Community

Remember that the war in Iraq is not over for the Iraqi people. Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice will again be marking the cost of the continuing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan by placing the April stone on the Memorial Cairn at the intersection of Broadway, Elm and Park streets in New Haven on Monday evening, 6 p.m., May 7.

This stone will be inscribed with the April death total of US military personnel and the approximate documented numbers of Iraqi and Afghani civilians killed during that same period of time.

April 15th, 2012 6:30pm
First Presbyterian Church of New Haven
704 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511

Speaker: Bruce Barrett, the film’s director and Founder of IWagePeace

Combatants for Peace Flyer
Combatants for Peace Poster

The Billboard from Bethlehem, an award-winning documentary film stars The Combatants For Peace, a coalition of former Israeli Defense Force Fighters and Palestinian Resistance fighters in the Holy Land who have renounced violence and committed themselves to a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It also tells the story of Bruce Barrett, an American billboard company owner, who convinces The Combatants For Peace to recruit Israeli and Palestinian children to paint a giant peace mural billboard inside the West Bank of Palestine.

The documentary weaves the tale of billboard design with eight Combatants’ stories of personal transformation from wielders of violence to combatants for peace.

The Billboard from Bethlehem is winner of

• Mondavi Award for Peace and Cultural Understanding at Napa Sonoma Film Festival
• Best Long/Short Form Documentary at Reel Art Film Festival
• Best Humanitarian Film at Bushwick Film Festival
• Documentary Star Award at the Indie Gathering

“I watched this [film] shedding tears both of sadness and of hope.” Rabbi Herbert Brockman, Ph.D., D.D. Congregation Mishkan Israel, Hamden, CT.

“By bringing together Palestinians and Israelis, Barrett provides an opportunity to break down stereotypes and to foster human community across borders and across cultures.” Dr. Peter E. Makari, Executive, Middle East and Europe, Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

About the event speaker/ director of the film
Bruce Barrett, a Connecticut billboard company owner-turned-peacemaker created www.IWagePeace.org as a primer on active non-violence peace-making in 2006. He received the Living Waters Award from the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ for working with youth and promoting peace and diversity. IWagePeace’s work includes organizing The Combatants for Peace Tours, I Wage Peace Walks and the painting of peace billboard signs which it then posts on the interstate highways of Connecticut.

Chapel on the Green, sponsored by Trinity Church, is hosting a foot care clinic on Maundy Thursday, April 5th, from 1-3 p.m.

Volunteers are needed to help provide a caring attentive presence to the homeless and others in need of foot care. Set up for the 1 PM service and the foot care clinic begins at 11:00 AM.

Tents, ground coverings, tables, chairs and alter will need to be moved outdoors, arranged and set up. There’s water to boil and set in large multi-gallon thermoses; and foot care supplies to be made ready and accessible for health care volunteers.

Ushers and greeters are needed to direct any and all Chapel on the Green parishioners and foot care clinic guests to the appropriate stations.

New white “extra durable cushioning” crew or tube socks are especially needed; clean, dry feet clothed in fresh, warm socks along with this caring ministry of presence help feed souls and are a clear morale booster for those whose average day begins with little to no access to hygiene, may be diabetic and/or walking in poor (and maybe wet) shoes an average of 8 miles a day.

The annual meeting of the Interfaith Cooperative Ministries (ICM) will take place at First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, April 24th beginning at 7 p.m.

This meeting will bring together the congregations from the New Haven region who work to form interfaith dialogue, address injustices in the city of New Haven, and foster friendships among the different religious traditions represented in the group.

Church member Ralph Jones sits on the Board. Please talk with him if you would like to attend or have questions or suggestions about new areas of study and action.

Remember that the war in Iraq is not over for the Iraqi people. Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice will again be marking the cost of the continuing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan by placing the March stone on the Memorial Cairn at the intersection of Broadway, Elm and Park streets in New Haven on Monday evening, 6 p.m., April 2.

This stone will be inscribed with the March death total of US military personnel and the approximate documented numbers of Iraqi and Afghani civilians killed during that same period of time. Members of the St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Chapel at Yale will lead the service.