OMG! We're Disturbing the Peace.

On Saturday, May 15 you are invited to St Matthew-in-the-City to help save the world. The plan is to do it by "Disturbing the Peace." We expect this day of reflection discussion & networking to take only from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Even if we don't quite complete the task, we do hope it will be one small step towards a more peaceful world.

We have invited Canon Paul Oestreicher, who has made his life's work furthering peace and reconciliation as our keynote speaker. To respond and expand on his remarks we have invited an impressive panel of New Zealand peace activists, scholars, and theologians to join us:

Fr Peter Murnane, Peace activist recently acquitted in the Waihopai 3 trial
Revd Sande Ramage, School chaplain and former military chaplain
Ms Edwina Hughes, Coordinator of Peace Movement Aotearoa
Associate Professor Peter Lineham, Historian of Peace Movements
Dr Heather deVere, Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies
Mr Andrew Shepherd, Peace theologian

To whet your appetite this issue of OMG! is devoted to the upcoming conference. Many of the participants have shared below some of their thoughts and concerns that they will be bringing to the conference.

To download more information and the pre-registration form click the title above.

We hope to see you there. Saving the world requires all hands on deck.

Clay Nelson
Editor

The Revd Canon Paul Oestreicher will be presenting two keynotes at the Disturb the Peace Conference. This article is an abstract of his planned remarks.

Fr Peter Murnane was one of the threesome who in an act of civil disobedience in order to obey a higher law popped the balloon concealing New Zealand's involvement in the US war in Iraq. The three were tried and acquitted. Peter will serve on a panel at the Disturb the Peace Conference.

Another panelist, the Revd Sande Ramage, a former military chaplain and now a school chaplain, peace is disturbed by military involvement in our schools.

Edwina Hughes, Coordinator of the Peace Movement Aotearoa and conference panelist, suggests that, contrary to our reputation, New Zealand may not be as peaceful as we want to believe.

Panelist Dr Heather Devere is a lecturer at AUT University, and National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Otago University. Her focus is disturbing the peace through education.

Sande Ramage was the guest preacher at St Matthew's on the Second Sunday of Easter. She gave an excellent sermon on at how the myth of redemptive violence sabotage's efforts for a peaceful world.

On ANZAC Sunday Clay tackled what the church might do to help move us out of "The Waiting Place" for peace.

Margaret Bedggood, who has been devoted in her work for peace and human rights was recently recognised for her significant efforts by Waikato University who conferred on her an honorary doctorate. Watch her remarks on that occasion.

On April 1, my mate and colleague, Glynn Cardy, became seriously ill due to a perforation of his bowel. Sadly this incident caused numerous post-operative complications requiring four more surgeries over the next month. He is still in serious condition. It is expected that he will require about nine months to recuperate. We ask our readers for their prayers for him and his family.