The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples

“School strike week 141. On a clearcut in central Sweden that belongs to the Church of Sweden. #ArborDay #MindTheGap #ClimateStrikeOnline

Global faith leaders call for drug firms to vaccinate world against Covid

Global faith leaders call for drug firms to vaccinate world against Covid Exclusive: almost 150 religious heads say ‘every person is precious’ as they demand end to vaccine nationalism

Law Professor: Police Hold 'Extraordinary' Power Over Black People In Traffic Stops

Law Professor: Police Hold 'Extraordinary' Power Over Black People In Traffic Stops Those who don't immediately stop for police are committing "contempt of cop. And bad officers will make you pay for that," law professor Paul Butler argues.

Opinion | Big business has to pay its fair share to rebuild America

Opinion | Big business has to pay its fair share to rebuild America 55 major companies paid $0 in taxes last year. That can't continue.

End the U.S.-Backed Saudi Blockade of Yemen

End the U.S.-Backed Saudi Blockade of Yemen For nearly six years, the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition has imposed a crippling air, land, and sea blockade on Yemen. This blockade has been a leading driver of starvation and the broader humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

We LOVE her!❤️❤️❤️

Follow Occupy Democrats for more.

Drugmakers prepare for the unusual: A defeat in Washington

Drugmakers prepare for the unusual: A defeat in Washington Democrats' next big bill could include drug price negotiations and other industry curbs. Pharma may not be able to fight it off this time.

Repeal the President’s Iraq War Powers

Repeal the President’s Iraq War Powers It’s been 18 years since the invasion, after all.

Update: Elderly Asian Woman Who Clobbered Her Attacker Talks About Terrifying Assault In San Francisco

Update: Elderly Asian Woman Who Clobbered Her Attacker Talks About Terrifying Assault In San Francisco An elderly woman being attacked on Market St. in San Francisco Wednesday - the latest victim in a wave of attacks on Asians in the Bay Area - turned the tables on her assailant, leaving him with injuries that required a trip to the hospital.

‘Senseless and tragic’: Atlanta spa shootings spark national outrage

‘Senseless and tragic’: Atlanta spa shootings spark national outrage The killing of eight women Tuesday night who worked at three metro Atlanta massage parlors come has come amid a recent wave of attacks against Asian Americans that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the United States.

Rev.MARTIN TODD ALLEN at Ethics In Tech Community Event March 4th, 2021

Rev. Allen at last weeks Ethics in Tech event! https://youtu.be/iHaYpCP4RgQ

Rev.MARTIN TODD ALLEN at Ethics In Tech Community Event March 4th, 2021 HTTPS://EthicsInTech.com Rev.MARTIN TODD ALLEN is an advisor to Ethics in Technology. He is Associate Minister at the Church for the Fellowship of All Peop...

New Zealand marks two years since Christchurch mosque killings

New Zealand marks two years since Christchurch mosque killings Several hundred gathered at the Christchurch Arena for the remembrance service, which was also livestreamed.

Calls for international probe into fire at Sanaa detention centre

Calls for international probe into fire at Sanaa detention centre A blaze that tore through a migrant detention centre in Yemen’s capital killed dozens of people, mostly Ethiopians.

Guatemalan families bury loved ones killed near US-Mexico border

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/13/guatemalan-families-bury-loved-ones-killed-near-us-mexico-border

Guatemalan families bury loved ones killed near US-Mexico border Guatemala’s president is calling for justice after 19 charred bodies were found near US-Mexico border in January.

Jeff Bezos turns down Bernie Sanders' invitation to attend Senate hearing on income inequality

Jeff Bezos turns down Bernie Sanders' invitation to attend Senate hearing on income inequality Sanders has been a frequent critic of Amazon, previously urging the company to restore hazard pay for frontline workers amid the pandemic.

Photos from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders's post

'Just shoot me if you want to': Nun stands in front of Myanmar riot officers to stop attack on protesters

https://www.yahoo.com/news/just-shoot-want-nun-stands-121026107.html

'Just shoot me if you want to': Nun stands in front of Myanmar riot officers to stop attack on protesters Warning, this story contains images some may find distressing Arms outstretched, her white robes trailing on the dusty ground as she knelt in front of armed riot officers, Sister Ann Roza Nu Tawng was prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice as she pleaded with them not to harm protesters marching on....

Opinion | Time for some more ‘good trouble’ on voting rights, 56 years after ‘Bloody Sunday’

Opinion | Time for some more ‘good trouble’ on voting rights, 56 years after ‘Bloody Sunday’ If there is anything worth getting into trouble for, it’s safeguarding the right to vote.

