Dear Friends,

I hope you are all well and are enjoying the slowly emerging spring. 2008 is turning out to be a very exciting year for FoR with many developments and changes and we would like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of them.

New Edition of Peace by Peace Magazine
We are pleased to include in this mailing a copy of FoR’s latest Peace by Peace Magazine, which has a wide range of exciting features including interviews with FoR members, Dr Tony Kempster from the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship talking about Just War Theory, and a look at the latest push for military spending. We hope you enjoy it and please pass on your copy to your friends, family, congregation and community for further reading! More, free of charge, copies can be requested from the FoR office by emailing office@for.org.uk.

Called to be Peacemakers Conference 2008
The planning for the Called to be Peacemakers conference 2008 is well under way with our committee of Young Peacemakers Network members busily thinking up new ideas, speakers and activities for the weekend. This year the conference asks: “How do we relate to one another, ourselves and the wider world around us?” Relationships shape who we are and what we believe. In this busy world we rarely examine our relationships; how they develop and change; our relationship with ourselves, others and the peace movement. Please promote this event to your friends and family, within your church and community groups.

The conference is being held at the Hollowford Centre, Derbyshire and is subsidised to allow as many people to attend as possible. A limited number of travel bursaries and subsidised places are available. Conference places are £40 if booked before 1st October 2008 (£50 after). Please email martha@for.org.uk, phone 01865 748 796, or visit www.for.org.uk/c2bp2008 for further details and up to date information on speakers. We look forward to seeing you there!

FoR Office Moves!
As many of you will know, Fellowship of Reconciliation has been trying to buy a building in Oxford, and at long last we have! In summer 2008 we will be moving to Paradise Street, in Oxford city centre. We very much look forward to moving in this summer, and receiving visitors in the near future. Our new contact details will be sent out as soon as possible.

Peacemaker Briefing #5
Please find enclosed with this mailing a copy of the newly published Peacemaker Briefing. 2008 is an important year of remembrance for peace activists across the world. Marking the 60th anniversary of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., 2008 presents an opportunity to look at the philosophy of nonviolence and the impact of arguably the most important tool the peace movement has ever benefitted from.

Peacemakers Briefings are short articles on a specific peace or conflict subject used as sources of information for talks, workshops and discussions. Peacemaker Briefings provide an analysis of a situation; recommend resources on the issue and opportunities for activism. They cover a wide range of national and international peace and conflict themes. Please let us know if you have any ideas of themes or issues you would like to be explored in later editions, or if you would like further copies.

And Finally…
While thinking about your plans for the summer and potential holidays, don’t forget that as usual FoR will be taking part in Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival (http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/) as part of the Network of Christian Peace Organisation’s Peacezone.

If you are planning to be at the festival please do come along to the G-Source to enjoy the wonderful activities run by the Peacezone which include inspirational speakers, arts and crafts for all ages, opportunities for activism and lots of information about what is going on in the peace movement today. We look forward to seeing you there.

If you would like more information about any of the work I have mentioned, or would like to request further resources, a talk or workshop, please do not hesitate to get in contact by phoning the FoR office on 01865 748 796 or emailing me on matha@for.org.uk.

In peace and friendship,

Martha Beale
Education and Campaigns Officer
Fellowship of Reconciliation