"How Will War Ever End?" Remembering Hiroshima

The First Congregational Church of Long Beach (the most liberal church in the South Bay, and proud of it!) is sponsoring a series of peace events this month. What a wonderful church this is--the embodiment of the liberal spirit, thanks in part to the leadership of Rev Jerry Stinson. A sign on the pastor's study says: "Don't believe everything the pastor tells you. Think for yourself!"

I took part in the Hiroshima Day vigil, which took place last Thursday and attracted over over 100 people. It was an interfaith event with messages by a Hindu, two Muslims, two Buddhists and a Christian Quaker (yours truly).

This coming Sunday (July 15) at 2:00 PM, the First Congregational Church of Long Beach will sponsor an event featuring Captain Paul Chappell, a graduate of West Point who was a US army officer in Iraq. He will speak about United States Security in the 21st Century. Captain Chappell is the author of How Will War Ever End? and The End of War. He is currently serving as the Peace Leadership Director for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

Here are the message I gave at the Hiroshima vigil this past week:

Tonight, we are gathered together to remember what most Americans prefer to forget: we were the first, and the only, nation to use nuclear weapons. Sixty five years ago, in August 1945, we dropped two atomic bombs, one on the city of Hiroshima and the other on Nagasaki, that killed over two hundred thousand people. Tens of thousands of others died slowly and painfully of illnesses caused by radiation.

I say we Americans prefer to forget this fact because I have been to the Museum of Nuclear Energy—what used to be called the Atomic Museum—in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and I can testify that there is absolutely no indication that atomic weapons ever hurt anyone. There are no pictures of the victims, not even pictures of the ruined cities, on the website or in the museum, even though it professes to be “objective.” I asked about this and was told that such images might upset the children who go there.

Unlike the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan, the Nuclear Energy Museum in New Mexico doesn’t promote peace, except for the “peaceful use of nuclear energy.” What our museum does is encourage children to become “little Einsteins” and develop new uses for nuclear energy.

As a result, children who go to this Nuclear Energy Museum think that atomic bombs are cool. I know this for a fact since I have read the guest book and seen the comments by children who fell in love with the bomb thanks to this “objective” museum funded by our tax dollars.

As a Quaker, I have protested at the nuclear test site in Nevada and been arrested along with other people of faith who passionately oppose nuclear weapons. I have also protested at the nuclear test site in Kazakhstan, at an event sponsored by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Abolishing nuclear weapons, and indeed, abolishing war, is one of the goals that we Quakers share in common with people of good will in all faith traditions. Friends, we need to remember, and to remind our fellow Americans, that over 200,000 human beings—precious human beings, made in the image of God, just like you and me—were killed in one of most horrific holocausts of human history. We Americans are responsible for those deaths.

Many of those killed were children. Even those who survived the inferno of the blast, suffered lethal consequences. We are here under a cloud of paper cranes to remind us of one such Japanese child, a twelve-year-old named Sadako Sasaki who died of leukemia in 1955. She was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped near her home by Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima. Her story poignantly reminds me us of the human cost of war.

We are here today not only as an act of remembrance, but also of repentance. We are here to say: “Never again..” We are here to pledge ourselves, before God and before each other, that we will do what we can to end the scourge of nuclear weapons.

Now is the time to take action. President Obama has called for nuclear disarmament, and has signed a treaty with Russia aimed at reducing our nuclear stockpiles, but we must not rest until all nuclear weapons have been abolished.

I’d like to close this reflection by reciting the words of a song by Fred Small called “Cranes over Hiroshima.” For the sake of our children, and our children’s children, let’s take these words to heart:

The baby blinks her eyes as the sun falls from the sky

She feels the stings of a thousand fires as the city around her dies

Some sleep beneath the rubble, some wake to a different world

From the crying babe will grow a laughing girl

Ten summers fade to autumn, ten winters' snows have passed

She's a child of dreams and dances, she's a racer strong and fast

But the headaches come ever more often and the dizziness always returns

And the word that she hears is leukemia and it burns

Cranes over Hiroshima, white and red and gold

Flicker in the sunlight like a million vanished souls

I will fold these cranes of paper to a thousand one by one

And I'll fly away when I'm done

Her ancestors knew the legend - if you make a thousand cranesFrom squares of colored paper, it will take the pain awayWith loving hands she folds them, six hundred forty-four

Till the morning her stumbling fingers can't fold anymore

Her friends did not forget her - crane after crane they made

Until they reached a thousand and laid them upon her grave

People from everywhere gathered, together a prayer they saidAnd they wrote the words in granite so none can forget

This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world

(This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world

No more Hiroshima, no more Nagasaki

This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world

This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world

Sing a song of peace, dream a dream of peace in the world

This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world

Memorial for Gene Hoffman this Sunday

The memorial meeting for Gene Hoffma, Quaker peace activist best known for her Compassioante Listening work, will take place 2:00-4:00 PM at the Casa de Maria Retreat Center, 800 El Bosque Rd, Santa Barbara CA, on Sunday, August 8.

Gene was my dear friend and mentor, and I will be there "officiating" at the request of her family.

Here is her obituary--may she continue to rest in peace and may her life remind us not to rest until there is peace!

In Memoriam: a Tribute to Gene Knudsen Hoffman

Elinor Gene Knudsen Hoffman—Quaker peace activist, pastoral counselor, workshop facilitator, poet, columnist, author, actress, and mother of seven children—was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 3, 1919, to Valley (née Filtzer, from the Midwest), and Thorkild (“Tom”) Knudsen, who emigrated from Denmark in 1909 to found a successful dairy business.

