Active Love and Nonviolence
The Only Moral Response To War
A Day of Reflection with Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
Friday, August 17 starting at 9:00 AM
Our day will be a reflection on the understanding essential to Christianity, and key to many other systems of belief, that active love and nonviolence must be at the center of our relationship to one another. As we seek to find a way to live and speak our deep concern for the world, this understanding can guide our response to unbridled capitalism, poverty, racism, war and the militarization of society.
Together, we will seek to embrace the heart of Christianity embodied in the good news of Jesus message, and echoed in the hearts and minds of all women and men who seek to put an end to war: the affirmation of the sacredness of all human life. Together we will explore this sacred grounding of our existence and the profound, universal brother/ sisterhood this implies.
We we will work towards a deeper understanding that this is why we care, this is why we act and thus together we will reaffirm that this is why active love and nonviolence are the only moral response to war.
About Bishop Gumbleton
Bishop Gumbleton is a retired Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit. His ministry has always been marked by his active opposition to all wars which has led him to be arrested numerous times in civil resistance actions. Insistently and consistently, he has worked to support the marginalized, the poor and the outcasts of society. When Michael Moore sought a voice within the faith community to articulate the essential inhumanity of capitalism for his most recent documentary, Capitalism: a Love Story, it was to Bishop Gumbleton that he turned. Bishop Gumbleton's lifetime of commitment to peace and justice has garnered him many honors and rewards and consistent among these is the recognition of his personal generosity,humility and affirming warmth.
His parishioners have called him" A pastor in the truest sense of the word."
Of the coming day of reflection, Bishop Gumbleton has said:
" I am looking forward to being with you. I will be speaking from the place of my grounding, the Gospel message of Jesus. This will be the framework for my talks but I invite all who hunger and thirst for peace and justice to join with me in silence and reflection as we seek a deeper understanding of how to speak to the problems of violence and injustice in our world."
Schedule
9:30 AM Prayer Service
9:45-10:45 AM Bishop Gumbleton
"The Only Moral Response to War is Active Love and Nonviolence"
10:45 -11:45 AM Blessed Silence
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:00 PM Bishop Gumbleton
"The Only Moral Response to War ....Part II
2:00-3:00 PM Blessed Silence
3:00 -3:30 PM Closing Prayer Service
To register for this day of reflection, please send your registration fee of $55.00* along with following information: name, address, phone number and email to:
Make checks payable to: Veterans for Peace, ( on memo line please write: Bishop Gumbleton)
Send registration and check c/o: John Amidon
25 Melrose Avenue
Albany, NY 12203
*Lunch provided
* If you need financial assistance to attend, please contact John Amidon, 518-312-6442 or Maureen Aumand, 518-869-6674
* Additional donations are welcome.