Smithfield Friends Newsletter April 2003 Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends 108 Smithfield Road Woonsocket, RI 02895 Vol.15________________________________________________________________________ No.148 Parsonage: 762-5726 Internet: www.smithfieldfriends.org Clerk: Richard Frechette Recording Clerk Connie Bair-Thompson Pastor: Marnie Miller-Gutsel Treasurer:Bruce Buteau Ministry&Counsel Rhoda Mowry Newsletter: Randy Oftedahl CALENDAR FOR April/May EVERY SUNDAY 10:30 am: MEETING FOR WORSHIP Child Care Available LAST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH: Unprogrammed Worship and Pot Luck Lunch Children's First Day School during worship OTHER WORSHIP UNDER THE CARE OF SMITHFIELD MEETING OR RI/SMITHFIELD QTLY. MTG. SECOND SUNDAY OF MONTH 4:00 PM: Unprogrammed Worship at Uxbridge Meetinghouse, Uxbridge, Mass EVERY WEDNESDAY 4:00 PM: Unprogrammed Worship and discussion at ACI(Maximum) Other events Sunday, April 13 regular Meeting For Worship at Uxbridge, 4 PM Friday, April 18 7 PM, Good Friday Tenebrae Service Sunday, April 20 9:30-10 AM, Meeting for Worship for Healing-special series--"Exploring the Realms of Healing," led by Ron Belliveau EASTER SUNDAY MEETING FOR WORSHIP Saturday, April 26 Spring Breakfast (details inside) First Day School Sleep-over Sunday, April 27 Quarterly Meeting at Providence--note: due to Quarterly Meeting, (discussion group moved to May 4) Sunday, May 4 9:15 - 10:30 am: Discussion group Monthly Meeting for Business NEWSLETTER DEADLINE Monday, May 5 6:45 PM: Ministry and Council at the Frechette home Sunday, May 11 Chain of Prayer (details inside) 9:30 AM: Peace and Social Concerns Film Series (details inside) Peace and Social Concerns meets after worship EVERY FRIDAY: Gathering to pray for peace, 6 PM at the Meeting House Good Friday Tenebrae Service April 18 at 7 PM Letter from Marnie Dear Friends, Our dear Friend in Storrs, CT, Susan Kay, enclosed the following poem in the Kay Christmas letter. It was written to mark the first anniversary of 9/11, but it seems especially appropriate now, not only because Easter is coming but because of the current state of the world. Would You Do the Same Today? Jesus, you got nailed by terror and evil long before we did, You looked it in the eye--prayed-- and refused to hold your love at bay. Have you thought of a better way? Or would you do the same today? I picked up a prayer card after mass. It has a picture of a golden cross hanging beneath an American flag. On the back is a prayer --a prayer for protection from terrorists --a prayer that God help us work for justice --a prayer that God be with us and with our troops and with our allies There is no prayer for our enemies. Maybe that's not something we hear from golden crosses hanging beneath American flags --or maybe there just wasn't room---- But they say that is what was heard from a wooden cross hanging beneath darkened skies --prayer for those who hung you there --prayer for those who watched and laughed --prayer for those who ran and hid --prayer for those who only watch and weep Jesus, can you kindle that love in us? Can you teach us to pray? Even when we can't---especially when we can't, Jesus, keep showing us you can.... Hate came out of a clear blue sky and slammed into our buildings. Hate laughed in your face and slammed through your hands. We try to bomb the hell out of it. You looked it in the eye--prayed-- and refused to hold your love at bay. Have you thought of a better way? Or would you do the same today? -Susan Kay September 11, 2002 Peace and Easter blessings to you, Friends. Marnie Quarterly Meeting RI-Smithfield Quarterly Meeting will be held on Sunday April 27 at the Providence Meetinghouse, 99 Morris Avenue. Worship begins at 10 AM, followed by pot luck lunch and afternoon activities, ending mid to late afternoon. Friends are encouraged to attend Quarterly Meeting. Additional information will be posted at our meetinghouse Young Friends Sleepover! The Religious Education committee is sponsoring a sleepover for all levels of School-aged children: Saturday, April 26 5:00 to Sunday @ 10:30 The topic will be War and Peace. Please contact Helen Ducharme (762-3229; Hellie39@aol.com) to register or for more information. More detailed information is available at the meetinghouse. Good Friday Tenebrae Service--Readers and Musicians Needed Our annual Good Friday Tenebrae Service of readings and hymns will be held Friday, April 18 at 7 PM. We need volunteer readers, and also hope to have some of our fine volunteer musicians. If you'd like to read, see Marnie. Volunteer musicians, see Ron or Marnie. Smithfield Friends Spring Breakfast! "Spring Breakfast" and will take place at the meetinghouse on April 26th (Saturday) from 8 am to 11am. The donation is $5 for adults and a lesser fee of $2 for children under 12 with children under 6 free. The menu is for hot and cold cereals, juices, scrambled eggs, sausage, home fries, various muffins and doughnuts, strata and coffee and tea. Tickets are available at Meeting for Friends to sell; they will also be available at the door. Come for breakfast and tell your friends!!! Discussion Group--Date Change! Because of the conflict with Quarterly Meeting, the adult discussion group will be delayed one week to May 4, 9:15 AM. Ministry & Counsel Committee, discerning a concern of many Friends, has suggested