Georgia Republicans are pushing dozens of 'election integrity' bills. Black voters are the target, rights groups say.

Georgia Republicans are pushing dozens of 'election integrity' bills. Black voters are the target, rights groups say. As the battle over voting rights plays out in legislatures across the country, advocates say federal protections are more necessary than ever.

Interview with Mehdi Hasan on MSNBC

LA County may return a beachfront property seized from a Black family nearly 100 years ago that could be worth $75 million

https://www.yahoo.com/news/la-county-may-return-beachfront-214947186.html

LA County may return a beachfront property seized from a Black family nearly 100 years ago that could be worth $75 million The property was taken away from Willia and Charles Bruce, who were reportedly the first Black landowners in Manhattan Beach, California.

Biden under pressure to reverse Trump's aid cuts in Yemen

Biden under pressure to reverse Trump's aid cuts in Yemen The Joe Biden administration faces growing calls from Democratic lawmakers and aid groups to reinstate funding to Houthi-held northern Yemen.

On the Road to Voting Rights: Freedom Day in Selma, 1963 | HowardZinn.org

On the Road to Voting Rights: Freedom Day in Selma, 1963 | HowardZinn.org In the 1960s, Howard Zinn, along with Ella Baker, served as advisers to SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. On this 50th anniversary year of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches and the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, we revisit Zinn's first-hand account from Selma's Freedom....

As US mulls Afghan exit, activist sees long fight for women

https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-afghanistan-islamic-state-group-kabul-taliban-e7a746817fb24f45e1ff702ca269ccc5

As US mulls Afghan exit, activist sees long fight for women KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Prominent activist Sima Samar has been fighting for women’s rights in Afghanistan for the past 40 years. She believes her struggle is far from over — especially at a time...

An Invaluable Black Public Broadcasting Archive Is Now Accessible Online

https://hyperallergic.com/623698/american-archive-of-public-broadcasting-black-tv/?fbclid=IwAR1NXYabECXT3OIYF2WQDTh8bz2hdZwGH0frZSJINETa2JPdJ6RP2sqEGZw

An Invaluable Black Public Broadcasting Archive Is Now Accessible Online From a report on sundown towns to interviews with Angela Davis and Emmett Till’s mother, here are highlights from the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

[03/08/21]   GODDESS, OUR MOTHER, OUR SISTER, OUR DAUGHTER
MARCH 7, 2021
Message From Dr. Benton
She has many names, yet she is always the one who is, who has been, and who will be. She is Life Manifesting, and therefore, she is change –
the cycle of change, the great wheel of change in the universe.

The opening music from Nina Simone, entitled Wild is the Wind is, to me, the epitome of the Goddess…of the feminine aspect of life, of nature, of change. The opening quote comes from an author named Margie McArthur in her book entitled, Lady of the Sea – The Goddess Who Births the New Age. It is a powerful book filled with the wisdom of the Goddess…the divine feminine…part of our birthright and part of the plan for moving forward in this difficult time…what McArthur calls “the New Age”.

I think it is true that we are at a turning point in history. We are being forced to see the error of our ways in so many aspects of our lives together. Of course many of us have been aware of these errors our entire lives, but it has taken the world-wide web and so many other amplifiers of our plight to bring this reality to the forefront of our consciousness. And it is not just our human lives together…it is the recognition that we are all part of the other…part of the living world around us. What we do has profound impacts on the rest of creation. For indeed we are part of everything around us…the stream, the forest, the creatures. In the words of Rumi:

We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten our former states, except in early spring when we slightly recall being green again.

It will soon be spring and we need to recall our greenness…in the words of Hildegard of Bingen our “veriditas”. Of the wonders of the seed she writes:

In such a small seed, where lies hidden the hardness of the trunk, the softness of the middle, the bitterness of the bark, the viriditas of the root, the taste of the fruit, the sweetness of the smells, the diversity of colors, and the softness of leaves?

Where indeed hides the hardness of the trunk…the taste of the fruit? Where does our own personality…our own nature hide amid our natural surroundings? Meister Eckhart, a late thirteenth and early fourteenth century mystic answered that question for us.

When we were part of nature…part of the stream, the forest, the hoof, wing and fin, we did not question our place in creation. It was not until we were separated that we began to suffer great agony and fear. Thus, he says, we had to return…

It is that return that I feel we are celebrating today…this month…the return to our mother…our source. It is Women’s History Month following closely on the heels of Black History Month. It is a time to raise up the Goddess of Life…the feminine nature of the divine.

Tomorrow, March 8th is International Women’s Day. Each year there is a theme that they focus on. This year’s theme is – Choose to Challenge. This reminded me of a wonderful challenge I received in my email this week from Dr. Dorsey Blake. It is a recording of a pastor of a White Christian church addressing his congregation. This is a challenging message…challenging all of us to speak the truth, even though it may be uncomfortable…even though we are scared.

