I sent this email to my listservs, representatives of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, World Council of Churches “Decade to Overcome Violence” (who advocates a ‘Lenten Fast from Violence’), the Episcopal Peace & Justice Ministries office, and a few local priests:

Dear all,

I just found the audio linked at the end, and thought it was timely, and worthwhile for anyone who hasn’t heard it yet. I hope you’ll have an opportunity to listen.

This is not the kind of topic one might expect to hear in a speech at the International Nonviolence Conference in Bethlehem, of all places. But it’s high time the topic (and the connections between universal issues) came up somewhere, beyond the animal rights movement.

Feel free to forward.

Thanks for taking the time to read.
[my contact info]

Nonviolence Includes Animals

Peace on Earth?
Listen to PETA President Ingrid Newkirk’s stirring address to the International Nonviolence Conference in Bethlehem during Christmas 2005. She asks the people of the world to consider the idea that the way we treat animals is a litmus test of who we are as individuals and as a society. Can conflicts ever be resolved if we have not grappled with the basic problem of finding empathy for others who are not exactly like us and whom we may view as inferior? This interesting exercise requires us to confront our most ingrained prejudicesóeven as we challenge others to confront theirs.

Click on the icon to listen to the audio. (If you open it in a new window, you should be abe to listen while you surf. So please come back.):