more costly to place people in motels. Funds are therefore being used to place mainly high-acuity homeless people in motels, but these funds are limited. We advocates are pressuring the City Council to allocate extra funds to meet the need--70 of us spoke out during the last Council session---and the Council heard us and said it plans to increase funding to ensure that "everyone who wants a motel voucher will receive one." We plan to hold them accountable to that promise. But more than just city funds will be needed. My advice to those who care about our homeless neighbors is to give as generously as you can to Friends Indeed. Friends Indeed is not only handling the motel placement program, it is also providing food, clothing and other necessities to those in need. See  https://friendsindeedpas.org/fid/

It will also help to write to our city officials to urge them to approve emergency measures, such as sheltering in the FEMA trailers the city received from the State or other city-owned properties, allowing shelter in tents, and suspending ordinances that prohibit sleeping in vehicles overnight and sleeping overnight on city-owned property.  as my friend Sonja Berndt wrote in an op ed piece that appeared in the Dec 21 issue of Pasadena Now:  

 

“To ensure that our unsheltered residents receive the shelter they need this winter, concerned residents can email City Manager Mermell at smermell@cityofpasadena.net, your Councilmember (if known) and Mayor Gordo at vgordo@cityofpasadena.net and request that the Council approve all funding needed to meet the demand for sheltering our residents this winter.”

For more info, see https://www.pasadenanow.com/main/guest-opinion-sonja-berndt-will-our-city-make-sure-that-our-unsheltered-residents-are-sheltered-from-the-cold-and-rain-this-winter

I also read the following poem reflecting on Christmas by Jacob Folger.

Questions For You and Me

By Jacob Folger

Christmas Eve, 2011

Stuffed and overflowing stockings hanging by the fireside

Pretty plastic candlelights glowing in the night

Sticky candy canes hanging from pine tree boughs

This all presents questions, I will in this poem pose.

When a little kid with Christmas time coming round

The joyful music, it seemed was the only sound

But really, I wonder now what it all means to me

Is it all about that perfectly shaped and lighted Christmas tree?

Little, sweet baby Jesus sleeping in some straw

It seems to me that someone might notice a little flaw

What is the difference between that dirty man without a home

And the King of Kings that almost all of us must have known?

And tell me what was that message that He gave to you and me

Before His life was ended on that old and lonely tree?

Was it all about just taking care of little, selfish me?

Or is there more here, more for all of us to see?

I asked a lot of questions in this poem this Christmas Eve

I guess this time of year, the cold, and the suffering that I see

Fills my head and heart with old and sad memories

I am hoping that maybe from it all we will not always flee.

Little, sweet baby Jesus sleeping in some straw

It seems to me that someone might notice a little flaw

What is the difference between that dirty man without a home

And the King of Kings that almost all of us must have known?

What does the Beloved Community mean to Quakers?

 “Within Friends’ spiritual community, the collective search for truth, undertaken in the Meeting for Worship, is the foundation for the beloved community to which Friends aspire.”

When I was asked by the editor of our Quaker newsletter to write about the Beloved Community, the first thing that came to my mind was the work that Jill and I are doing in the city of Pasadena to promote housing justice—a decent, safe and affordable home for everyone, especially those who are unhoused. Using a faith-rooted approach similar to that of FCNL, our nonprofit Making Housing and Community Happen (MHCH) started in the office of the American Friends Committee in the mid 1990s. It has since grown into a powerful coalition of churches, homeless service providers, former city officials, experts on affordable housing, and concerned citizens. Our efforts have significantly influenced our elected officials and made real progress. While the homeless count has increased throughout LA County, it has decreased by 54% in the last decade here in Pasadena,  in part because of our advocacy. The City Council has approved nearly 250 units of affordable housing in the last two years, increased the affordable housing set aside for all new market rate developments from 15% to 20%, and is on track to allow churches to build affordable housing on their underutilized land. During the pandemic we have lobbied for an eviction moratorium and for emergency housing for the unhoused. We are one of the most racially and ethnically diverse groups in our city, committed to loving kindness and respect for each other and everyone we encounter. We seek to work and live in the spirit that inspired Dr. King.