the following topic: "I feel we need to somehow stop this person (regime) from committing atrocities. Is this inconsistent with the Quaker peace testimony?" There is no formal reading assignment, but Friends might want to look into Faith & Practice of New England Yearly Meeting of Friends. Unless Friends decide otherwise, the following adult discussion group (May 25) will begin to consider the Earth Charter that was endorsed at Yearly Meeting last summer. Copies are available in the lobby of the meetinghouse, and can be received via e-mail from RFrech@cox.com. Sermon on the Web? As many of you know, Marnie's gift of ministry was discerned and recorded by both Smithfield Meeting and our Quarterly Meeting. At the suggestion of several Friends, our Ministry & Counsel committee has recommended that Marnie post some of her weekly sermons on the Meeting website in order to share them on a larger plane. M&C recommends the establishment of an ad hoc "filter committee" to periodically consider which sermons should be placed on the website. If anyone feels led to serve on this committee, which will probably meet once per quarter, contact Ron Belliveau (769-1755; RBelliveau@cox.net). Volunteers Needed for Uxbridge Worship Group Uxbridge on a Sunday afternoon in Spring--the snow is gone, the woods are slowly turning green again. There may even be a daffodil or two. In any case, we need volunteers from 4-5 PM every second Sunday to open the building, start the fire (hopefully for not much longer), close worship, and return the key afterwards. A simple but very rewarding ministry--sign up sheet is on the bulletin board. No, This Will Not Be the Year of No Summer! Despite the incredibly persistent snow, sleet and ice, the crocuses and daffodils are in revolt and promise the eventual return of warmth. So check out the bulletin board and tables in the foyer for fliers on various summer Quaker activities: children's camps, FGC Annual Gathering, etc.--including the Grand 50th Anniversary Celebration and Reunion for former campers and staff at China Camp on Saturday, June 21 (registration deadline, June 1). Explore-a-College For college-minded rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school: check out the bulletin board for info on the Explore-a-College program at Earlham, a Quaker College in Richmond, Indiana. For a modest cost, you can find out if Earlham might be right for you by exploring actual college courses and activities. The program runs from June 22-July 5, and you can try out everything from Metalsmithing to Aquatic Ecology. Some scholarship aid is available. Application Deadline: June 6, 2003. Wanted: Stereo system As you may have heard (no pun intended), the stereo system that has doubled as a sound amplifier in the meeting room is no longer functioning. If anyone has a stereo system with a decent sound you no longer need, please contact Ron Belliveau. George Jones, Jr. We have recently heard of the death of George Jones Jr. on February 19 in College Park MD. George was a member of Smithfield Meeting and its pastor for several years in the 1950s, leaving the state in 1961. He retained his membership in our meeting during all the subsequent years. George is survived by his wife of many years, Flora. He is fondly remembered by some of our seasoned Friends as a very intellectual person. He died of complications from a long illness. 2003 Chain of Prayer - May 18 It is Time to Pray for Peace Every year, hundreds of meetings support one another and under-gird the work of Friends United Meeting through the Chain of Prayer. Because of the context of the global war on terrorism and conflicts in Iraq and Palestine, this year's theme is particularly pertinent. The Chain continues from January 1, 2003, to Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2003. Smithfield Meeting's time is Sunday, May 18 from noon to midnight. Friends are encouraged to commit to either a half-hour or hour time period during which time you will pray for peace, either individually or in group, either at the meetinghouse or anywhere else. You choose. The sign-up sheet is on the meetinghouse bulletin board; non-resident members can call or e-mail Richard Frechette (401-769-4433; RFrech@cox.net) to sign up remotely. We hope that our meeting's participation in this sustained period of prayer will be a period of spiritual refreshment at both a corporate and personal level. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." -Jesus Christ (as found in Matthew 5:43-45, NRS) Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business: April 6, 2003 2003-19 Opening Minute Smithfield Monthly Meeting met for a regularly scheduled meeting for worship with attention to business at 12:30PM on April 6, 2003. Richard Frechette was presiding clerk, Connie Bair-Thompson was recording clerk, and 9 other Friends were present. We began with a period of waiting worship. 2003-20 Response of M&C Committee on seating at the meetinghouse At a prior meeting for worship with attention to business, Friends expressed a desire to rearrange the pews, perhaps in a more circular fashion, and referred the matter to Ministry and Counsel committee for consideration. For Ministry and Counsel, the clerk explained that some of the pews will soon be removed to be painted, providing an opportunity for us to try different arrangements and see how Friends respond to them. 2003-21 State of Society report - 2002 For Ministry and Counsel committee, Rhoda Mowry read a draft of our State of Society report for 2002, which follows. Friends approved the report. 