RCPJ: 5 Years of Activism; George Houser: 91 Years!

Today's New York Times featured a fabulous profile of long-time FOR leader George Houser. "Following a Kindly Light, and Casting One" by Peter Applebaum, appearing in his enjoyable "Our Town" Sunday column, highlighted a bit of the legacy of this extraordinary human who we are incredibly proud to call one of our own.

George Houser

[Strangely, from my perspective, Applebaum neglected to mention the Fellowship of Reconciliation. I wrote him an email to praise his great article — while expressing disappointment in his oversight of FOR. How do you discuss the Journey of Reconciliation without naming the sponsoring organization, I wondered? And surprisingly, late this evening I receiving an immediate and gracious email back from Applebaum, including the admission that it was "a fair thought on FOR and thanks for raising it."]

I was proud to stand alongside George yesterday during the weekly peace vigil organized by the Rockland Coalition for Peace and Justice (RCPJ), which is held every Saturday afternoon in Nanuet, NY. Yesterday, December 1st, was RCPJ's 5th anniversary vigil — a profound show of resolve and dedication to peacemaking. Close to 100 people of all ages were out in the frigid weather, calling on their suburban neighbors to "honk for peace" in the middle of the holiday shopping season.

Nasim and Jafar, the Iranian bicyclists who I wrote about in my blog entry on Friday, were also out there yesterday with the RCPJ crowd. It was great to see how a local peace witness can cross borders. Tonight, I received an email from Nasim with a link to their blog that highlights a report — in both English and Farsi (!) — about planting their first tree in the United States. There are some wonderful photos of that visit to Rifton, NY on Thursday; hopefully next week, we will see some new images from their time at the RCPJ vigil with all of us in Rockland County.