On July 19, 2010, Gene died peacefully at Villa Alamar in Santa Barbara, California, where she had lived for six years.

Encouraged by her parents in the arts at an early age, Gene studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, in New York, and in Europe. She performed on the radio (including her long-running show, "Stories Children Love") as well as on stage, and her acting career continued through the 1960s.

In 1942, Gene married Raymond Boshco, with whom she had two children, Nikolas (1944) and Valley (1945).

In 1948 she divorced Ray and married Hallock Hoffman, the son of a prominent businessman and Republican political leader, Paul Gray Hoffman.

Hallock resigned his commission as captain in the Air Force and became the associate regional director of the American Friends Service Committee. Much to the chagrin of their conservative parents, Hallock and Gene became ardent liberals and pacifists.

Hallock and Gene had five children together: Paul (1949, d. 1994), Erik (1950), Kristian (1952), Nina (1955), and Kaj (1957).

Gene and Hallock became members of Orange Grove Quaker Meeting in Pasadena in 1951. Also at this time, Gene began writing a newspaper column and became involved in peace and social justice work. When she wrote a column favoring the United Nations, she was fired from her columnist job.

Gene took a strong stand on civil rights and sent her children to an integrated school in Pasadena—not a common practice for families of her background in the 1950s. When she published an article on her family’s experiences with integration, she was invited to become the first white columnist for the African-American newspaper the Amsterdam News.

Gene also took a controversial stand against the loyalty oath. In 1954, she became involved with a lawsuit against the city of Pasadena because it used a form requiring property owners to swear a “non-disloyalty oath.” The case was ultimately decided by the California Supreme court and the oath was removed.

The Hoffman family moved several times during the 1950s, following Hallock's job at the Fund for the Republic: the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. They lived in Pasadena, then in White Plains, New York, and finally settled in Santa Barbara in 1959, where Gene spent the rest of her life.

Gene and Hallock made their various homes into creative spaces. They offered their children art and music lessons, and had a room in the house dedicated to art and stocked with supplies. Gene read aloud to the children in the evenings while the children illustrated the stories she read.

Gene and Hallock also hosted many foreign exchange and some Native American students in their homes, and held classes and gatherings for young people.

Hallock and Gene threw legendary New Year's Eve parties; they wrote politically satirical plays and had friends act in them as part of the celebrations.

During the sixties, Gene was active in the Santa Barbara theater community. She acted at the Lobero Theatre and elsewhere, and wrote reviews of local productions for the Santa Barbara News Press.

In the 1969, Gene had a nervous breakdown. She signed herself into a mental hospital, and afterward emerged with new insights that aided her on her journey to becoming a pastoral counselor. She wrote a book about her experiences called From Inside the Glass Doors.

Gene and Hallock divorced in the early 1970s.

Gene explored peace activism and various psychological and spiritual therapies in the 1970s. She was deeply involved in re-evaluation counseling, and she was instrumental in founding the Night Counseling Center in Santa Barbara. She also hosted the Peace Resource Center in her house, and created the Gathering Place there, a space where people who worked toward bettering the world could meet free of charge.

She taught poetry for personal growth and healing for many years in various venues around Santa Barbara, including at La Casa de Maria and the psych ward at Cottage Hospital.

Gene studied the philosophy of Martin Buber, was fascinated by the life of Muriel Lester, met with David Reynolds to study Morita Therapy in Japan, and went on retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh, buddhist monk and peace activist. She organized a retreat for Vietnam vets with Thich Nhat Hanh, and based the international program she founded, Compassionate Listening, on his teaching that " we must listen to both sides of any conflict before we take actions."

The Compassionate Listening Project's motto is, "An enemy is one whose story we have not heard." Leah Green, executive director of the Compassionate Listening Project, and others continue Gene's work in the world.

Gene received a master's degree in pastoral counseling from Goddard College.

She traveled the world to study the peace movement and spent a year as a student at Pendle Hill, a Quaker adult study center near Philadelphia.

A member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) for over fifty years, Gene traveled many times to the Middle East and the former Soviet Union during the 1980s and 1990s to do reconciliation work. She worked with the FOR on the Forbidden Faces and the Seeds for Hope projects in the former U.S.S.R.

Gene has published articles, books, and pamphlets about her experiences in Israel and Palestine, including Pieces of the Mideast Puzzle (1991) and No Royal Road to Reconciliation (1995).

When Alaskan hunters and fishers and indigenous people came into conflict over hunting and fishing rights, Gene helped to arrange Compassionate Listening sessions through the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).

She has written extensively and given innumerable workshops and talks about peacemaking. Her work has inspired many others, including Cynthia Monroe, AFSC staff person in Alaska, and Leah Green, founder of Mideast Citizen Diplomacy’s Compassionate Listening Project. Gene has worked with such notable peace workers as Adam Curle, Herb Walters, Virginia Baron, and Richard Deats.

In 2003, her articles and essays were collected in a book called Compassionate Listening: the Writings of Gene Hoffman, Quaker Peace Activist and Mystic, edited by Anthony Manousos.

Gene summed up her approach to peacemaking: “The call, as I see it, is for us to see that within all life is the mystery: God.... By compassionate listening we may awaken it and thus learn the partial truth the other is carrying, for another aspect of being human is that we each carry some portion of the truth. To reconcile, we must listen for, discern, and acknowledge this partial truth in everyone.”

