Updates on Resistance Retreat, Weekend w/o Capitalism

[Links are available to download fliers and information below.  The full text is listed on the web page as well]

Dear Catholic Workers and friends,

If you ask us about Chicago spring we predict it will be memorable for the summery weather, and memorable for the change that is happening! We celebrate G8 leaving as a victory of the movement, based on their decision to move their location to a more ‘secure’ location. There are signs of hope and blossoming all about us, but there may be some unpredictable weather on the way there.

And so we prepare. As they say, blessed are the peacemakers for they will never be unemployed….Here in Chicago the Catholic Workers are part of a movement to bring as many nonviolence trainings as possible to groups of activists participating in the May events leading up to the NATO summit. We want to encourage workers across the country to train their communities in nonviolence. There are many organizations that want to provide trainers, suggested practices or texts. Contact Marie at the White Rose for more info. There are a lot of people coming to Chicago in May and this is a wonderful opportunity to spread lifestyles grounded in love and nonviolence.

We will kick off “A Week without Capitalism” here in Chicago on Monday, May 14 with our action, in preparation for a new way; and we continue with Catholic workers everywhere on Saturday, May 19-Monday, May 21 in protest and rejection of the old way. Each community is invited to participate in this patchwork quilt of responses to the systemic injustice and institutional violence of NATO-G8, according to what is appropriate in your neighborhood and what you are capable of doing. See the flier included here or contact Regina for more info.

We have a full schedule lined up- lots to clarify, celebrate and prepare for- the emerging new creation of a kin-dom of love, for example! We’re excited to have you all join us here in Chicago! Keep the RSVPs coming…773-856-0315 or 2012resistanceretreat@gmail.com.

Abundant peace,

White Rose Catholic Worker            Su Casa Catholic Worker

2127 W. Devon Ave.                          5045 S. Laflin St. 

Chicago, IL 60659                            Chicago, IL 60609

773-856-0315

Downloads:
Resistance Retreat Logistics and Info
Week without Capitalism Flier (Chicago)

Resistance Retreat Weekend Logistics and Schedule

SCHEDULE

Friday

Evening: People arrive starting at 5pm

Saturday

Morning: Opening circle

“Intro to NATO/G8” with Kathy Kelly (Voices for Creative Nonviolence)

Afternoon: Spokescouncil & Roundtables

Concert & dance party with the 1-2-3s (Bloomington CW)!

Evening: Liturgy

“The Power of Nonviolence” with Ken Butigan (Pace e Bene)

Sunday

Morning: Open time & Roundtables

Afternoon: Action planning & Nonviolence Training for Direct Action

Evening: Action Logistics & Taize Prayer

 

Monday

Action Time (to be planned)!

Note: For the rest of the “Week without Capitalism”, housing will be available at the convent, and logistics will be figured out among those staying

LOGISTICS

Location: Holy Innocents Convent, 1447 W. Superior St. 60642 (near Chicago and Ashland Avenues)

Travel: If you need a ride or want to carpool, let us know.

Public Transportation: Amtrak, Megabus and Greyhound all drop you off downtown. Then take the Blue line north to Chicago Ave stop, travel west ½ mile by walking or on the #66 Chicago Avenue bus to Noble Street. Turn left (south) on Noble Street for 2 blks and turn right on Superior. Go 1 block.

Driving: Call John at the White Rose (773.856-0315) for directions -or- From the South or North, take Lake Shore Drive (IL-41) to Chicago Ave. exit. From the West, take I-94 E to Exit 50A, turn left onto Chicago Ave., left onto Armour, left onto Superior Ave.

Parking: limited parking will be available in a lot at the corner of Armour and Superior and behind the school.

Lodging: floor space available at the convent, contact us by May Day if you need a bed or other special arrangements.

What to bring: sleeping bag, musical instruments, song books, food/drinks to share, crafts to swap, stuff for the free shelf, & any items that you handcrafted and will help us stay away from capitalism that weekend. Let’s be creative!

