march 1, 2008 volume 1 issue 1

We’ve moved! This may feel like déjà vu for those of youwho haven’t heard from us in a while, because less than a year after we set up shop in Germantown, we have resettled in WestPhiladelphia. Along with providing a new home—offering much-needed room for additional Shalom House members—thistransition offers us new opportunities for peacemaking andcommunity building.There are plenty of things to be hopeful for. First, this abodeof ours, 401 S. 51

St., is a more permanent residence. Our landlords, like us, wantus to go the distancewith the mission andestablish deep roots.Such a venture is allthe easier with moremembers, so we arehappy to announcethat we are welcomingtwo more individuals,Kristan Menzel andTandi Book, intoShalom House in early July, as we mark the first anniversary of providing community for proactive peacemaking. You can lookforward to proper introductions of Kristan and Tandi in the comingmonths.The other piece of good news is that West Philadelphiaseems to suit our vision nicely. It has a more central locationwithin the city, its civil life is thriving, and it presents us withseveral examples of local grassroots efforts. In fact, we learned just a week after we moved in that WPEB, a brand newcommunity-based radio station, was just hours away fromsending its first transmission. This media outlet, along withplaying great music, will feature forums for neighborhood andother local organizations to get the word out about their programsand events. That means one way for us to stay connected is, inmany senses, a matter of turning on the radio dial (or walking the200 yards to the radio station).It has also been reassuring learning that West Philly is nostranger to peace activism. We’ve been reading more latelyabout the Movement for a New Society (MNS), a community thatwas established just blocks away on Baltimore Avenue and wasactive in the 1970s and 1980s. Co-founded by George Lakey (aQuaker and a veteran activist whom we recently heard give apresentation on nonviolent strategy against terrorism), the MNSlived communally and implemented plans for revolutionarychange through peaceful methods. We’ve good reason to believetheir story will offer plenty of wisdom and historical examples todraw from.Energized by our new environs, we look forward to pursuingour most recent endeavors: war-tax resistance and conscientiousobjection to militarism. As we tackle these matters, which wehave taken to calling “small acts of resistance,” a few thingsremain clear: one, there are plenty of experts eager to offer their insights as well as plenty of people as eager to learn from themas we are; and two, working against something in the context of peacemaking means also standing for something else. We’veheard Jesus’ call to make peace and build peace, not just railagainst the war machine.Our commitment to war-tax resistance picked up steam after we coordinated a workshop with a group of local Quakers thispast February. Several people well-versed in this kind of protestshared with us their personal experiences in withholding some or all of their tax payments as a formal protest against theoverwhelmingly large military budget and war-making in general. At the meeting, Shalom House was outnumbered by other individuals from Circle of Hope who wanted to learn from otherson the panel. Responding to requests for another meeting, wegot together several weeks later, at which we discussed in detailwhat we can do. A few of us have committed to withholding our 2007 income tax payments. We’ve good reason to believe thatduring the next tax season more may take the plunge.Tax resistance can stir up the ire of some individuals, for sure. Serious challenges can be raised. If enough people didn’tpay taxes, for instance, how would we support our service peoplewho largely depend on military funding? The validity of such aquestion has led us to another like-minded group seeking analternative to business as usual. They are called Centurion’sPurse, and their motto, “Scholarships First, Battleships Second,”virtually says it all. They are seeking practical ways to offer monetary assistance to those who joined the Armed Forces out of financial distress, or who fear the financial and legalconsequences of leaving the military as objectors and need toknow they don’t have to wade through these treacherous watersalone. We imagine being a part of Centurion’s Purse, and as thegroup moves forward, we’ll discern what our proper role will be.Over the past year, we’ve had some time to reflect on theword

shalom

. While the idea is old—as old as God’s original plan—it never

feels

old, certainly not with the transitions and newopportunities always before us.Peace be with you,

Brian B., Mimi, Adam, and Brian S.

