Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Ridding the World of Nuclear Weapons

Report From The Nuclear Weapons Task Force (3/15/09)

Several recent events have come together to create an unprecedented opportunity
to turn a corner on the road to eliminating nuclear weapons from the face of the earth. Surprisingly, although there is strong support at the highest levels of government, the public seems unaware and unconcerned. To build public support, the church’s Task Force on Ridding the World of Nuclear Weapons is working on creating public events – lectures, panel discussions, workshops – designed to inform people in the local community about the opportunity and what they can do about it.

The first event actually occurred last November, before the Task Force was officially formed, when Ray Schuster and Dick Duda played a major role in helping the Los Altos Voices for Peace organize a panel discussion entitled “A World Without Nuclear Weapons – Is It Possible?” The panelists included a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the great success of the meeting led to the creation of our Task Force.
The next event will occur on April 22, when Rev. Diana Gibson, Co-Director of the Santa Clara County Council of Churches, will moderate a panel discussion at our church entitled “Nuclear Weapons, Disarmament, and Deterrence: The Moral Issues.” Nuclear disarmament is a long-standing concern for Rev. Amy, who will not only be one of the panel members, but who has also taken the lead in assembling the panel.

Within the Task Force, Elton Bell has been instrumental in securing the speaker for a subsequent event to be held at our church – a presentation by former PAUC member and former Secretary of Defense Bill Perry. Along with other senior statesmen, Dr. Perry deserves credit for reinvigorating nuclear negotiations and the nuclear disarmament movement by repeatedly proclaiming that the goal must be nothing short of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

The Task Force is working with other churches and peace groups in our area to encourage them to hold events of their own. We have made presentations to and received strong support from the Los Altos Voices for Peace, the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley, Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. We have also been contacted by the UU Church of the Monterey Peninsula, which is starting to consider developing a similar activity at their church.

If this sounds like the kind of activity in which you would like to be involved, we could use your help. We meet in Room A at 7 pm on the second Wednesday of every month. But you don’t have to wait for the next meeting – send email to Dick Duda to find out how you can become involved.