Events

Come out and attend an event in your community and be a visible sign of the peace and justice movement in Nebraska.

Foie Gras and the Public Servant Reading/Performance

 Join us on Friday, August 6th at 7pm , at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A St, Lincoln, NE, as the Lincoln Chapter of Nebraskans for Peace presents a play by Hayashi Kyoko.

The play, by Hayashi Kyoko, a victim of the bombing of Nagasaki who lived with radiation sickness for over forty years after the Nagasaki bombing, tells of Japanese and American mass killings. Born in Nagasaki, Kyoko went to Shanghai in the 1930s but returned to Nagasaki in 1945 to go to school. Instead she was required to work in a munitions factory where she was laboring when the Nagasaki bomb fell and afflicted her with her fragile health for the rest of her life. She began writing in 1962, mainly short stories and novels but also two plays. For her work she received the Akutagawa Prize, the Kawabata Prize, and the Tanizaki Prize, three of Japan's highest literary honors.
Foie Gras and the Public Servantwas written in the 1980s, broadcast on Japanese radio, and subsequently produced in Japan. The action takes place on the green fields of the dead in Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C. at a time when a tourist Japanese medical doctor named Okita visits the place. There he remembers how he, in 1945, then a medical student, entered the atomic wasteland of Nagasaki. As he wanders in this cemetery, he meets the Japanese widow of an American war veteran, Bob, buried as a vet but capable of appearing from the the other side. As Okita meets Bob’s ghost emerging from his grave, Bob recalls his romance with his wife, Pearl Harbor, the Bataan death march. Meanwhile Bob's two grandchildren play in Arlington to the tunes of a military funeral while Okita recalls Nagasaki. Ironically both men receive a reward for their service in war, the one man an appointment as a public servant, the other fois gras and champagne.
The center of the play concerns what these rewards mean -- what the great atrocities of Bataan and Nagasaki could have meant. The play concludes with a 1995 letter from Bob’s widow.concerning the controversy over the Smithsonian exhibit to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the bomb that led to the censoring of the exhibit.
The play focusses on memory and the construction of meaning for our lives. This is, so far as we know, the first performance of the play in this country, and the Japanese translator will be present.

Local actors David Landis, William Gaines and Hanna Day-Woodruff will perform the leads in this “reading performance” of what was originally a radio play.  The reading is directed by Aaron Sawyer who comes to the event thanks to the collaboration of the  Angels Theatre Company.

Hiroshima Lantern Float 2010: August 7, 2010, 7:15 to 9:15 pm, Northeast Shore of Holmes Lake, Lincoln, NE

About sixty five years ago, August 2nd, 1945, is the day when Harry Truman putatively made the decision to drop the bomb, a date marking the end of the Potsdam conference dividing up Europe among the great powers and preparing for a final assault on Japan. August 6th and 9th were the days when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. This August 7 event will recall Potsdam, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki and will anticipate the possibility of significant reductions in nuclear weapons in the near future. We derive hope from the statements of world leaders that they seek to abolish nukes; we hope for a successful negotiation of the START TREATY II and for an end to the arming of space.

This year’s event will be held at Holmes Lake on the northeast side of the lake. The event is presently sponsored by First United Methodist Church, Trinity United Methodist Church, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, First Mennonite Church, Lincoln Friends Meeting, First Lutheran Church, Plymouth UCC Peace and Justice Committee, the United Nations Association of Lincoln, the Prairie Peace Park, and Nebraskans for Peace Lincoln Chapter.. First Methodist furnishes the insurance coverage that makes this event possible. Other sponsors may be added and will be announced at the event.