Peaceful Ventures

Issue 2, Summer 2008

A newsletter from Shalom House -- a community of proactive Christian peacemakers started by Circle of Hope

5 Years of U.S. Occupation in Iraq

In March, 13 of us from Circle of Hope went toWashington, D.C., to mark this moment withhundreds of other Christians as part of the ChristianPeace Witness for Iraq.There comes those times, aside from our dailyactions, when we need to join in large numbers topublicly display our discontent and outrage over thisinvasion and occupation. However, these times of protest usually leave us with some feelings of futility.Counterbalancing these feelings is crucial though,and as our group reflected on that day we identified places where we want to “roll up our sleeves” and do the work of peacebuilding. Here were some of our thoughts:

“We were reminded that war is not just a political debacle but has caused a devastatinghumanitarian crisis. I’m interested in seeing how we could help meet refugee and war victimneeds, and am eager to for us to share with Circle of Hope information and to figure out inwhat ways we can reach out to those who have come or about to arrive to the U.S. Seemslike the right thing to do, especially when the “Stop the War” call keeps falling flat.” “I thought about the refugee parents who can’t do anything to help their children when they are wet and cold or hungry. And how that level of helplessness is just one small aspect of thesuffering brought on by war. I don’t know what we can do yet, but I’ve also been thinking in particular about the thousands of disillusioned military personnel returning to the U.S. and theincreased rates of homicides, suicide, domestic violence, divorce, substance abuse and child abuse that we are experiencing in and round these families as a result of war. I don’t know what the social impact of this looks like in Philadelphia but I’m gonna do a little research. It does seem like Jesus to think about how we can advocate for these war victims as well.”

The Iraqi Refugee Crisis: A story in numbers4.7

million Iraqis have been uprooted by the U.S. war & occupation. That’s

60,000

Iraqis forced to leave their homes each month.

2.7 million

of them have left their homes for other places in Iraq.

2 million

are refugees in other countries throughout theworld. Meanwhile,

$720 million

a day has been spent by U.S. taxpayers on the war inIraq. That’s

$400,000

a minute!

1.3 million

Iraqi refugees have been welcomed by Syria. Iraqis now make up

10%

of the country’s population. Another

500,000

refugees have gone to Jordan.

1 in every 7

residents in Jordan are now from Iraq. Syria and Jordan’s open border policieshave pushed their services & infrastructure to the breaking point. They can no longer take inas many refugees.Beyond Iraq’s neighbors,

36,2000

refugees have been taken in by Germany,

22,000

inthe U.K.,

21,800

in the Netherlands,

23,600

in Sweden,

11,100

in Australia,

9,900

inDenmark,

2,000

in the U.S.

DAY’S

worth of money for war & occupation could cover

1 YEAR

of reaching out torefugees through these different organizations. See how far $720 million could go in meetingthe needs of refugees:

$261 million

towards UNHCR efforts at protection and immediate assistance,

$129 million

towards UNICEF’s efforts to help fund education for refugee youth,

$85 million

towards the World Health Organization to provide basic healthcare,

$126 million

towards the World Food Program to give food to 1,110,000 Iraqis,

$119 million

to Syria to help that country support the 1.5 million refugees there.

Statistics from: American Friends Service Committee, “The Iraqi Refugee Crisis,” “Healing the Wounds of War,”“Iraqi Refugee Resettlement,”www.afsc.org/iraq; International Committee of the Red Cross, “Iraq: No Let-Up in theHumanitarian Crisis”,www.icrc.org

; United Nations High Commission on Refugees “Statistics on Displaced Iraqiaround the World,”www.unhcr.org/iraq

Refugees have been on our minds here at Shalom House.