2003-22 Peace & Social Concerns Committee report For Peace and Social Concerns Committee, Kathy Malin reported that we are still actively participating in the Rhode Island Peace mission and several in our community recently traveled to Washington to meet with our congressional delegation. The committee is also sponsoring a monthly video series focusing on peace and social concerns issues. She said the committee continues to be quite active and regularly meets on the second First Day each month. Friends expressed appreciation for the committee's work. 2003-23 Religious Education Committee report For Religious Education Committee, the clerk said that they intend to continue providing a monthly First Day program, with an overnight event for at least four times during the year. 2003-24 Nominating Committee report: Jean Kinney for Ministry and Counsel Committee For Nominating Committee, Diane O'Hara reported that the committee had wanted to ask Jeanne Kinney to serve on Ministry and Counsel committee, but could not do so because she was out of state. Now that she has returned, the committee wishes to bring her name forward for Ministry and Counsel committee. Friends approved. 2003-25 Building and Grounds Committee report For Building and Grounds Committee, Ron Belliveau reported that a contractor has been contacted who will begin to repair the parsonage roof this week. He said the committee wishes to paint the exterior of the meetinghouse, removing the paint from the bottom six feet before painting. A contractor has been seen and will be providing a quote on this work. The contractor will also be quoting on re-finishing the outside of the meetinghouse windows and replacing cracked panes. The committee is still considering what to do to the inside of the windows, perhaps putting Plexiglas at the top. Ron said he has also talked to some people who will be providing a quotation on replacing the floor in the parsonage kitchen. Building and Grounds Committee has also discussed reinforcing the parsonage fence. Ron said the parsonage fence was in better condition than he had thought and should be good for several years, but some Friends feel it should be stained or painted as well. Friends agreed to leave the final decision on how to finish the fence to Building and Grounds Committee, with input from the pastor. Friends also asked the committee to have the front steps to the parsonage repaired. 2003-26 Treasurer's 2002 Financial Report Bruce Buteau, Treasurer, presented a tentative 2002 Financial Report: Balance 12/31/01 Receipts Expenses Net Balance 12/31/02 General Fund 8,953 15,189 (23,416) (8,227) 726 Bessie Ewen Fund 4,295 - - - 4,295 Building Fund 893 6,009 - 6,009 6,902 Young Friends Fund 575 344 (367) (23) 552 Unallocated Funds 7,681 - - - 7,681 All Funds 22,397 21,542 (23,783) (2,241) 20,156 (details of general fund report are included with the budget in the next minute) 2003-27 Finance Committee report - 2003 budget Kathy Malin, clerk of Finance Committee, and Bruce Buteau, Treasurer, reviewed the 2003 budget noting that our investments have declined and that we have been operating at a deficit for some time. The proposed budget for 2003 remains a deficit budget and Kathy, Bruce and the clerk pointed out that this can not continue indefinitely without us having to look at major changes in the way we operate, such as not having a pastor or meeting in a different location. Friends discussed some ways we might be able to increase revenue, including "marketing" our meeting or our building on the Internet or elsewhere. Bruce also asked us to consider whether we want to continue investing in funds like Pax, which invest in things consistent with our faith, or whether we want to look at investing in more successful funds. We also recognize that we need to have faith that God will lead us where He wants us to go and that we should not spend too much of our energy worrying about where the dollars will come from. Perhaps there are ways we can increase revenue by focusing on strengthening our meeting community and outreach to the wider community rather than directing all of our attention only on fund raising. We will continue to discuss our options. Kathy said that Finance Committee agreed that something should be done immediately to bring in more revenue. The committee will be sending out a letter to the meeting community explaining our financial situation, asking for more income and suggesting different ways we can contribute. Kathy pointed out that Finance Committee has added a line item for fund raising revenue in the amount of $1000. Noting that our pastor will soon be eligible for Medicare, which will decrease the cost of her health insurance, the committee recommends that the savings in that portion of the compensation package be transferred to pastor's wages and Friends approved. Friends agreed to earmark the money that has come in as a memorial to Lester and Meredith Taber to go toward building restoration. General Fund Budget Income Actual 2002 Budget 2003 Contributions-General 11,963 15,000 Contributions - Special 400 Interest & Dividends: 2,726 2,700 Fund Raising 1,000 Other 100 Total Income 15,189 18,700 