This is challenging indeed! Pastor Kilpatrick laid out the history and brought it up to the present…to the individual and societal responsibility to deal with this reality. The urgency of this responsibility…of this challenge echoes throughout history…it has always been an urgent message. Pauli Murray knew this. On August 9, 1942 she wrote:

Some of us cannot compromise with this race supremacy any longer, for to do that would be to give up the last shred of integrity we have left. We must speak out, appealingly, caustically, bitterly, as long as we are able that Americans may not forget for one moment this race problem is a war issue, and that fundamental approaches must be made to eliminate it, now, not after the war is over.

Now Murray wrote this in 1942! Is the race problem still a problem that permeates all aspects of our society? We know it is. We know that it is fundamental to who we are as a people…as a nation, and if we do not deal with it on a national AND on a personal level, we are destined to continue on the path we have been following. We are destined to continue to kill Black people with police bullets and with the withholding of opportunity and wealth through the continuation of our oppressive system and through our individual bigoted behavior. If we continue to allow people and systems to separate us on the basis of race, class, sex…etc. then there is also not hope for the human race to change the course of species extinction, water, air, land pollution and climate change.

Race is one “problem” we have in our culture and as John Muir pointed out, “When you pick up anything, you find that it is attached to everything else”. Indeed, if we came from the same stardust…if we have evolved from the minerals, the plants, the animals…if we were once the stream, the forest, the field…if we were the sky itself AND if we became separated…it is now time for that change. It is time for that return to the river, the mountain…it is time to recognize where we have strayed from the way of the Goddess…the wind and the sea. It is time to admit that we have strayed from the love of our creator…the unconditional all-pervading presence that undergirds our existence. This means that we must move forward together, with a common understanding of the past and a clear vision for the future.

This means that we must ask…or beg the rivers and the mountains, the creatures, the forces and the objects of nature to be taken back…to be accepted again into that great womb of creation, so that God(dess) will be ever-present in our arms…so that we will know that every soul that has ever lived has held the Goddess. May we all be part of the Great Wheel of Change in the Universe. We cannot wait.

'No One Is Above the Law': Rashida Tlaib Rips Biden Admin's Opposition to ICC War Crimes Probe of Israel

'No One Is Above the Law': Rashida Tlaib Rips Biden Admin's Opposition to ICC War Crimes Probe of Israel The Michigan congresswoman said the ICC "has the authority and duty to independently and impartially investigate and deliver justice to victims of human rights violations and war crimes in Palestine."

Pope Francis starts his historical tour to Iraq

How technology companies and government agencies are watching you!

Need something to watch this weekend? Check out Ethics in Tech community event with Rev Allen. https://youtu.be/626F7TT31FY

How technology companies and government agencies are watching you! About This Event: NATHAN 'NASH' SHEARD Associate Director of Community Organizing. nash leads EFF's grassroots, student, and community organizing efforts. A...

Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah

https://www.yahoo.com/news/intense-preparation-paves-way-pontiff-062034127.html

Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah In Iraq’s holiest city, a pontiff will meet a revered ayatollah and make history with a message of coexistence in a place plagued by bitter divisions. One is the chief pastor of the world-wide Catholic Church, the other a pre-eminent figure in Shiite Islam whose opinion holds powerful sway on the ...

Hassan El Tayyab Joins Al-Jazeera English to Discuss the UN Donor Summit for Yemen

Hassan El Tayyab Joins Al-Jazeera English to Discuss the UN Donor Summit for Yemen The UN Donor Summit for Yemen was held on March 1. FCNL's Legislative Manager for Middle East Policy, Hassan El-Tayyab, hopped on AJE to discuss the implicat...

In Peru, sterilization case against Fujimori goes to court

https://www.yahoo.com/news/peru-sterilization-case-against-fujimori-025456954.html

In Peru, sterilization case against Fujimori goes to court Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is on trial for his role in a 1990s government program in which many Indigenous women in poor communities say they were forcibly sterilized, and some died or suffered serious injuries because of infection. The judicial process led by Judge Rafael Martínez ...

Girl dies after being caned during 'exorcism' in Sri Lanka

https://www.yahoo.com/news/girl-dies-being-caned-during-072735095.html

Girl dies after being caned during 'exorcism' in Sri Lanka Police in Sri Lanka said Monday they have arrested two people in connection with the death of a 9-year-old girl who was repeatedly beaten during a ritual they believed would drive away an evil spirit. The two suspects — the woman performing the exorcism and the girl's mother — appeared in court ...