Dennis Rivers, a Berkeley-based web designer and interpersonal communications skills specialist who has made some of Gene's work available for free online, observed that Gene’s “calling was to carry pastoral counseling out of the pastor’s study into public life. What has energized her work over the years is the Quaker teaching that ‘there is that of God in every person.’”

Judith Kolokoff, former AFSC regional director in the Pacific Northwest, said of Gene: “She is a real prophet. And she’s a remarkable facilitator. She has the capacity to bring out the very best of the truth in each individual.”

Leah Green writes, " I honor you, Gene, for your remarkable lifetime quest in service to personal and collective healing. Thank you for your love, belief and investment in me personally, and in our wider community of compassionate listeners. You are and will remain the founder of Compassionate Listening, and the birth-mother of a movement."

For some of Gene's writing, see:

http://www.newconversations.net/communication_skills_open_source_library.htm#gkh

Gene is survived by six of her children, Nikolas Knudsen (Laurel) Boshco Hoffman, Valley Via (Richard) Reseigne, Erik Thorkild (Deirdre Hallman) Hoffman, Kristian Robert Hoffman, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Kaj Lathrop Hoffman; six grandchildren: Shane Knudsen Boshco, Rayven Angel Boshco, Jack Rorian Pierce Boshco, Julianna LaRee Thompson Boshco, Brian Nikolas Paul Boshco, and Connor Wolf; her sister, Marie Christensen; her nephew, Neil Christensen; and her niece, Karen Dugas.

A memorial for Gene will be held at La Casa de Maria, 800 El Bosque Road, on Sunday, August 8, from two to four p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Compassionate Listening Project.

http://www.compassionatelistening.org

The Compassionate Listening Project
P.O. Box 17
Indianola, WA 98342
USA

The journey of love continues....

I've been on the road for six weeks, traveling nearly 7,000 miles across the USA, and am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed in Culver City, CA, tomorrow night.

I've written this reflection because it's been 14 months since Kathleen "graduated" and July 20 would have been her 58th birthday; and I feel as if Kathleen has been with me throughout this journey of love.

I've been traveling in the ministry since Memorial Day, sharing with Quakers my concern about the interfaith movement and the Parliament of the World's Religions (see laquaker.blogspot.com).

It's been a long, physically exhausting, but spiritually rewarding journey. During the past six weeks I've given presentations in San Jose, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Colorado Springs, Denver, Billings (MT), Sioux Falls (SD), Minneapolis, Des Moines, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Roanoke, Nashville, Little Rock, and at Intermountain Yearly Meeting in New Mexico and at the Friends General Conference Gathering in Bowling Green, OH. Next week I plan to give presentations at Pacific Yearly Meeting in Claremont, CA, inshallah.

During this amazing journey I have learned a lot about my fellow Americans by staying in people's homes and learning first-hand what was happening in their region. Everyone I went I have been treated with generosity and kindness, for which I am very grateful.

I have tried to reciprocate this kindness by picking up hitchhikers along my travels. From them, I have had glimpses of what life feels like to those who are not as fortunate as we are. A month ago, not far from Flagstaff, I picked up a student exploring the US by hitchhiking (as I did when I left college), but most of those I picked up were middle aged men who are the itinerant underemployed--men with limited skills and educations, who take whatever odd jobs they can find, and have no permanent address. Odd jobs are scarce, and the police don't take kindly to those without a fixed domicile. Few Americans pick up hitchhikers these days and few seem to take seriously what Jesus said in Matthew 25: "As you do to the least of these, you do for me."
I am glad I picked up these itinerant strangers: they have all been good company who made my long hours of driving more pleasant.

Speaking of the homeless, please hold in your prayers Melissa and Shaun, the homeless couple in Torrance who was very dear to Kathleen and who have adopted me as their "father in Christ." (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEXJZ749_5g). Melissa just celebrated he 33rd birthday and is in good spirits, despite her worsening disability. I'm sorry to report her wheel chair needs new treads, and Medical won't cover the cost ($120), so help is needed. If you feel led, send a card to her PO box: Melissa Earnhart, 1820 W Carson St. #202 PMB 116 Torrance CA 90501.

Despite these economically hard times, I have good news to report about the interfaith movement. There are many signs that America has become a more tolerant and religiously pluralistic society. Even in small communities like Billings and Sioux Falls, there are interfaith councils and activities. In Nashville, Tennessee, the "buckle of the Bible belt," there are over 10,000 Kurdish Muslims and they have plans to construct a mega-mosque. Some who cling to the "old-time religion" are resisting this change, but many mainstream Christians (including the Methodists and Quakers) are supporting the Muslims.

(See
http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=12808779
http://media.www.vanderbiltorbis.com/media/storage/paper983/news/2008/11/12/Newsfeatures/Nashville.Kurdish.Community.Thrives-3534811.shtml
http://www.icntn.org/)

I find it encouraging that many heartland Americans are making a real effort to reach out to people of other faiths in the spirit of friendship and cooperation.

There were other levels to this trek besides my interfaith ministry. Kathleen and I planned to make a road trip like this one during in the summer in which she was diagnosed with cancer. We had hoped to visit national parks and Friends as we wended our way to Pendle Hill, the Quaker center where we met and fell in love, and where planned to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.

Since Kathleen shared my concern about the interfaith movement, I felt as if her spirit has been with me on this journey of interfaith. (I was also accompanied in spirit by a support group from my Quaker meeting, who kept in touch with me by email and phone, and held me in the Light, and for whom I am very grateful.)