According to the King Center, “Dr. Martin Luther King popularized the notion of the “Beloved Community”…. as a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and of one’s fellow human beings.”

"It is also a society where economic justice prevails: “Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood.”

When I think of the Beloved Community, I also think of the work of our Quaker organizations, AFSC and FCNL. I have worked with both organizations and have seen first-hand how they embody the values espoused by Dr. King. For the past decade I have served on the General Board of FCNL and am deeply impressed with how FCNL uses Quaker process to achieve goals worthy of Dr. King: “We seek a world free of war and the threat of war. We seek a society with equity and justice for all. We seek a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled. We seek an earth restored.”

At FCNL we meet together in Quaker worship and seek input from and work with Quakers across the theological spectrum: Evangelical, pastoral, unprogrammed, universalist. We also work in coalition with other faith-based advocacy groups. We are inclusive and non-partisan.

The Beloved Community is bigger than the Quaker community,  just as God is too big to fit into one denomination or religion. I also have experienced the Beloved Community in the interfaith peace and justice work that I have been called to do, and which I have written about in my book, Quakers and the Interfaith Movement (Quaker Universalist Fellowship, 2013).

Over the fifteen years I have been involved with groups like Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) and the Parliament of the World’s Religions.  ICUJP started in Los Angeles right after 9/11 when Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders came together and decided to form an organization devoted to peace and justice, with the slogan: “Religious communities must stop blessing war and violence.” We meet every Friday morning to listen to peace and justice activists, we organize educational forums and vigils, and from time to time, we engage in civil disobedience. One of the high points of my life was getting arrested and going to jail at a demonstration sponsored by ICUJP. (I have also been arrested at demonstrations sponsored by Quakers.) Civil disobedience is one of the nonviolent methods used by the Beloved Community.

The Beloved Community is not only local, but world-wide, as I discovered when I became part of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Started in 1the 1990s, the Parliament organizes world-wide gatherings of 5,000-10,000 religious leaders from around the world, dedicated to building understanding and promoting peace and justice. I attended the Parliament in Melbourne, Australia (and used that opportunity to visit Quaker meetings and attend Australia YM). I also attended the Parliament in Salt Lake City, where I had the opportunity to hear Rev. William Barber, whom many consider the spiritual heir of Dr. King.

A pastor from North Carolina, Barber is committed to the Beloved Community and organized religious leaders to demonstrate every Monday at the state capitol (we followed his example and organized “moral Mondays” here in Pasadena to advocate for affordable housing at the Civic Center). Barber also revitalized the “Poor People’s Campaign,” which was started by Dr. King to advocate for economic justice.

Barber is a powerful preacher and his message about doing justice in the spirit of Jesus touched my heart. I heard him preach in Salt Lake City with two of my dearest activist Quaker friends: David Hartsough and Eisha Mason. David is a life-long Quaker activist and marched with Dr. King when he was a teenager. Eisha Mason, who is African American, is a former regional director of the AFSC and one of the most deeply spiritual people I know. At one point, Rev. Barber did an “altar call for justice,” and invited us to recommit our lives to the Beloved Community. Deeply moved, David, Eisha and I along with many others walked up to the podium as he prayed over us and we felt the spirit that inspired Dr. King stirring in our hearts. Looking in the eyes of my friends, I felt God’s presence among us.

It was more than just a feeling. A few months later, I found myself in Sacramento at a demonstration organized by the Poor People’s Campaign, and there was David Hartsough among those being arrested. Since then, I have learned that David has been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness but that hasn’t stopped him from doing what he can for peace and justice. As an old Jewish saying goes,  "It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but you are not free to desist from it either "(Rabbi Tarfon, Pirke Avot 2:21).