Lantern floats in Japan are used to guide the souls of the dead to their rest for many years; in recent times they have been used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to commemorate the people destroyed by the first atomic bombs. The purpose of the event in Lincoln is to remind us of what happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to will that such events never again occur, whether initiated by the U. S, or by other powers. We also remind ourselves that atrocities and genocide have occurred on many sides – e.g. the Nanking massacre or the German massacre of Jews. Sunset occurs on August 7 at about 8:30 PM; darkness will come about one-half hour later. Materials for the lanterns and plans for making them will be provided at the site or you can learn how to make a lantern shade and base at http://www.progressiveportal.org/lnterns/shademaking.html. Please feel free to download, print, distribute and post a poster for Lincoln's Hiroshima Lantern Float

Schedule for the evening (times are approximate):

Music by Native American flutist, Michael Murphy
I. Meeting at Holmes Lake site to assemble lanterns and socialize: 7:00-7:30 PM
II. Greetings from Nobuko Tsukui, translator of Japanese survivors’ atomic bomb literature: 7:30-7:40
III. Lela Shanks, peace/justice advocate, reading accounts of August 6-9, 1945: 7:40-7:55.
IV. Greg Kosmicki, poet and editor for the Backwaters Press reading poetry describing the creation: 7:55-8:10.
V. Marilyn Mecham, IMN: “The religious implications of nuclear arms”: assembling to carry lanterns to lake: 8:10-8:40
VI. The assembled group carries the lanterns to the lake: 8:40 on.

Assistance with making lanterns from Suzie Miller Schoen, Diane Rupnow, Jean Krejci, Susan Alleman, Gwen Tilley, Kate Honeyman, Dwight Ganzel, and others. Canoe cleanup of lanterns after float from John Krejci, Steve Larrick, Jeanine Copple

Join Omaha and DesMoines Catholic Workers for Annual STRATCOM Vigil

Share with us our hope for peace as we commemorate the Anniversary of the USA atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanon Aug 6 and 9, 1945.  Contemplate with us the work and mission Offutt AFB's god-awful Commands, the challenges they pose to all life on our planet and the demonic claim the holds on the soul and spirit of our nation.  Over night hospitality is available upon request starting Thursday evening Aug 5th. Call ahead and let us know you are coming. Expect floor space in the basement of St John's Church - Creighton Uni., so bring your own bed roll. If you need a bed, you really need to contact us ahead to insure we find one for you. Evening programs and vigil schedule to be announced below.  Everyone is welcome, especially those in the Omaha area! Come for an hour or for the whole three days.  9 1/2 minute video reenactment on the Hiroshima bombing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9lwvImJqT0&NR=1.  Democracy Now Aug 5, 2005 - Long-Suppressed Nagasaki Article Discovered http://www.democracynow.org/2005/8/5/long_suppressed_nagasaki_article_discovered . Defying US occupation forces, George Weller was the first reporter into Nagasaki after the US dropped the atomic bomb. His 25,000 word report did not get past the US military censors. Now dead, we speak with Weller’s son who has just discovered the carbon copy of the long-suppressed article.  "The Lies Of Hiroshima Are The Lies Of Today" by John Pilger, Aug 06, 2008 http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/commentaries/3578. 

The schedule for the vigil is:

Aug 5 - Thursday: Evening – People are welcome to attend Mass and a Potluck Dinner at the Omaha CWer starting at 6 p.m. at 1104 N. 24th St. Omaha. Call ahead if you able to do so. Contact Jerry Ebner - cwomaha@gmail.com - 402- 502- 5887 for more info. Vigilers arriving in Omaha will set up base in basement of St John's Church - Creighton Uni. http://www2.creighton.edu/maps/Please consider bringing food to share with others. There is plenty of floor space for any and all who wish to attend from out of town. Anyone needing a bed or any other special accommodations please contact Jerry Ebner and the folks at the Omaha CW. cwomaha@gmail.com, 402-502-5887.
Aug 6 - Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vigil at Offutt /STRATCOM, the Kenny Gate (http://dodlodging.net/VT_Offutt_Map.htm# ) Bring a chair, sunscreen, blankets, umbrella. Water and Juices are provided. 7:30 p.m. Showing of the film "Original Child Bomb" http://www.originalchildbomb.com/index.php in the basement of St John's Church on the Creighton campus.
Aug 7 - Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vigil at Offutt /STRATCOM, the Kenny Gate ( see above details to bring).  7:30 p.m. Showing of the film "The Forgotten Bomb - the truth about nuclear weapons" http://www.forgottenbomb.com/getinvolved.html
Aug 8 - Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vigil at Offutt /STRATCOM, the Kenny Gate.  7:30 p.m Group Discussion: "Why is Offutt AFB the most dangerous place on the planet and what does it have to do with the A-Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?"
Aug 9 - Monday 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Vigil with closing ceremony and prayer (and line crossing if anyone is up to it.)

