Give Peace a Chance: How to Avert War with North Korea

"Give Peace a Chance. How to Avert War with North Korea."

When: Sunday, May 6, 2018, 4:00-6:30 pm.
Where: Orange Grove Quaker Meeting, 520 E Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104 .

Three quarters of Americans polled believe that there will be a war with North Korea, but there is a better way. As we learned from the "Peace Olympics" and recent diplomatic exchanges between North and South Koreans, Koreans want unity, not war. Peace activists are taking steps to build trust, dispel myths, and influence our legislators to resolve conflicts in this region without bloodshed. We are urging the President and leaders of North and South Korea to engage in negotiations without preconditions, and we are supporting the trust-building and peacemaking efforts of North and South Koreans.

You will also learn how to become involved in advocacy efforts that Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP.org) and the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL.org) are doing locally and nation-wide to promote legislation that would prevent the President from launching a preemptive war with Korea without Congressional authorization. To learn more about this campaign see How to avert war with North Korea and https://www.fcnl.org/updates/advocacy-teams-toolkit-39

Speakers:

Sue Park and Hyun Hur, Mennonite pastors, founded ReconcilAsian, a peace organization that teaches conflict tranformation skills. Hyun has traveled to North Korea mulitiple  times on humanitarian efforts and will share his experiences and vision for peacemaking.

Shan Cretin, former head of the American Friends Service Committee,

has traveled to North Korea to visit AFSC’s DPRK (North Korea) programs. AFSC has been involved with Korea for many years and works with four cooperative farms to raise productivity and implement sustainable agricultural practices. AFSC also occasionally organizes additional education and training opportunities for DPRK individuals, institutions, and government agencies on issues of practical concern to Koreans, promoting exchange with other countries.  AFSC also advocates for peace in this region.

Shan Cretin has been General Secretary – the executive head – of the American Friends Service Committee since September 2010.

Before this appointment Shan served as Director of the AFSC’s Pacific Southwest Region for seven years, where she was responsible for programs in Southern California, Hawai’i, Arizona, and New Mexico.  Those programs focus on several key social issues, including immigrants’ rights, prison reform, food security, peace, and demilitarization.

A member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Shan is a former clerk of Pacific Yearly Meeting, the regional body that includes Quaker meetings from California, Hawai’i, Mexico, and Guatemala. She co-founded the Los Angeles chapter of Alternatives to Violence Project and has facilitated conflict resolution workshops at the Chino Youth Correctional Facility and in the Los Angeles community. She also serves on the board of directors of The California Endowment.

Shan has lived, worked, and traveled throughout the US and many locations in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Canada. A graduate of MIT and Yale, Shan served on the faculties of Harvard, Yale, West China Medical University and University of California at Los Angeles

Sponsors: ICUJP, ReconciliAsian, Unity and Diversity Council, Montrose Peace Vigil, Women’s League for Peace and Freedom, Ban the Bomb—LA, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Orange Grove (Quaker) Meeting.