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting Kathleen's father in Eminence, MO. I was deeply moved by the gracious and loving welcome I received from my father-in-law and his wife Edibeth. I also received a gracious welcome from Ginger Woods, Kathleen's room mate at Smith College. I stayed with Ginger and her family in Haverford, PA. It felt wonderful to be shown hospitality and love by those who loved Kathleen, and to realize that such love can deepen after a loved one passes to the next stage of existence. It is as if Kathleen's spirit is drawing us closer together!

I want to honor Kathleen's memory by recommending two books that have helped me this summer by providing evidence that there is life beyond what we know on this material plane of existence:

"Surviving Death" by Scott Degenhardt. Written in a popular style, but encompassing a lot of research, this book is based on actual cases of people who have had brushes with death, and helps us to understand what the next life may be like. This book was lent to me by a Quaker in Nashville who shares my conviction that this life is a prelude to eternal life. It addresses many important questions, including why there are so many religions. (The simple answer, according to one who had an after-death experience, is that multiple religions are needed because people have diverse spiritual needs and temperaments.)

"Continuing life: the evidence of the survival of death through mediumship" by Angela Howard, a British Quaker. Her book is also based on experiences of those who have been in contact with loved ones who have passed. The intro is by David Hodges, a British Friend who founded the Friends Fellowship of Healing (which has produced a number of useful pamphlets on spiritual healing, grieving, etc.). Hodges is a biological scientist and was a university lecturer for many years and he obviously takes psychical research seriously.

I am wondering if any of you reading this have had experiences with loved ones who have passed. I'd love to hear your stories, and may use them in an article/pamphlet I am working on.

I have felt in touch with Kathleen spiritually over the past year and often commune with her in prayer and meditation. I know that my life has been changed as a result of her spiritual presence, just as the lives of Jesus' disciples were changed by his death and resurrection. I have been led to continue Kathleen's pastoral work and serve as clerk of pastoral care in my Meeting--a role I have never played until Kathleen's death. I have become a better listener and more able to discern people's spiritual states and conditions. I attribute this new sensitivity and calling to Kathleen's abiding spirit, and to God's amazing grace.

The most memorable psychical experience I have had occurred a few weeks after Kathleen's death. I went to the DMV to transfer the title of Kathleen's Honda into my name alone so that I could sell it. I arrived early and was first in line so that I could avoid the crowds. When the DMV opened, I entered the nearly silent office and the black woman who was supposed to serve me was singing a familiar hymn: "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Deeply moved, I sang along with her! When we finished, I told her this was the hymn that my wife and I had sung every morning of her cancer journey. We both fell into a moment of silent reflection and felt a spiritual presence that could only have been Kathleen's. As we went about our routine business, we began to share from our spiritual lives. The black woman told her about the challenge of being a Christian and working at the DMV--how hard it was sometime to be patient, loving, etc. I shared with her some of my challenges after Kathleen's death. It was as if we were both in church, not in the office of the DMV!

I have had other similar experiences that have convinced me that Kathleen lives on, and continues to inspire me and others to live in harmony with God's boundless love. I hope that you also feel the presence of those who have passed on but are willing to inspire and guide us, if we need their help.

Yours in peace and friendship,Anthony ManousosNew home phone: 310-889-0784Mobile: 310-755-4497 New address: 3817 Albright AveLos Angeles (Culver City) CA 90066-1161New blog: http://laquaker.blogspot.com/"The humble, meek, merciful, just, pious, and devout souls are everywhere of one religion; and when death has taken off the mask, they will know one another, though the liveries they wear here make them strangers."--William Penn.

Gene Hoffman, Quaker peace activist, rests in peace

My dear friend and teacher Gene Hoffman passed away this week. This was not unexpected, or even sad news, since she has been in the final stages of Altzheimer's and unable to speak or to recognize people for a long time. Nonetheless, I will miss her. I used to visit her at the Atzheimer's facility and her bright blue eyes were always radiant when she saw me, and I loved spending time with her, holding her hands and gazing into her luminous face and feeling her loving presence. She will always have a place in my heart.

Her son asked me to write an obituary for Gene, so I am including a draft here. It was drawn from the book of her writings called Compassionate Listening, which I edited.

Elinor Gene Knudsen Hoffman—Quaker peace activist, pastoral counselor, workshop facilitator, poet, columnist, author, actress, and mother of six children—was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 3, 1919 to Valley and Thorkild (“Tom”) Knudsen, who emigrated from Denmark in 1909 to found a successful diary business. On July 21, 2010, Gene passed away peacefully at an Alzheimer’s facility in Santa Barbara, California, where she had resided for six years.

Encouraged in the arts at an early age, Gene studied acting in New York and at the Pasadena Playhouse. She performed on the radio as well as on stage, and her acting career continued through the 1960s.

In 1942, Gene married Raymond Chamberlin Boshco, and bore him two children, Nikolas (1944) and Valley (1945). In 1948 she divorced Boshco in order to marry Hallock Hoffman, the son of a prominent businessman and Republican political leader, Paul Hoffman. Hallock resigned his commission as captain in the Air Force and became the associate regional director of the American Friends Service Committee. Much to the chagrin of their conservative parents, Hallock and Gene both became ardent liberals and pacifists.

Soon after the birth of their son Erik Thorkild (1950), Gene and Hallock discovered Orange Grove Quaker Meeting in Pasadena. When she and her husband were accepted into membership the following year, Gene remembers “dancing down the street, feeling exultant that I had joined so great a company of seekers, people of God. I felt that together Hallock and I would perform miracles.”

