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Thousands Rally in 20 States in a 9/11 Call for Freedom From Fear
National Groups Ask Congress to Reject the Failed “War on Terror” and Call for New Approach to Global Security
For immediate release - September 8, 2006
Washington, DC...Thousands of people in churches, Quaker meetings, and community groups across the country will join together on September 11 to ask Congress to reject the failed policies of the “war on terror” and develop a new approach to global security. Initiated by the Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers), the 9/11 Call for Freedom From Fear will enable congregations and individuals around the country to mark this fifth anniversary of September 11 with a call for Congress to rethink the national approach to building a safer post-9/11 world.
“In the grief and fear that gripped the nation after September 11, 2001, the U.S. faced a choice: seek an outlet for immediate vengeance or build the foundations of strong and lasting peace. U.S. leaders chose to answer with retribution and preemptive violence, and the entire nation is now paying dearly for that choice,” explained Robin Aura Kanegis, campaigns director of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “We will be calling on Congress to end the conflict in Iraq, invest in development and diplomacy to build world stability and prevent future conflicts, and stop the erosion of constitutional rights and liberties that threaten the very roots of democracy here at home.”
The 9/11 Call for Freedom From Fear is endorsed by the National Council of Churches and many other national and regional groups and individuals. For a full listing go to www.fcnl.org/911call.
Groups from Alabama, Oklahoma, California, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and over a dozen other states will hold prayer services and information sessions to discuss alternative approaches to global insecurity on Sunday, September 10. On Monday, September 11, participants in these events will join thousands of individuals across the country who will meet with or contact their elected officials to call for new national approaches to global insecurity that reject the politics of fear.
At the First United Church in Oneonta, NY, a local coalition will hold a “Freedom From Fear” event featuring members of two military families deeply affected by the war in Iraq. “We’re working to encourage ordinary people to speak out about what they know in their gut is wrong with the country, and then we’re going take those concerns to our Congressman and bring hundreds of letters. And we’ll go back again, and again, and again,” said event organizer Paddy Lane.
St. Cronan Parish in St. Louis, Mo, will hold a prayer service on the theme of Freedom From Fear, and parishioners are organizing meetings with their elected officials. “I’ll be preaching on Isaiah's call to Let Go of Fear, James' call to respect the poor, and Jesus’ call to embody God's reign through alternatives to war,” said Rev. Madonna Kuciejczyk-Kernan. “Our parish is ready to equip ourselves with the tools of non-violence.”
“Today more violent groups are planning attacks on the U.S. than immediately after September 11, 2001, and curtailments of civil liberties are threatening the very democracy the nation has gone to war to protect,” said Kanegis. “The “war on terror” isn’t working. We need to learn from the past five years and chart a new course if we hope to ensure the security of the U.S. for the long term.”
Further more information and resources are available on the web.
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The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, is a non-partisan Quaker lobby in the public interest. FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people from every state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic justice, peace, and good government. For more information: http://www.fcnl.org
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