November/December, 2003

The 2003 Advent message at St. Joan of Arc centers on hope, something we all need during these troubled times.  Hope for peace can be found at Peace in the Precincts, an organization that recently held a series of workshops for people interested in making a difference. 

"Conversations on Peace", held in early December in St. Paul by Peace in the Precincts, were workshops held to strengthen a grass roots movement created by a group of concerned citizens in the Twin Cities who are against the invasion in Iraq.

Peace in the Precincts was formed by people who organized peace protests last year.  When the Bush administration still decided to attack Iraq, a new group of concerned citizens was formed.  At the Peace in the Precincts Campaign Kickoff Sunday, November 16th, 78 people throughout the Metro area met with their neighbors and began their planning.  Seventy precincts now have a prepared leader and support group and they hope to transform American and Minnesotan politics. This group of leaders is now teaching others to reach out to their neighbors and form groups of peace makers. 

At the workshops, people learned what steps can be taken toward peace.  You'll find these steps at http://peaceintheprecincts.org/.  Click on Time Table and you'll find the first step is to simply contact neighbors in your precinct to form a core team.  Once a team has been formed, "Kitchen Table Policy Discussions" can take place where members can create their own top five policies for America to pursue to eliminate war and establish true peace.  These policies are submitted to the Peace in the Precinct steering committee. 

The long term goal is to get members of these small precinct groups to become delegates at the National Conventions.  The delegates will help register voters, and more importantly, they'll carry the Peace in the Precinct resolution to the convention.

Another helpful page on the web site is the Tool Shed.  There, you'll find "tools of nonviolent social change and democratic action,"  including meeting agendas, outreach letters, and publicity material. 

If you're unfamiliar with what precinct you're in, the Peace in the Precincts site has a handy Precinct Finder.  All these tools and steps are created for neighbors to band together and take action toward peace in the world.  For more information, send an email to info@peaceintheprecincts.org.

Michele Jansen is a free-lance audio/video producer and multimedia project manager, who also works as an on-call announcer for KBEM-FM, Jazz 88. In other words, a jack-of-all-trades for the new millennium. She and her family, husband John, teenagers Mick and Lauren, have been members of St. Joan of Arc for 12 years. She is also a happy member of the choir, and has volunteered for various activities at St. Joan's including the Faith Formation Advisory Board. Michelle can be reached at mtj333@yahoo.com.

Peace in the Precincts wants people to know that change can occur, but we have to take part in the democratic process.  If we band together we can let our government servants (politicians, in case you've forgotten) know that we are voting for peace.