In the 1950s, she began writing a newspaper column and became involved in peace and social justice work. When she wrote a column favoring the United Nations, she was “fired” from the columnist job that her father had secured for her. Taking a strong stand on civil rights, Gene insisted that her children attend an integrated school in Pasadena—something that was not common for families of her background in the 1950s.When she published an article on her family’s experiences with integration, she was invited to become the first white columnist for the African-American newspaper, the Amsterdam News. Gene also took a controversial stand against the loyalty oath. In 1954, she became involved with a lawsuit against the city of Pasadena because it used a form requiring property owners to swear a “non-disloyalty oath.” Partly because of her family connections, her case attracted media attention, and Gene received hate mail from anti-communists.

During this period she also bore three more children: Kristian Robert, Nina Kiriki and Kaj Lathrop.

In the 1960s, Gene’s marriage to Hallock came to a tumultuous end and Gene had a nervous breakdown. Signing herself voluntarily into a mental hospital, she emerged with new insights that enabled her to become a pastoral counselor. She wrote a book about her experiences called Inside the Glass Doors.

During the 1970s, when her children were full-grown, Gene decided to devote herself full-time to peace activism. She traveled around the world to study the peace movement and spent a year as a student at Pendle Hill, a Quaker adult study center near Philadelphia.

An active Quaker and member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) for over fifty years, she traveled dozens of times to the Middle East and the former Soviet Union during the 1980s and 1990s to do reconciliation work. In 1989, after American planes downed two Libyan planes, she went to Libya with an FOR delegation to meet with Libyan leaders. She has met with and listened to Palestinians and Israelis, and published articles, books, and pamphlets about her experiences, including Pieces of the Mideast Puzzle (1991) and No Royal Road to Reconciliation (1995). When Alaskan hunters and fishers and indigenous people came into conflict over hunting and fishing rights, Gene helped to arrange Compassionate Listening sessions through the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). She has published over one hundred articles as well as books, poems and pamphlets and given innumerable workshops and talks about peacemaking. Her work has inspired numerous others, including Cynthia Monroe, AFSC staff person in Alaska, and Leah Green, founder of Mideast Citizen Diplomacy’s Compassionate Listening Project. Gene has been rightly called a “pioneer” in the Compassionate Listening movement, and has worked with such other notables as Adam Curle, Herb Walters, Virginia Baron, and Richard Deats.

In 2003, her writings were collected into a book called Compassionate Listening: the Writings of Gene Hoffman, Quaker Peace Activist and Mystic.

Gene summed up her approach to peacemaking as follows: ““The call, as I see it, is for us to see that within all life is the mystery: God. It is within the Contra [opponent of the Sandinista government in Nicaragua], the Nazi, the Africaaner, the Israeli, [the Palestinian], and the American. By compassionate listening we may awaken it and thus learn the partial truth the other is carrying, for another aspect of being human is that we each carry some portion of the truth. To reconcile, we must listen for, discern, and acknowledge this partial truth in everyone.” Dennis Rivers, a communication skills instructor from Santa Barbara, observed that Gene’s “calling was to carry pastoral counseling out of the pastor’s study into public life. What has energized her work over the years is the Quaker teaching that ‘there is that of God in every person.’” Judith Kolokoff, former AFSC regional director in the Pacific Northwest, said of Gene: “She is a real prophet. And she’s a remarkable facilitator. She has the capacity to bring out the very best of the truth in each individual.”

Interfaith/Universalist Happenings at the Friends General Conference Gathering

I've had a long, but rewarding road trip in the ministry this summer, sharing with Friends from San Jose to Bowling Green, OH, the good news about the interfaith movement and the Parliament of the World's Religions.

I am pleased to report that the national Quaker gathering sponsored by Friends General Conference in Bowling Green, OH, had a strong interfaith/universalist component, even apart from what I was led to contribute. Before I describe what happened in my sessions, let me mention other significant interfaith activities at the Gathering.

Phil Gulley, the popular Quaker pastor and author from Indiana, gave a wise, folksy talk about Christian Universalism to several hundred Friends at the Elizabeth Watson lecture sponsored by the Quaker Universalist Fellowship (QUF). This talk was well received by liberal Friends, even those who have issues with Christianity. Gulley's warmth and inclusivity won hearts as well as minds and helped Friends to realize that Christians can indeed be enthusiastic Univeralists. As Phil made clear, "everyone is invited to God's party," including gays, atheists, humanists, and those of other faiths. This was of course music to liberal ears....all the more so since it came from an Friends United Meeting (FUM) pastor (see http://www.philipgulley.org/).

Around 50-60 Friends went on a field trip to a famous mosque near Toledo. This mosque (which dates back to the 1950s) was the 3rd to be built in the USA and has been described as the "largest and grandest" (according to its website: http://www.toledomuslims.com/). It certainly presents an impressive sight when you see it rising out of the grasslands of Ohio. I didn't have a chance to go on this field trip, but I heard positive reports from those who went. I cannot resist adding that several years ago, when the Gathering took place in Amherst, MA, I was the first to take a Quaker group from FGC on a field trip to a mosque, namely, the Islamic Center in Western MA. I am very pleased that someone else is being led to take FGC Friends to a mosque, and that there is keen interest in Islam among Friends.

