Called to Resist Bigotry Our member group Sojourners has an excellent statement entitled “Called to Resist Bigotry – A Statement of Faithful Obedience.” This statement makes the case that the presidential campaign of Donald Trump is more of a danger than most presidential campaigns, and the statement offers a more positive vision. Endorsers of our mission statement that have signed this open letter include Shane Claiborne, Marie Dennis, David Gushee, Brian McLaren, Richard Rohr, Ronald Sider, and Jim Wallis. It’s an explicitly Christian letter and is therefore of best use to our Christian readers, but also gratifying to those who aren’t Christian.
R.I.P. – Scott Rains We are sad to report that Scott Rains has died after a long struggle with cancer. Scott was a coordinator of Prolifers for Survival, our predecessor group, for many years, and was a co-founder of the Seamless Garment Network (name changed to Consistent Life). See his beautiful Quotation of the Week below.
Reclaiming the Narrative CL Endorser Abby Johnson (former Planned Parenthood Director) invites us to attend a pro-life women’s conference: “Reclaiming the Narrative”: “At this event by WOMEN and FOR WOMEN, we are coming together to proclaim that women's empowerment cannot be attained by the oppression of other human beings. We are reclaiming the narrative of women's empowerment; we are reclaiming our voice as the grassroots of the pro-life movement. Join us for three days of powerful presentations, fellowship, friendship, and fun that promises to be unrivaled and unforgettable.” Early bird registration (at a lower price) lasts until May 18.
Latest CL Blog: Celebrating Daniel Berrigan We’ve turned the content of Tuesday’s special memorial issue into a blog, and added a personal story at the top about CL Board member and co-founder Carol Crossed’s encounter with him to lead a joint war-abortion protest. We wanted to be sure the information was available through as many readily-accessible channels as we can. You can let your peace-and-justice friends know, and let your pro-life friends know, what a strong advocate he was of protecting unborn children as a part of protecting everybody – allowing no “theory of allowable murder.”
Quotation of the Week Scott Rains, disability-rights activist
My own decision to become publicly active in the prolife movement was, I admit, rather selfish. I followed the news stories while a newborn child was starved at an Indiana hospital because he was born with Down's syndrome. The years I had spent fighting for federal architectural standards, for equal access and equal employment suddenly didn't make sense. If the new strategy was to eliminate those of us with disabilities at birth, then that was where I would stand up for our rights. . . . Having looked at the world with the perspective of a man with a physical disability, I saw an attitude - and a mechanism - of oppression, as tangible as racism, that held people like myself at the margins of society . . . If being open to the experience of one's disability can lead to action in the prolife movement, what about in the peace movement? A disabled veteran of Vietnam is not likely to have a romanticized idea of war. The disabled children of hibakusha (survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) don't need to ask if it is a sin to build nuclear weapons.