How do we do the work of embodying the Beloved Community in Orange Grove Meeting? It starts with honoring each other gifts and callings and showing loving kindness and respect towards one another.  In our Meeting we have doctors, nurses, therapists, writers, artists, actors, teachers, academics, lawyers, gardeners, parents, grand parents, children, and much more. Each of us has different gifts:  for hospitality, for clerking, for teaching, for organizing, for compassionate listening.  Some of us have gifts we aren’t even aware of. We become the Beloved Community when we use our gifts to benefit not only our Meeting community, but the world around us.

Pacific Yearly Meeting’s Faith and Practice reminds us that we have a responsibility to the larger community. “Living by faith is not a private matter. It calls us outward to the needs of the community at large.” We are also called to a higher purpose: “Following the Spirit’s leadings together, we hope to overcome the causes of racism, sexism, homophobia, and the neglect or disrespect of children, the poor, and the socially marginalized, in the world and in ourselves.”

At Orange Grove Meeting, we have done much to advance and embody the Beloved Community. We’ve not only approved minutes on social justice and peace, some of us have also signed petitions, gone to City Council meetings and met with elected officials, taken part in protests, volunteered to serve those in need, put solar panels on our buildings and on our homes, reduced our consumption of fossil fuel, practiced vegetarianism and veganism. And much more!

Creating the Beloved Community is not only a noble aspiration, it is also a labor of love. I thank God that we are part of this loving and beloved community.

Relive MHCH"s "There's No Place Like Home" celebration!

Despite COVID, Making Housing and Community Happen (MHCH) has been thriving and has had significant successes. This year on Dec. 4-6 MHCH celebrated its annual event “There’s No Place Like Home” online with music, stories and presentations about our housing justice work. Nearly 200 people showed up for these events--people of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds, united by a common concern for ending homelessness and housing insecurity. You can see the videos of each night, edited by our talented assistant Morgan Tucker:

FRIDAY: "Affordable/Supportive Housing and Building Affordable Housing on Congregational Land."  Emcee, Anthony Manousos. https://youtu.be/Ee5uzGRfidU

SATURDAY: "Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and Community Land Trust (CLT)." Emcee, Bert Newton. https://youtu.be/uaJJBqej8GM

SUNDAY: "Safe Parking and North Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative." Emcee, Jill Shook.  https://youtu.be/Oa64pEbE14g

You can also see individual video presentations by scrolling down.

We're seeking to raise $25,000 to support our housing justice work in 2021, and we're now three quarters of the way to our goal. Please consider making a contribution, especially on a recurring basis. That's what provides our organization with financial stability. 

Click here to donate

Links to individual videos:

FRIDAY DEC 4
"There's No Place Like Home"(Animation with music by Elvis)	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4D1wm3BK3o
Affordable/Supportive Housing Advocates (ASHA) Team	https://youtu.be/Db5JPGx3nzM
Mythbuster on Affordable Housing - Teresa Eilers	https://youtu.be/jjmUeQUfUkQ
Congregational Land Subcommittee	https://youtu.be/Qhr4K49Obgo
Andre White's Housing Story/Spoken Word "Breathe"	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw1z-xQ9lno
Areta Crowell (Pasadena Presbyterian Church)	https://youtu.be/l3f61Xs-TQc
Bert Newton's Housing Story	https://youtu.be/-6tlvxaK_CE
Award - Council member Margaret McAustin	https://youtu.be/pJSwj36xGFM
Music Video by John York and Barry McGuire - "California Dreamin' "/"Tramp on the Street"	https://youtu.be/A31LHKf2Z2Y
Heather Rim	https://youtu.be/YaNXpThglME

SATURDAY DEC 5
There's No Place Like Home (Animation) - Opening	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4D1wm3BK3o
ADU Video	https://youtu.be/amgGRfLdK-Y
Anne Marie's Housing Story	https://youtu.be/E0xjTey3TLk
Brita Pinkston Video	https://youtu.be/qXg2BbXEtHQ
Community Land Trust (CLT) Subcommittee	https://youtu.be/PQiExXp_z_I
John Deron Johnson Video	https://youtu.be/jjwjGRfyRD4
Award - John Kennedy	https://youtu.be/8bfxxq3pHv0
Award - Allison Henry	https://youtu.be/ej8q40mf1h8
Music Video John York and Barry McGuire- "Day for a Daydream"/"One Step from Homeless"	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPn5u16IkHw
Heather Rim	https://youtu.be/YaNXpThglME