Expenses Actual 2002 Budget 2003 Administrative 151 200 Advertising 100 Aid: YM Equalization 400 400 To Organizations 250 300 In support of Leadings 100 200 Prison Ministry 50 50 Scholar/Camperships 565 500 Building & Grounds: Repairs/Maintenance 272 500 Building Supplies 100 Equipment 650 Electricity 669 600 Insurance 1,557 1,600 Gas 3,200 3,000 Telephone 446 500 Water 219 250 Dues & Support: NEYM Support 2,946 3,000 RI Council of Churches 30 NRI Chamber of Com 300 300 First Day School 380 100 Hospitality 8 100 Library 54 100 Ministry & Counsel Committee 20 100 Staff: Health Insurance 4,973 5,000 Pastor's Expenses 805 800 Payroll Taxes 796 420 Wages: Janitor 888 960 Wages: Pastor 3,996 4,560 Workers' Comp Insurance 215 215 Other 156 Total Expenses 23,416 24,635 Surplus (Deficit) (8,227) (5,935) 2003-28 Rocky Malin - Request for funds to participate in service work Rocky Malin explained that he will be living at Cambridge meeting from April 21 through April 25 with other Young Friends from New England Yearly Meeting to participate in various service projects. Each participant is required to raise $150 in support of the project and Rocky asked for $15 from the meeting toward that goal. Friends approved this request, adding that we are open to providing additional funds if needed. No further business arising, Friends closed with a period of waiting worship, intending to meet again for business on May 4, 2003, God willing. Respectfully Submitted, Constance Bair-Thompson, Recording Clerk Smithfield Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends State of the Society 2002 O ur fear of war and our hope for peace are much on our minds now - much as it was a year ago. As 2002 ended we found ourselves fearful that our country would plunge into war with Iraq and we want to make sure we are doing all we can to stop it. A year ago, while still saddened by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, we were fearful that our country's bombing of Afghanistan was not the right response to that attack. In 2002, we continued open gatherings for peace for several months. Many in our meeting are actively involved in working for peace and our Peace and Social Concerns committee was especially active in 2002. We feel we can be a source of support for people who feel called to this work, especially as the congregations of some other churches seem to support military action in Iraq. We have been supporting the newly established Southeastern New England chapter of the American Friends Service Committee, with some of our community taking an active role. We are similarly supportive of the Rhode Island Peace Mission. We wonder if we should do more to network with other peace-minded churches as well as those that seem to support military action in Iraq. While some may be drawn to our meeting because of Quakers' traditional peace and social activism, we recognize that there is more than this single issue that unites us. We are truly a community of Friends with different gifts and ministries - and we value our diversity. We are also thankful that our community is an active and changing one. Our ideas, hope and vision for the meeting are admirable, but we struggle to implement our vision. We find our lives very busy and we have trouble accomplishing all we want to do, but we remain committed to our meeting. Our concern about war with Iraq further distracts us from the outreach efforts we would like to make. We want to reach out more to others , but find that, while we are long on ideas on how to accomplish this, we are short on energy to follow through. We want to let more people know about us. As one young Friend so aptly put it: "We are the Society of Friends, not the Secret Society of Friends." People can't be attracted to us if they don't know we're here. In our zeal to not proselytize, we risk failing to let people know we are here and what we stand for. Our energy for corporate outreach is limited, as is our ability to talk to people outside our meeting community about our Quakerness. When we do talk about it, we find that people are interested in learning more about Quakerism. It seems we are always starting things, or wanting to start them, but we are unable to keep our energy up to continue them. Some of our committees met rarely or not at all; building repairs are long overdue; activities are sometimes scheduled but later canceled. We struggle with how to keep our young people active in our meeting and how to keep our First Day School alive with so few teachers and sporadic attendance by our children. We recognize that this is something that this is an ongoing problem for many small Quaker meetings, but this fact offers us little consolation. In 2002, we began an experiment in which we offered a First Day School program only once a month - during our monthly unprogrammed meeting for worship. In general, we have seen attendance by our youth decline in 2002. We suspect the reason is lack of a more robust First Day School program, but we seem to lack the energy and manpower to staff such. We continue to struggle to find a solution. And yet there are positive things to report relating to our youngsters. Young Friends again held a yard sale, which was a big success and great fun for all who helped out. We have found this activity to be a great community-builder, and we are grateful for the energy of these Young