Friends of Jewish background met and made their presence known and felt at the Gathering in many positive ways. I felt especially enriched by my conversations with two Friends of Jewish background, Stanley Zarowin and David Bush. Stanley grew up as a Jew in Palestine (before it became Israel), and a few years ago published an interesting article in Friends Journal about a trip he took to Israel/Palestine with Fellowship of Reconciliation (see http://www.friendsjournal.org/visit-israel-quaker-jew-born-palestine). David recently went to Israel/Palestine with the Compassionate Listening Project and has written a report well worth reading. (He also wrote a pamphlet on non-theist Friends which was published by QUF.) I am pleased that Jews in our Quaker community are helping us to have a more balanced view of what is happening in Israel/Palestine.

During the week I gave five presentations sponsored by QUF and the Christian and Interfaith Relations Committee of FGC. The series was entitled "Expanding Our Spiritual Horizons through Interfaith and Intra-faith Encounters." Each session attracted from 15-30 Friends.

In addition to these sessions, QUF had a display with its many interesting publications (you can find downloadable copies at http://www.universalistfriends.org/). A couple of hundred QUF pamphlets were picked up by Friends, including all the ones by Sallie King and Harvey Gilman.

I also had numerous opportunities to engage in informal discussions about universalism and the interfaith movement in the dining hall and other places, including the "Contemplative Cluster" meetings that took place in my dorm. I received many positive comments as well as invitations to speak to Friends in Cambridge, Baltimore and other places... Perhaps I need to continue my travels in the ministry!

Here are some highlights of what happened during the formal sessions.

"God and Allah Need to Talk." This session focused on how the Abrahamic faiths—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism--responded to the post-9/11 world in creative, positive ways. I showed an upbeat video by Ruth Broyde-Sharone about interfaith seders that took place after 9/11 in Los Angeles, and we had a lively discussion about how to bring people of different faiths together. I stressed the importance of trust building and taking part in interfaith meals, celebrations, etc.

"Compassionate Listening and Mutual Irradiation: Quaker Ways to Deepen our Spiritual Awareness of Other Faiths." This session dealt with the challenges of interfaith work--how to deal with conflict, misunderstanding, etc. especially relating to Israel/Palestine. I showed a 12-minute video about the "Compassionate Listening Project" and we talked about how this technique works. We also talked about how prayer, ritual, celebration and worship sharing (interfaith cafes) can help to create safe spaces for what Douglas Steere called "mutual irradiation."

“Beyond belief: the future of fundamentalism and Quakerism.” I opened with the question: How can we share our faith and work with Friends and others who ascribe to a fundamentalist perspective? This led many Friends to talk about difficult encounters with fundamentalists, namely, how to respond in questions such as "Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?" or are made to feel that one is going to hell for not believing a certain way. I shared with the group what I have learned from James Fowler's book Stages of Faith and suggested that we need to be sensitive to another person's spiritual state or condition and try to see things from another person's stage of spiritual development. We also talked about how to respond to a fear-based religion by being grounded in love (not always easy!). I reminded Friends of the wisdom of Phil Gulley's words: it sometimes takes a "peak experience" (or therapy) to overcome the hurt caused by spiritual abuse in childhood. Being part of a loving, supportive faith community (e.g. Friends) can also help to overcome the trauma of spiritual abuse.

Rosemary Coffey suggested a helpful way to deal with questions such as "Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?" Respond with an open-ended question: "What does that mean to you?" (And be prepared to listen compassionately!)

Wendy Michener suggested using a technique known as LARA (Listen-Affirm-Respond-Add). Using LARA, one might say: "I see how believing in Jesus has saved many people from selfish and bad behavior (AFFIRMATION), and I try to live by Jesus' teachings (RESPOND), especially when he says to 'love your enemies.' That is the basis of our Peace Testimony (ADD)."

We didn't have time to go into much theological discussion, but participants in this workshop told me later that they found Sallie's theological responses to fundamentalism very helpful. To do justice to this pamphlet would require much more time than the one hour we had to discuss it.

Recommended readings: Sallie King, A Quaker's Response to Christian Fundamentalism (QUF, 2009) and Harvey Cox, The Future of Faith (Harper, NY: 2009).

“What is spirituality and why does it matter?” Friends in this workshop included non-theists as well as Friends who believe in God, Spirit, etc. I made it clear (and non-theists agreed) that non-theists can be "spiritual," though their definition of spirituality doesn't include the transcendent. I read Harvey Gilman's definition of "spirituality" as a kind of energy that binds people together in love. We talked about the importance of spirituality both as a personal and social experience: how spirituality helps us individually to get in touch with our inward life, and how it also helps us to connect with others at a deeper level, thereby building community. We tried to clarify the difference between spirituality and religion, and concluded that although both are very different, they are not necessarily diametrically opposed. Religion can help as well as hinder our spiritual practice. We also got into an interesting discussion about a psychological concept known as a "flow state" in which a person engaged in a task such as, say, playing basketball loses a sense of ego and becomes one with the game and how this relates to spiritual practices such as prayer or Zen meditation (see the work of Csíkszentmihályi). All in all, we had a rich and deep discussion about the importance of spirituality. I concluded this session by reading Walt Whtman's marvelous poem "Miracle," which was quoted in Harvey Gilman's 2009 QUF pamphlet, What is spirituality?

Why! who makes much of a miracle?
As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of thewater,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love--or sleep in the bed at night withany one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with my mother,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds--or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down--or of stars shining so quietand bright,
Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;
Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best--mechanics, boatmen, farmers,
Or among the savans--or to the soiree--or to the opera,
Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery,Or behold children at their sports,
Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect oldwoman,
Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial,
Or my own eyes and figure in the glass;
These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring--yet each distinct, and in its place.To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with thesame,Every foot of the interior swarms with the same;
Every spear of grass--the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women,and all that concerns them,
All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.
To me the sea is a continual miracle;
The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--the ships,with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?