SUNDAY DEC 6
There's No Place Like Home (Animation) - Opening	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4D1wm3BK3o
Safe Parking Video	https://youtu.be/ykBu9e8sh1M
Methodist UMC	https://youtu.be/NDlpVSLC1iw
North Fair Oaks - Thanks, David!	https://youtu.be/InYCC-wMV-o
Gilbert Walton Video	https://youtu.be/dn0kJBZaV0E
Music Video # 3 - Bob Dylan/Tramp on the Street	https://youtu.be/9KvWa71oRj4
Cynthia Kirby Housing Story	https://youtu.be/Bj0q5cUD51E
Heather Rim	https://youtu.be/YaNXpThglME

Click here to donate

Joys in a Time of COVID: Personal Highlights of 2020

 

We don’t need to tell you that 2020 has been a hard year, with a devastating pandemic and a hard-fought election. But Christmas is a season of hope,  a light that shines in the darkness, a time to celebrate new possibilities. The birth of a child, even in the most dire circumstances, is a time of joy. So we want to share our joy with you so that “our joy will be complete” (John 15:11).

Here are 13 things that gave us hope and joy in 2020.

1. The birth of Riley Jeremiah Heirendt (premature and only 3 lbs.) to our nephew Michael and his wife Emma on February 6. Today he is healthy and “radiates joy.”

2. Trips to visit our dear Mamacita (Jill’s Mom who turned 90 this year). Even though she has late stage

Alzheimer’s, she is always overjoyed to see us and we always have a blast spending time with her, despite her limitations.

3. News of three family members getting engaged during the

pandemic: Peter, Cody, and Joey.

4. Our housing justice nonprofit is thriving and making a difference, with 197 people attending our annual gathering, 34 churches interested in having affordable housing on underutilized land, 902 affordable housing units in the city’s pipeline, with nearly 250 units of these units approved in the last two years (145 of which are permanent supportive housing, which ends chronic homelessness). 112 units of affordable housing were approved right next to City Hall—an historic victory!

5. Our mid-week Bible study/relaxing/check in/lunch time with Mark (shown here with  “Mamacita), our weekly

Methodist Bible study with Pastor Sandy Olewine, and our monthly Quaker bible study fill our souls with joy.

6. Our discovery of “Rumicub,” a tile game we found in a drawer, and which Anthony figured out how to play (and which Jill wins at least half the time!).

7. Our garden is thriving, with citrus,  bananas, grapes, peaches, plums, pluots, avocadoes, tomatoes, pomegranates, loquats, kumquats, sapote, figs, and much more.

8. Camping trip to Cachuma Lake and  riding around the Santa Fe Recreational area and also our neighborhood

with our electric bikes.

9.The rescue of our cat Rosie who was lost for a month and then found in a neighbor’s yard, emaciated but
alive. She is now fat and happy. Praise God!

10. Time spent with friends (socially distanced) at our home under the grape arbor at the “El Greco Café” and also through Zoom dinners.

11. Learning more of a rhythm, with Jill loving to do detailed cleaning, Anthony cooking and vacuuming, Mark fixing stuff that needs repair.

12. Zoom birthday parties which enabled people from around the country and the world to be together and

celebrate.

13.  Anthony letting his hair grow until he gets vaccinated, and Jill keeping him from looking too shaggy.  

 

With love and hope for the new year…. Jill and Anthony

PS We’e aware that this year many have suffered loss of jobs, family members and friends. Our hearts are with you. We have also experienced loss and grief, with Jill breaking her ankle,  team members dying of COVID and other sicknesses, and an African American neighbor named Anthony McClain shot and killed by police. Let’s stay connected with each other and God during the upcoming and hopefully healing year!

Anthony and Jill