Palm Sunday Gathering: A Remedy for Violence

Last year on Palm Sunday, St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square in conjunction with other members of the Logan Square Ecumenical Alliance (LSEA) hosted Occupy Palm Sunday, an event that spoke of immigration and other housing needs within our community.  This Palm Sunday, LSEA is gathers again in partnership with Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) to host "A Remedy for Violence. "

A Remedy for Violence

"The effect of justice will be peace" - Isaiah 32:17

Everyone in Chicago is concerned about violence in our city. Everyone wants the destruction, death, and pain to stop.  We have the choice of trying to change the conditions under which people are suffering or ignoring those conditions and watching the situation in the city get worse.On Palm Sunday, March 24, 2013  at 12pm, people who long for peace and justice in our city will gather at St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square to begin to talk about what real change would look like. This will be a joyous and hopeful event as we aim to eliminate all violence in our community in 10 years! Zero in Ten.Here are some ideas we will discuss – We think you will find them pretty amazing, but this is not science fiction – It is possible right now!

1. We will talk about replacing mass incarceration (particularly of young people ) with mass justice where the young are nurtured and have a future full of hope and possibility.
2. We will address poverty, homelessness, and hunger as forms of violence that destabilize community and could be corrected immediately.
3. We will discuss how the violence of separating families through deportations contributes to fear and insecurity. We will welcome all with or without documentation.
4. Instead of discussing which schools to close or privatize, we will seek increases in funding for education and policy reform that will guarantee each child can receive all the education required to lead wonderful productive lives.
5. We will discuss replacing the violence of militarism with a community of peacemaking that will not channel our children into the service because they are poor. We will speak of using budgets at every level of government to ensure fairness and equality – two of the cornerstones of peace.

In the words of John Lennon:“you may sayI'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only oneI hope some day you'll join usAnd the world will be as one”

Join your neighbors and friends at St. Luke's located at 2649 N. Francisco Ave., Chicago, 60647,Sponsored by:LSEA (Logan Square Ecumenical Association}And ALSO (Alliance of Local Service Organizations)