SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES:

UPCOMING SUMMER CONFERENCE OF THE 'JESUS RADICALS':

The Jesus Radicals (see also our links section)describe themselves as aspiring "to be a resource for those who believe that the Christian Gospel is primarily a message of love and peace, and that militarism, capitalism and the state are idols that stand in stark contrast to the rejection of power by Jesus in favour of a personalist way". Since their founding about two years ago they have spread their "good word" and linked many previously isolated Christian radicals through their website and conferences. They plan to hold a summer conference this year at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa on August 10th and 11th. Planned workshops include 'Anarchism and Christianity:A Primer', 'Contemporary Anarchisms', 'Stories of Resistance in a Time of Empire', 'Peace With Neighbours', 'Peace With Enemies', 'Dealing With Division', Practical Ecology: Gardening and Composting 101', 'The Problem With Prisons' and 'Peace With Animals: Implications of factory Farming'. Their will also be an open forum and skill sharing sessions open to the input of participants as well as some uniquely Christian aspects of the event such as a foot washing service and dinner as 'Breaking bread Together'. To find out more about this event go to the Jesus radicals site.

For information on "personalism", the ideological viewpoint that informs much of these Christian radicals go to the Wikipedia article on this subject or to 'Personalism a Brief Account' for a more bibliographically complete overview. The Wikipedia article allows better access to personalities than the second mentioned one. Browse through these sources and you'll end up knowing much more than Molly whose knowledge of personalism is pretty well restricted to the Catholic tradition.

Molly