As members of “The Selective Service Rights Committee,” sponsored by Catholic Peace Fellowship of Philadelphia, we are in need of your assistance. We need your help in addressing young men and women who will soon reach the age which requires them to register with the U.S. Military Selective Service System. In mid-2006 CPF of Philadelphia was contacted by Catholic Peace Fellowship of South Bend, Indiana, who asked if we were willing to host a training program (a one-day workshop) aimed at “Peace Training.” Joe Bradley responded positively and arranged for a representative of CPF-Indiana, Paul Frazier, to come to Philadelphia and present that workshop on September 30. Philadelphia CPF members and individuals from other regional peace groups in New Jersey totaling approximately one dozen people met on October 28 and November 18 at St. Malachy’s in North Philadelphia. The initial training emphasized that the program as conceived is not an anti-recruitment effort but instead is intended to alert and inform those soon to become eligible for a military draft of their options or alternatives, their rights and obligations under the U.S. Military Selective Service Act. The group, now called “The Selective Service Rights Committee,” is scheduled to meet again at 9:00 am Saturday, February 24, 2007, again at St. Malachy’s. The meeting is open to the interested public to find out how they might help. Teams of two will offer their strategies for presentation, inviting comment and review from the group. This process of rehearsal and feedback is conducted as preparation for accepting opportunities to talk to students, parents or others in classroom settings or assemblies. The Committee is targeting primarily students in the city and region’s Catholic School System, but we will be discussing the advisability of approaching other schools, particularly faith-based schools like the Friends with traditions of conscientious objection as historically practiced. If student questions introduce issues about the morality of war, killing in wartime, just war, the teams will be prepared for such discussion. Anyone who receives this newsletter, whether student, parent, teacher or administrator, can request a visit by a team by contacting:
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