Last fall, many of us read the book,

What is the What

by David Eggers. It'sthe story of Valentino Achak Deng, oneof the many lost boys who escaped fromviolence in Sudan and became arefugee because of it. We were affectedby his story. When we sat down at theend of the year to vision the next fewyears of Shalom House, we were drawnto the idea of hosting refugees. Brian B.also has been involved with the IraqiRefugee Advisory Committee here inPhilly and has shared what's been goingon with the rest of the House.The end of March we had a Houseretreat and the conversation found itsway again to the idea of hostingrefugees. We decided that once wemoved into our new house we'd get intouch with a friend of ours who works for the Nationalities Service Center, anorganization that does refugeeresettlement in Philadelphia. Four dayslater we got an email from this friend.She needed to find temporary housingfor a man from Iraq arriving a coupledays later. Would Shalom House hosthim?Yes, we would. Although, from oneperspective, the timing didn't seem rightwith our impending move,from another perspective, the timing

did

seemright.We were being led to this over the lastfew months. In a very relational way, wewere being connected to the Iraqirefugee crisis through a friend of ours.We felt God moving and so, we moved.The Nationalities Service Center issettling some of the 12,000 refugees theUS pledged to welcome this year (although we are grossly under thisgoal). Iraqis who worked as translatorsfor the U.S. military are one of the bigger groups of people settling in Philadelphia.The young man who stayed with us for afew weeks was also a former translator for the military. During the course of histime with us, we had a lot of conversations about the use of violenceand other alternative courses of actionthat we can use to deal with humanconflicts. It was a rare and valuableopportunity for a community of committed nonviolent peacemakers todialogue with someone who was in thedaily realities of a war zone and aproponent of militaristic approaches todealing with conflict.

With peace banners made by the kids of Circle of Hope, we stood up to be counted in D.C.

We are grateful for answeredprayers!

In July, two more people will joinShalom House!! In our next newsletter you’ll get a chance to meet them.We have a new house that will holdour growing numbers. It’s also a placewhere Shalom House can put downsome long-lasting roots.

And we ask that you continue tokeep us in your prayers. Pleasepray for:

New neighbors we want to meet.Our new community members as theyprepare to join Shalom House.Job opportunities directly related topeacemaking.

Here are some peacemaking resourcesthat we really like...

Adam:“I definitely recommend

The Peaceable Kingdom

and

What About Hitle

r by Stanley Hauerwas. Theyare two pretty powerful books I have read in thepast couple of months.Mimi: “I love this organization. Led by faith andconscience, it connects the dots between harmfulU.S. economic policies in the Americas and their role in perpetuating poverty, migration, armedconflict, and violence of many sorts. And then, they fiercely advocate to changethese harmful policies. Check them out atwww.witnessforpeace.org.”Brian B:

War Is aForce That Gives Us Meaning

by ChrisHedges. This book takes a comprehensive look at thereasons people go to war and the tolls it takes onsociety. It offers insightfulanalysis from a man who'sseen his share of armedconflict.Brian S:“The documentary

War Dance

is a story of hope & resilience from northernUganda.”

How you can help

Be a prayer partner.

We are contributing to theformation of God’s network of peacemakers around the globe.2.

Be a local partner.

Sign up at our website --www.shalomhouse.us --to be on the Circle of Peacemakers Listserve andparticipate in our dialogue andactions.3.

Find further partners.

We have a new cohort of housemembers who join each year.We are looking for those Godhas prepared for our community.4.

Be a contributing partner.

Weneed to raise at least $30,000 ayear for expenses beyond our mutual sharing.

If you would like to share with us in thisway, you can make the check out to CircleVenture and in the memo line add ShalomHouse. Please send to Shalom House, c/oCircle of Hope, 1125 S. Broad St. 2nd Fl,Philadelphia, PA 19147. Thank You!

“Peace is Shalom -- well-being of mind, heart, and body,individually and communally. It can exist in the midst of a war-torn world, even in the midst of unresolved problems andincreasing human conﬂicts. Jesus made that peace by giving his life for his brothers and sisters. This is no easy peace, but it is everlasting and it comes from God. Are we willing to giveour lives in the service of peace?” -- Henri Nouwen