Jerry Ebner, Omaha CW 1104 N. 24th St. Omaha, Nebraska USA 68102, www.no-nukes.org/cwomaha, Email: cwomaha@gmail.com, 402- 502- 5887. Frank Cordaro , Phil Berrigan CW House, 713 Indiana Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50314, www.DesMoinesCatholicWorker.org, frank.cordaro@gmail.com, (515) 490-2490. Omaha Catholic Worker,Jerry Ebner, Mike Brennan,1104 N. 24th St. Omaha, Nebraska USA 68102,www.no-nukes.org/cwomaha, Email: cwomaha@gmail.com, 402- 502- 5887

Alternatives to the Military Annual Pot Luck Supper

Alternatives to the Military annual Peacemaker of the Year Pot Luck supper, Thursday, August 19th, at Christ Methodist Church at 45th and A Streets, doors open at 5:30, serving beginning at 6; program honoring Common Cause's longtime volunteer Jack Gould, to end by 8:30 so we can clean up and be out by 9.
RSVP to ruththone@msn.com or call 421-2855, so we'll know how many tables to set up. Everyone welcome at this annual gathering of our peace and justice community.

SISTER HELEN PREJEAN TO SPEAK AT ST. BENEDICT CENTER

On October 23, 2010, internationally known anti-death penalty activist and bestselling author Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, will present a one-day retreat titled, Dead Man Walking: The Journey Continues, at St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler. During this retreat, Sister Helen, a native of Louisiana and a Southern storyteller, brings you on a journey and shares her experiences involved with her death penalty ministry while working with the poor.

“Justice is a constitutive part of the Gospel. It’s not extra. It’s not what you’re going to do AFTER charity. It’s constitutive,” Sister Helen said. In 1981, she moved to a housing project in St. Thomas, Louisiana, with the purpose of helping the poor living in the area. A year later, Sister Helen was asked to become a pen pal of Elmo Patrick Sonnier, a death row inmate at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. She became more than a pen pal to Mr. Sonnier as she signed on as his spiritual advisor and made personal visits to the prison. This first contact awakened her to the fallibilities and the immoral nature of the death penalty system in the United States.

 Sister Helen is the author of the New York Times best-seller, Dead Man Walking (1993), which has received numerous honors including a number one spot on the New York Times Bestseller List for 31 weeks. It was the inspiration for the movie of the same name. Sr. Helen is a religious educator, champion of the poor—and part-time comedian! She also authored Death of Innocents: Wrongful Executions (2004). From 1985-1995, Sister Helen served on the board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and chaired the board from 1993-1995. She currently works with Amnesty International and the Moratorium Campaign, a group seeking to halt the death penalty. She also strives to ease the suffering of the victim's families through counseling and founded the victim's advocacy group "Survive" in New Orleans to serve this purpose. Sister Helen, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille, holds a BA in English and Education from St. Mary's Dominican College in New Orleans and an MA in Religious Education from St. Paul's University in Ottawa, Canada.

The retreat runs from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The program fee is $ 30. Lunch is available at the Center for $ 9.23 (includes tax), if you pay for it BEFORE the program starts. There will be a special free showing on the big screen of the film, Dead Man Walking on Friday, October 22, 2010, at 7:30 p.m.; refreshments to follow. A limited number of guest rooms are available at Center for the weekend. For more information call St. Benedict Center 402-352-8819.

Lincoln Bioneers Community
The 2010 summer gatherings will be filled with a variety of projects at members homes that include finger food potluck.  Adults & kids are welcome to come from 6pm until dark, the 4th Thursday of the month.

For more information, go to www.communitycrops.org/bioneers or call Adam at 402-421-8464.

Wednesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 PM
Lincoln Federal Building
15th and 'O' Streets, 5-6 p.m.
Call 402-499-6672 for more information. 

Peace Vigils Every Saturday in Omaha

72nd & Dodge Street in Omaha, NE
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
For more information:
Steve Horn
402-426-9068

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