Friends. In response to one of our members facing a serious illness, we held a meeting for healing. We found it to be a powerful spiritual experience not only for that individual but also for the others involved. We continue to hold a monthly meeting for healing, welcoming all who feel the need to heal and help others heal. Peace and Social Concerns Committee is sponsoring a monthly Social Justice Film Series, each Second Sunday at 9:30 AM in the Meetinghouse basement. Each film - approximately 30 minutes long - will be followed by discussion. Please join us for this thought provoking series.... April 13 at 9:30 AM: The Hidden Story: Confronting Colombia's Dirty War The media has had a powerful influence in shaping Colombia's international image. But camouflaged by its fascination with drug violence are massive human rights violations the media has largely chosen to ignore. The reality of Colombia's dirty war is revealed in The Hidden Story through powerful images and the equally powerful testimony of men and women who risk their lives each day to build peace with social justice in Colombia. The Hidden Story analyses the roots of the conflict, the role of the US-sponsored "Plan Colombia" and the so-called "war on drugs", as well as Canada's connection to the worsening crisis. The documentary also explores what's needed to bring peace and justice to Colombia. It ends with a people's call for international support. May 11 at 9:30 AM: Uprooted: Refugees of the Global Economy A compelling look at how the Global Economy - and the policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in particular - have impacted on the lives of people in developing countries. The film tells the story of three individuals - from the Philippines, Bolivia and Haiti - and how economic decisions made by their governments in response to IMF demands fell on their shoulders. Stories like these are repeated throughout the world - but seldom do we get to hear these stories from the people affected. Report on Visit of Representative of Smithfield Friends Meeting with RI Congressional Delegation Our delegation from Smithfield Meeting, also representing the Rhode Island Peace Mission, traveled to Washington DC to meet with the RI Congressional Delegation on March 12. In all of our meetings, we raised three issues: * Our concern with the US role in the global community, the apparent intent of the current administration toward unilateral military and economic domination at the expense of a multilateral community in which the US plays a leadership role based on principles rather than power; We asked each his thoughts - particularly, whether he had a vision of our country's role in the global community, and whether he saw specific goals that would lead us toward reaching this vision. * The apparent increased rate of nuclear proliferation resulting from current U.S. strategies, and whether current policy would be questioned in the Congress; * The diminishment of US civil liberties under the USA Patriot Act and the even more extreme measures proposed under the Security Enhancement Act of 2003 - whether they had seen it, what their reactions to it were, and what they were prepared to do to prevent rapid passage in the even of another terrorist attack or war. We gave each a full copy of the 120 page draft Act, as well as the 17 page ACLU in-depth analysis Summary We wondered whether raising these broad concerns was a useful strategy, given their general lack of insightful response. Talking with their aides and following up with them may be of equal or more value in the long run. Nevertheless there may be a value in our telling them that we WANT them to focus on a long term vision. If we can continue a train of dialogue over months through the voices of other peace mission delegates, we hope that something of our concern gets through. Perhaps they might come to expect a different kind of concern from this group than from the special interest lobbyists that usually confront them. Hence, we urge the next delegation from the Peace Mission to follow up on this line of questioning. On two different occasions, aides reported to us (on their own initiative) that the individual letters, faxes and e-mails have a substantive impact on the decisions of their respective bosses. That may be an exaggeration, but they wouldn't have volunteered this info if the correspondence carried NO weight. Bob Sumner-Mack Richard Frechette Randy Oftedahl A summary of the individual meetings is posted on the meetinghouse bulletin board. Smithfield Friends meet with Senator Lincoln Chafee Green Ribbons for Life What follows is a revision of a message I posted to the Peace-RI email group at the end of March. Even with the present violent stage of the war coming to an end (thank God), this is still an idea that I am exploring, and I welcome any feedback and reaction. I do not know if this is something I am led to pursue or not. I offer it here for Friends' consideration: ...I believe that even a war-reluctant public will never join open criticism of the war if there is the slightest perception that this mean not "supporting our troops". The antiwar movement has tried reclaiming the fact that it is opposition to this war that truly supports the troops - supporting them home alive and well, not facing uncertain danger in a tragically unnecessary war. Of course we need to