This week's news--an assassination on Iranian leaders in the Middle East--reminds us all of the urgency of peace in our time. In so many communities around the world, violence is a daily reality; and it's often fueled by American recklessness and greed.
In a very deliberate and particular way, my weekly fast will hold up in prayer these peacemakers:
1. Zoughbi Zoughbi, Usama Nicola and all the brave peacelovers at the Wi'am Centre for Conflict Resolution in Bethlehem, Palestine.
2. My friends in Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now--as they bear witness to their faith and resist Anti-Semitism in its awful and many forms.
3. My new friend Mohamed Ibrahim, Imam and Director of the Islamic Society of the Seacoast Area (ISSA), here in New Hampshire.
4. Medea Benjamin and her dynamic colleagues with CODEPINK, as they travel the world and organize Americans for bold political peacemaking.
I commend to you all two different resources:
A. This note from United Church of Christ leadership, signaling their intention to fast and their insistence that our elected officials hear from us.
B. This link to CODEPINK's fasting tips.
Fasting, of course, is not the end of our work or the end of our organizing and prayer. Instead, it is a spiritual practice, tuning the spirit to God's particular passion for justice and Jesus' own "hunger" for righteousness and peace. If you choose to join me and others in this Epiphany practice--beginning this Thursday, January 9--drop me a line via email and let me know how this goes for you. I'm so interested in the ways your fasting stirs your heart and makes strong your commitment to the ways of peace, nonviolence and mercy.