On Friday evening I gave a presentation on the Parliament of the World's Religion. Only ten or so Friends showed up (there were many other interest groups on Friday), but the presentation went well and inspired a thoughtful discussion. I was especially pleased that Steve Angell, a professor of religion at Earlham College, attended. He has been very involved in interfaith work and recently went with a delegation to Iran.

All in all, I am very pleased with how Friends are opening up to the interfaith movement and look forward to the next stage of my trip--sharing this concern with Friends in Pittsburgh, Princeton, Roanoke, Nashville, Little Rock, Amarillo, Albequerque, and finally (inshallah) Pacific Yearly Meeting. Three more weeks to go on this marvelous journey!

My summer trek for the interfaith movement begins with a wonderful weekend in San Jose, and the tragic news of the Freedom Flotilla

I just returned from a wonderful weekend in San Jose, CA, which brought together outstanding leaders of the interfaith community who shared their vision of a world in which people of diverse faiths work together for justice and peace.

Pictured here are two of the panelists, Zahra Billoo (left) and Ellen Grace O'Brian (right). Rabbi Elisheva Salamo couldn't have her picture taken because of Shabbat. Below are the two Quakers who made this weekend possible: Donna Poulos and Jeff Kroeber of San Jose Meeting. (Wild, silent applause!)

Over 50 people showed up for a delicious potluck meal and an inspiring panel discussion, which included a talk by Rev. Ellen Grace O'Brian, Founding Ministear of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, San Jose, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Council of PWR, Zahra Billoo, Program and Outreach Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an activist attorney committed to social justice and community, and Rabbi Elisheva Salamo of Keddem Congregation, Palo Alto, who taught Jewish culture at Catholic high schools and attended PWR. We had a lively discussion about what we could do to promote interfaith understanding. I was esp. pleased to meet a couple of Catholic high school students (one of whom was a Muslim!) who want to do interfaith youth projects in their community.

During our Quaker meeting for worship on Sunday, a woman gave an inspired prophetic message. She said that during Memorial Day, we should remember not only soldiers who have died fighting to defend US interests, but also peace activists who sacrificed their lives for peace. I thought of Ben Linder (killed by contras in Nicaragua), Rachel Corey (killed by Israelis intent on destroying a Palestinian home) , Tom Fox (killed by religious fanatics in Iraq), and now the Turks killed by Israeli commandos while trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Upon learning of this brutal attack on peace activists, I went to the Israeli embassy to join protesters who included Muslims, Christians and Jews. I was pleased to see my dear friend Dick Platkin, a founding member of LA Jews for Peace, and Marcy Winograd, a Jewish peace activist running for Congress against Jane Harman. I was glad to stand in solidarity with people of conscience who oppose the siege of Gaza and other Israeli war crimes.

I will be writing my elected officials tomorrow calling for a condemnation of Israel's brutal attack on unarmed ships in international waters, which is clearly a violation of international law. I will demand that those responsible for this crime be brought to justice.

I also want an end to the siege of Gaza and an end to the occupation of the West Bank so that Palestinians can enjoy the same freedoms and the same rights enjoyed by Israelis--the right to travel to and from their homes without being harassed, the right to buy land and build homes in their homeland just like Israeli Jews, the right to travel to and from their homeland without having to seek permission from Israeli authorities--in short, the rights that free men and women deserve. As our Declaration of Independence says, all human beings "are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights...."

Palestinians are condemned when they resort to violence, but the Freedom Flotilla is clearly an effort to use Gandhian nonviolence to bring about justice. We need to give these brave nonviolent soldiers for peace our support.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/31/israel-boat-raid-sparks-i_n_595275.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/31/gaza-flotilla-attacked-israel_n_595239.html

Remembering Kathleen, and Looking Towards the Future

A year ago today my beloved wife Kathleen breathed her last breath and went home to God at the City of Hope. During this year I have experienced great pain, but also great joy--the pain of losing my soul mate and best friend, and the joy of knowing that her spirit still lives and inspires me and others to draw closer to God and to show kindness and love to all around us. I never see a beautiful flower, or a child, or a homeless person, without thinking of Kathleen and her deep, tender love for all God's creatures. A day never goes by in which I don't seek her wisdom and guidance, and feel her presence in my heart. She taught me how to live like a Christian, how to love like a Christian, and how to face life-threatening illness and death like a Christian. A day never goes by without my saying: Thank you, God, for Kathleen!

But it has become clear to me that I need to move on with my life, and that a new chapter is opening up. I am blessed that I have the resources to work full-time as a volunteer interfaith peace activist. I am grareful that I can give back to my Quaker community in many ways since Friends have given me so much during my times of trial and tribulation.

This summer I plan to travel once more in the ministry, carrying a concern about interfaith peacemaking to Friends throughout the USA, from San Jose to Princeton, NJ.

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, I will drive nearly 7,000 miles and give presentations at Quaker venues all around the country: San Jose, Phoenix, Intermountain Yearly Meeting, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Billings (MT), Sioux Falls (SD), Minneapolis, Friends General Conference in Bowling Green, Ohio, etc. I plan to drive all the way to Pendle Hill, visiting family and Friends in Philadelphia and New Jersey, and then drive back to California in time to give two presentation at Pacific Yearly Meeting. It will be a full and exciting summer.

