Published: July 16, 2022
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The Peace Testimony and the Ukraine War: A Webinar for Friends
Many Friends have struggled to understand how to respond to the brutal war in Ukraine in a way that is consistent with the peace testimony and our own beliefs about nonviolence. The tangled history of the region, not well-understood by most of us, plus the actions of our own government and European countries before and during the war, add to the complexity of the issues facing us as Americans and as Quakers. The war is one of aggression by Russia, but our own country is massively arming Ukraine to the point that some call this a proxy war. With hundreds of Ukrainian citizens dying daily, along with soldiers on both sides, we strive to be able to discern a position that is morally acceptable to us.
We invite you to participate in a Webinar, with a panel of three Friends, all of whom have a long and illustrious history of working for peace and justice and who have important links to Ukraine. The panel presentations will be followed by Q&A and then worship sharing. Please join us!
Sponsored by Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s Working Group on U.S. Militarism and War
Monday, July 18, 2022
90 minutes starting
4:30 PM Pacific = 5:30 PM Mountain
Click here to register.
Panelists
Helena Cobban, a Quaker committed to social justice and nonviolent conflict resolution, is the founder and owner of Just World Books, which has published over 40 books on international affairs. Helena herself has published seven books of her own on international issues and conflict resolution. She has been a correspondent for several media outlets, including The Christian Science Monitor, The Sunday Times, ABC News, and the BBC. Since 2015, she has been Executive Director of the Just World Educational Foundation, which recently published a 32-page report entitled, “Ukraine: Stop the Carnage, Build the Peace,” based on a series of meetings with a distinguished panel of experts and activists.
Bob Dockhorn served as senior editor of Friends Journal from 2001 until his retirement in 2011. He began his career working as a European historian with a specialty in 20th-century Germany. From 1976 to 1992 he served as associate secretary for Testimonies and Concerns of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, working in international affairs, conflict resolution, racial issues, disarmament, and interfaith relations. For many years he served as a volunteer Holocaust educator, with high school students and survivors. is married to Roma Dockhorn, who was born in Ukraine and has been a participant in the Ukrainian community in this country, which has helped to inform Bob’s perspective. Their three children speak Ukrainian.
Michael Beer has been Director of Nonviolence International since 1998. Michael is a global activist for human rights, minority rights and argues against war and casino capitalism. He has trained activists in many countries, including Myanmar, Kosovo, Tibet, and the United States. He is a frequent public speaker on nonviolence and has been broadcast on CSPAN, CNN, and other major media outlets. Michael roller-skated from Odessa to Kiev in 1988 as a part of the Soviet-American Peace Walk, He has supported an NVI Russia/Ukraine chapter for 30 years. Currently NVI/Ukraine is developing messaging to support the Russian peace movement. Michael is a life-long Friend and a member of Friends Meeting of Washington.
from Wayne Finegar, Quaker House Fayetteville (to be 7/18/2022)