Local Activists Assemble for Peace
Since the fall of 2002, a group of community members, Quaker
and non-Quaker, have assembled from 4-6 on Wednesday afternoons in
front of the federal building in Las Cruces. What initially began as
a protest against the war in Iraq has now become a witness to the
downward spiral of war. The group, which numbered in the teens and
twenties, has now dwindled to a handful and occasionally one or two.
Passersby now willingly follow the lead of one sign that
instructs to "Honk for Peace."
In that contradiction is the viable
message of making noise for peace and establishing a bond between
motorist and protester. Another sign states "War breeds terror" with
the ever increasing number of dead soldiers under it. For two hours
each week, motorists and pedestrians are confronted with the human
costs of war. This cost includes the deaths of innocent Iraqi
civilians caught up in a pre-emptive war that is now a civil war.
This Wednesday group affirms the importance of witnessing,
speaking out for peace, and documenting the destructive power of war.
Weed and Seed Program
What Peaceful Things Have We Been Doing This Winter? We continue to collect
books for Weed and Seed, a federally funded after school program for children.
For giving a child a book is a peaceful way to share. Children do better in
school and have a better chance of getting a decent job later on if they read
well. We also volunteered for the reading program at Booker T. Washington tutoring
first graders who are having a bit of trouble learning to read.
Our Motto
We have taken our motto from George Fox, Seventeenth Century Quaker.
Pure, Perfect, Peace A blessing: Blessed are those whose minds are stayed
upon the Lord, for they shall be kept in perfect peace .... for it is
a whole Peace, which cannot be broken. So here is not only a perfect
Peace, but a blessing .... which come from the God of Peace. George
Fox, 166