Yet there is also a poignant side to this trip. Two years ago, Kathleen and I planned to make a similar two-month road trip before going to Pendle Hill to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. But God had our plans, and we went on a cancer journey instead.

Now I will make the cross-country trip without her physical presence, but I won't be alone. Her spirit will be with me, along with that of many Friends. I have a support committee consisting of three dear Friends: Stan Searl, Diane Manning, and Kathy Forsman. They will be my "virtual elders," holding me in the Light, and being available for me to share my joys and concerns as I travel. Santa Monica Friends Meeting and my many interfaith friends in LA will also be holding me in prayer as I make my journey of faith across the USA. Your prayers will also help.

Kathleen, I know, would be pleased that I am making this journey since she had a deep commitment to the interfaith movement. Her Methodist faith was in a loving God who sent his beloved son Jesus to bring hope and salvation to every living soul. I share that faith.

My summer road trip in the ministry will begin Memorial Day weekend (May 29-30), when I give two presentations at San Jose MM. Inshallah, it will end during the final week of July in Claremont, CA, at Pacific YM-- where I will give two presentations, one about interfaith peacemaking and another about Howard and Anna Brinton.

Here's a preliminary itinerary and a description of some of the presentations I am scheduled to give. I am in the process of revising the itinerary this week as I contact various Friends to find out if they are interested in a visit. From the responses I have received from Friends I have contacted so far, I know this will be an amazing adventure. If I am passing near you, and you'd like to get together, please let me know.


Saturday, May 29, 7 - 9 PM, San Jose Friends' Meetinghouse, 1041 Morse St., San Jose, "Building a Local Interfaith Movement, with a Global Perspective." Anthony Manousos, Santa Monica Friends' Meeting, active in interfaith work, attended Parliament of the Worlds' Religions (PWR) in Melbourne last year, is the principal speaker; with Rev. Ellen Grace O'Brian, Founding Minister and Spiritual Director of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, San Jose, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Council of PWR, Zahra Billoo, Program and Outreach Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an activist attorney committed to social justice and community, and Rabbi Elisheva Salamo of Keddem Congregation, Palo Alto, who taught Jewish culture at Catholic high schools and attended PWR. Vegetarian Dinner, 5:30-7 PM precedes the event. Ample free parking in large lot across the street. Information, call Donna at 650.428.0832.

Sunday, May 30, 12 - 1 PM, San Jose Friends' Meetinghouse, "Answering that of God in Everyone: Friends and the Interfaith Movement". Anthony Manousos will present a PowerPoint presentation and talk, followed by questions and discussion. If so moved, please join us for worship from 10 - 11 AM, followed by refreshments and then the talk. See above for parking, etc


"Expanding Our Spiritual Horizons through Interfaith and Intra-faith Encounters”

A series of presentations at the Friends General Conference Gathering in Bowling Green, Ohio, sponsored by Quaker Universalist Fellowship
with support from the Christian Interfaith Relations Committee of FGC

Afternoon Sessions (3:15 PM – M, T, Th, Fri)

"God and Allah Need to Talk." Learn how the Abrahamic faiths—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism--are responding to the post-9/11 world in creative, positive ways. See how Muslims, Jews and Christians are coming together at the local level to celebrate, worship together, and build understanding.

"Compassionate Listening and Mutual Irradiation: Quaker Ways to Deepen our Spiritual Awareness of Other Faiths." We will explore various models and techniques for connecting at a deeper level with people of different faith traditions, including t hose who have longstanding unresolved conflicts and misunderstandings. Learn how prayer, ritual, celebration and worship sharing (interfaith cafes) can help to create safe spaces for what Douglas Steere called "mutual irradiation."

“Beyond belief: the future of fundamentalism and Quakerism.” How can we share our faith and work with Friends and others who ascribe to a fundamentalist perspective? If, as Harvey Cox maintains, we are entering the “age of the spirit,” how will this affect the future of Quakerism? Are we ready as a Society of Friends to respond to the spiritual needs of the 21st century? Recommended readings: Sallie King, A Quaker's Response to Christian Fundamentalism (QUF, 2009) and Harvey Cox, The Future of Faith (Harper, NY: 2009).

“What is spirituality and why does it matter?” Spirituality is what unites people of all faiths and is the basis of the interfaith movement. We will explore how our attempts to establish a vision of peace, justice, equality, respect for the environment, are all aspects of our spiritual vision. Recommended reading: Harvey Gilman, What is spirituality? QUF 2009.


Evening Interest Group

The interfaith movement and world peace. In December, 2009, 6,500 spiritual leaders met in Melbourne, Australia, to address the theme: “Hearing each other, healing the earth.” What is the interfaith movement doing internationally and locally to create a more peaceful and sustainable world? What part are Friends playing in this movement? How can the interfaith movement open up our hearts and minds to new spiritual possibilities?

Anthony Manousos attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia, and traveled for six weeks among Australian Friends sharing his concern for interfaith peacemaking. He serves on the boards of many interfaith organizations and has given workshops on compassionate listening, interfaith peacemaking and Islam at FGC, Pendle Hill, Quaker Center, and several YMs. He is the author of the pamphlet Islam from a Quaker Perspective and “Friends and the Interfaith Movement” (Friends Journal, March 2007). A member of Santa Monica Friends Meeting, he serves as clerk of his meeting's Pastoral Care Committee and also as clerk of the Peace Committee of Southern California Quarterly Meeting. He also serves on the Board of Quaker Universalist Fellowship and the Christian Interfaith Relations Committee of FGC.