continue this message, but there is a message that needs to be heard that also proves that this administration clearly does NOT "support the troops". The day after Congress passed a resolution expressing "Support for the troops," the U.S. House voted in support of a Bush proposed $25 billion ten-year cut in veteran health and benefit programs from the 2004 budget (www.commondreams.org/views03/0328-11.htm ). "Supporting Our Troops," it appears, means supporting their work and their sacrifice - during the war. It looks like for many or our leaders in Washington support for the troops themselves - as American citizens willing to make the greatest sacrifice in what they believe is service to their country - is as flimsy and phony as the excuses for this war itself. These facts from the above article, as well as information available from Veterans Against the Iraq War (www.vaiw.org) and Veterans for Common Sense (www.veteransforcommonsense.org) are shocking: * Because of recent budget cuts, the Veterans Administration has begun charging new veterans a yearly fee of $250 in order for them to receive treatment at all. * The House approved cuts could mean an additional loss (to an already understaffed VA) of over 19,000 nurses, translating to the elimination of over 6.6 million outpatient visits. * On top of the $25 billion cut, another $204 million was cut from Impact Aid, a program that supports the education of service members' children. * 28 million veterans are currently using VA benefits, and another 70 million are potential recipients. * Half of the veterans using VA health benefits have no other source of health care. * VA benefits - crucial as they are - already horrendously under-serve their population. Forty percent of Vietnam Veterans are homeless. * Nearly a half million disability benefit claims are caught in a backlog that will grow rapidly after the current war. Another half-million Compensation and Pension claims are also backlogged. * To further add insult to insult and injury, "the Bush administration recently ordered VA medical centers to stop publicizing available benefits to veterans seeking assistance." So is this how Bush and the compliant Congress "supports our troops"? Here is an idea for the peace movement that would be relatively simple to organize and administer, effective in co-opting the phony line that opposing the war means not supporting the troops, and could be a truly important Peace Work of long-lasting importance. Suppose we organize a sort-of "Green Ribbon Campaign," monitoring and publicizing current and future assaults by Congress and the President on veterans programs. We could get "pledges" from people to lobby their Congressional representatives to support increased veterans benefits - for all veterans - and actively work with willing veterans groups and the many veteran peace groups to "increase the holler" whenever the feds try to put the squeeze on needy vets to - for example - pay for things like tax cuts for the rich. A lot of this work could be internet based (something like MoveOn.org does - instant faxes and the like), and well within a shoe-string budget to accomplish. Perhaps the Greens might be interested - or the AFSC or some other peace organization. Maybe we could start with a few interested individuals willing to get together to talk about what this would look like. I know there are some great veterans peace groups out there combining this message of REAL support for past, present and future troops with a message for peace and against this war in particular (Veterans for Common Sense has a particularly interesting campaign called "Deeds Not Words"). But I think it would be an important and powerful message coming from non-veterans - and the peace movement itself. We are the ones accused of not supporting the troops by opposing the war. But let's see if our accusers are so willing to "put their money where there mouth is". We, after all, will be insisting that "support" means more than waving flags and hanging yellow ribbons. We will be demanding a sacrifice in return from those not fighting in these wars; a sacrifice in tax dollars to assure a better life for those coming home from these wars. (Why not call for a special "veterans support tax" on upper-income earners who never served in combat??) Can we talk about this? Is anyone interested in pursuing this idea? -Randy Oftedahl Together with is multiplied evils, war produces some good, I have no wish to deny. I know that is sometimes elicits valuable qualities which had otherwise been concealed and that it often produces collateral and adventitious, and sometimes immediate advantages. If all this could be denied, it would be needless to deny it; for it is of no consequence to the question whether it be proved. That any wide-extended system should not produce some benefits can never happen. In such a system, it were an unheard-of purity of evil, which was evil without any mixture of good. But, to compare the ascertained advantages of war with its ascertained mischiefs, and to maintain a question as to the preponderance of the balance, implies not ignorance, but disingenuosness, not incapacity to decide, but a voluntary concealment of truth. -Jonathan Dymond (1798-1828), "War and Christianity Are Opposite Ends of a Balance" Smithfield Monthly Meeting of Friends 108 Smithfield Road Woonsocket, RI 02905