Catholic Workers call for "Weekend without Capitalism" to protest NATO-G8

Midwest Catholic Workers released the following statement and call for nonviolent action in response to the NATO-G8 summits this May. More information about specifics to come. Join us in our protest as we removes ourselves and limit our complicity with unjust economic structures in favor of more just, sustainable, and peaceful alternatives.

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As Catholic Workers, we call for May 18-21 to be a weekend of nonviolent protest against the capitalism and militarism of NATO-G8. Catholic Worker communities around the country are invited to engage in “A Weekend without Capitalism”— a four day act of noncooperation where we refuse to participate in the political and economic structures that oppress our sisters and brothers, harm our communities, and destroy our environment. We will take time off work and school and, instead, invest this time into healthy, just, and sustainable alternatives for our communities. We will not support the corporate state by using our cars or consuming goods or services from which the state profits. Instead, we will do as Jesus taught us: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned. We will protest injustice and war, host free markets and skills shares, work on community gardens, invest in alternative economics, act as peacemakers and organize our neighborhoods for direct action.

Dorothy Day often quoted St. John of the Cross: “Love is the measure by which we shall be judged.” This May, Catholic Workers from around the country will join thousands of others to protest the NATO summit meetings being held in Chicago and the G8 meetings in Camp David, MD. Ours will be a nonviolent protest—motivated by love for each other, our earth, the poor, and our opponents—as we make our voices and our bodies a visible sign of resistance to the institutions that bear so much responsibility for the suffering, violence, and poverty in the world.

Since the end of the Cold War, NATO forces—led by US interests and the West's insatiable appetite for oil and free markets—have been controversially involved in conflicts in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. In 2010, NATO countries spent a collective $1.08 trillion on defense and military expenditures, including a resurgence of nuclear weapons. The US and NATO are leading the way for the militarization of the globe at the expense of human and environmental needs. We say no to nuclear weapons, no to the out-of-control defense spending, and no to the logic of violence.

The G8—the Group of Eight, including the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, Italy, Germany, France and the UK—represent the destructive engines of capitalism whose “growth-at-all-costs” mentality has desecrated communities, the environment, and human rights all in the name of progress. As people of faith and conscience, we advocate relationships and economics rooted in love: the works of mercy at a personal sacrifice, craft and worker-based cooperatives, gift and barter economies, agrarian communities, and a more simple lifestyle. Let love be our guide for our collective future without war and capitalism.

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Potential Talking Points (there are more!:

Emphasize non-cooperation and withdrawal of our support/consent from exploitative industries. We are advocating a “strike” from economics as usual; we will take time off of buying, cars, and work for wages (as much as possible) etc. and (intensively put our time and energy into positive alternatives that build community locally.

The idea of the “Weekend without Capitalism” is that it unites diverse communities in a patchwork kind of way without dictating what each community needs to or should do. Each community is free to decide what they are capable of doing and what their best response is to the systemic injustice and institutional violence of NATO-G8. We are practicing democracy.

Each community has its own ideas; We invite neighborhoods across the city (and elsewhere!) to host actions, big and small, according to the needs in your local environment: start a community garden, have a meal share, do an energy fast, hold a free health clinic for a week? In Rogers Park, Chicago we are planning to have a hub where there will be free concerts, food not bombs, free markets, skill shares, workshops on how to start a co-op, compiling a DIY guide to life without capitalism, a bike trip to a community farm.

Spread the Word:

Encourage other communities to engage in this weekend of mutual aid; see if your local Occupy community is willing to participate and spread the word. Take it to your faith or worship community. Invite students from local universities or high schools to be involved.

Introductory Packet and Posters

Here you will find introductory information and posters inviting Catholic Workers to the 2012 Faith and Resistance Retreat hosted by Chicago CWers. 

Click the links to download the packets.

• Invitation Letter
• Introduction Packet with Suggested Readings, Discussion Guides, and Reflection Tools
• Poster (11 x 17)
• Poster (8.5 x 11)

There will be more information about housing, meals, transportation and parking soon.  Check back for more details as they become available to us.