Seminars:
Standing Together, Defending the Faith: Creating Congregations
and Communities of Conscience
(Thad Crouch)
What if churches who talk Just War Theory, actually walked their talk? Building on last year’Äôs ideas from the panel, ’ÄúWhat leads us to Conscientious Objection and Where is Conscientious Objection Leading?’Äù we will expand the boundaries of Conscientious Objection in two ways. First, we will look at the possibilities of actively practicing CO based on ethics broader than pacifism, especially Christian Just War Doctrine. Secondly, we will explore practical and innovative ways that congregations and communities can honor and support individual CO’Äôs and even take risks as communities of conscience, thus expanding CO beyond individual action.
Together we can frame our action around the broadly accepted values of faith, honor, and freedom to create cognitive dissonance, transform congregations, and mobilize mountains!
The Honor Window
(Michael Sky)
Anyone who dares to take a stand based on the convictions of his conscience must face the judgments of the world. How does the conscientious objector deal with the judgments of his fellow soldiers, his commanding officers, his countrymen and his family? A powerful new process, called The Honor Window, gives the conscientious objector a practical way to reach the hearts of even his greatest adversaries, and inspire them to stand with him. In this session, VisionForce founder, Michael Skye, will demonstrate this method and show how you can use it in your life to dissolve the walls of judgment and fear that keep us separate, and create a window to honor.
Workshops:
Effects of Iraq War on Soldiers
Vets will discuss the consequences of war experiences on their composure. Persons who have never been in combat situations cannot fully comprehend the impact of this traumatic exposure. Even persons who must endure these encounters often cannot understand the deep psychological implications of practicing behaviors that conflict with the internal wisdom of the individual conscience. Soldiers will discuss their personal response to warfare and describe some disruptions that are the result of their previous participation in the violence of war.
Journey Toward Conscientious Objection
Soldiers tell experiences of coming to awareness and following through with discoveries. Our individual adventure in life requires that we respond to acquired experience and understanding. Participation in war is no exception. Young persons enter the military in order to serve their country and defend the dignity of persons being abused and manipulated. Yet when they discover the origin of conflict and the actual practice of warfare their previous inadequate conception of the justification for military activity is challenged. Soldiers will discuss how they have managed incompatibility with combat and conscience that surfaces in a context of violence.
Seminars:
Antiwar Literature in Historical Context
(Michael Sirmons)
We will examine antiwar fiction (Mark Twain's "The War Prayer") and poetry from the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War (especially World War I poetry: Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, e. e. cummings). The program will include excerpts from Benjamin Britten's opera "War Requiem." Contains graphic imagery and language. Handouts will be included.
Dissent and propaganda/Politics and delusion: Challenges and choices at the
end of the empire
(Robert Jensen)
When governmental and corporate institutions have at their disposal the sophisticated tools developed in the Delusional Revolution of the 20th century (the third of the great revolutions in human history), what does it mean to dissent? What risks do those of us with privilege really take when we speak and assemble in the United States today? Is the public expression of dissent meaningful in the contemporary world, or has it become just another spectacle? Are there other channels for progressive energy that are potentially more effective? And, what does this mean for the political choices we must face in the coming years as the power of the U.S. empire fades? These are the troubling questions that Robert Jensen will address in his discussion of freedom of conscience in the 21st century in the most affluent society in the history of the world. What does freedom mean in a mass-marketed/mass-mediated/mass-medicated society?
Confronting the Powers That Be: Principalities Without and Within
(Hart Viges (US Army 2001-2003) and Doug Zachary (US Marines 1968-1970))
Viges and Zachary, both military veterans discharged "Honorably" as Conscientious Objectors, are sensing and proposing a shift in our collective and individual consciousness to one that will see ourselves as At One With Each Other and as integrated pieces of the overall life system on Earth. They share a belief that humanity is engaged in an evolution of our consciousness that will lead to new personal identities, new belief systems, and new institutions. They are hopeful that these changes in the way we see and describe the world and our place in it will lead to a more wide-spread Freedom of Conscience and to the eventual elimination of war as well as many other forms of alienation and oppression.
Hart is President of the Austin chapter of the Iraq Veterans Against the War and Doug is President of the Austin chapter of Veterans For Peace. Together they recently launched a discussion with rural and small-town Texas citizens regarding "Christ and Empire: Then and Now." They are both engaged in outreach activities with active-duty military personnel, encouraging soldiers to ask themselves deep questions regarding their conscience and their relationship with the State.
Workshops:
Movement and Meditation: Releasing the Creative Spirit
(June Wink)
The movement will seek to heal the ancient split between physical and spiritual that fractures our being and sets us at odds with our bodies. We will explore new ways to release depths of feeling and creativity in relationship to ourselves, others, and the divine. This is a movement experience for everyone regardless of age, sex, physical ability or disability. It is an invitation to those of you who have not explored movement before. It is an invitation to you who feel uncomfortable moving. We focus on our own experiences; we will not be watching or judging the experience of others. The approach is gentle with some meditative background music. You will be encouraged to find your own natural way of moving. You will be encouraged to move because it is enjoyable, not because it will be good for you in the future. Participants are asked to wear loose fitting comfortable clothing.
Panel Discussion:
What leads us to be Conscientious and Where is Conscientious Objection leading?
(Tomas Heikkala, Ray Gingerich, Mike Nordstrom, Thad Crouch)
Panelists will reveal personal experiences, values, feelings and deep questions that lead to nonviolence and various forms of conscientious objection, including objecting to war tax resistance and selective conscientious objection. There will also be a discussion on how non-military communities and congregations can creatively support CO's and even become CO's themselves. Participants be given tools to examine their own values and sparks for their imaginations for living conscientiously and envisioning a future of conscientious individuals and communities.