Seeds

Faith and Work

The National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice wants to promote an understanding of a spirituality of labor and leisure through its Faith and Work Congregational Study Guide on Worker Justice. Produced for both Christian and Jewish communities, this resource draws on scripture to encourage reflection and dialogue about the way we view work.

In one exercise, readers study cartoons and jokes reflecting common attitudes about the nature of work and then compare them to the attitudes toward work in scripture. Charts are provided to record the amount of time a person spends in compensated work vs. uncompensated work (such as your own child care and house cleaning) as well as time spent with family and friends, church time, and personal time.

The study also covers the history of religious support for workers, including the Jewish Labor Committee and the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement to labor issues.

The Faith and Work Study Guide is available for $3 a copy; an accompanying video is $15 (add $5 shipping and handling for any order up to 10 study guides) through the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice at 1607 W. Howard St., Suite 218, Chicago, IL 60626; (312) 381-2832.

The Children Are Dying

"It isn't easy for hungry, emaciated children to learn. It's harder when schools lack even the most basic materials. The U.N. Security Council defines even the graphite in pencils as possible military material." —Sara Flounders, International Action Center

Those of us who believe in nonviolent alternatives to war may sometimes encourage sanctions. But The Children Are Dying: The Impact of Sanctions on Iraq offers evidence that sanctions are having a profoundly devastating effect on innocent people in Iraq.

Chlorine to purify drinking water is banned under U.N. sanctions. Iraqi children are suffering from an increase in leukemia and birth defects due to "silver bullets," uranium-tipped missiles fired during the Persian Gulf war, but because of sanctions on medical aid their treatment is severely limited.

The Children Are Dying also offers voices of opposition to sanctions from various world leaders and describes many projects through which concerned people may take action. It is available for $10 and an accompanying video is $20 (plus $3 shipping and handling) from the International Action Center, 39 West 14th St., #206, New York, NY 10011; (212) 633-6646.

1,000,000 Families Stand for Nonviolence

The Families Against Violence Advocacy Network (FAVAN) is encouraging one million families to pledge their commitment to nonviolence by the year 2000. FAVAN is a project of the Parenting for Peace and Justice Network. Groups helping to form FAVAN include the Children's Defense Fund, Children's Creative Response to Conflict, and the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence. The FAVAN pledge has also been introduced in Canada, Northern Ireland, and the Philippines through various summer programs and conferences.

Several pledge resources are in development which identify specific ways that families can build peace. The pledge will soon be available on wallet-sized cards, 3-by-5-inch cards to be handed out at rallies, and in a framable size. Families Creating a Circle of Peace will be a booklet for families, complete with stories, cartoons, and discussion questions.

To find out how your family can pledge a commitment to a nonviolent community, contact staff coordinator Jim Vogt at 523 E. Southern Ave., Covington, KY 41015; (606) 291-6197; e-mail: ppjnvogt@aol.com