A message
from Bishop Jon Bruno
Thank you for your commitment to the prevention of
violence, and for sharing in the experience of Hands in Healing, our
on-going, non-sectarian initiative to counter abuse and aggression in all
forms.
Throughout your course of study, I will welcome your comments. I especially
invite you to log your responses into the guestbook and dialogue/commentary
section of this web site. (available soon)
While the curriculum has been designed for non- sectarian applications, the
study resources also lend themselves to spiritual exploration within one’s
own faith tradition.
Please let us know of the ways in which you are joining in the reach of
Hands in Healing.
For best results in engaging the curriculum...
(1.) Obtain for each participant a Hands in Healing Violence Prevention
Guide (see sample in this folder). Copies may be ordered through the Web
site. A limited number of the Fall 2002 issue of The Episcopal News are also
available.
(2.) Encourage each participant to read companion books during the course of
study. Specifically ask participants to read Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the
Flames (New York: Riverhead Books, 2001), by Thich Nhat Hanh, the
distinguished Vietnamese Buddhist teacher and peace activist who has
survived three wars, persecution, and some 30 years of exile. He is also the
author of Living Buddha, Living Christ.
Also ask each participant to pursue independent reading on the life and work
of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose leadership in civil rights
was guided by Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence. Viewing of VHS or DVD
copies of the acclaimed movie Gandhi is also informative.
(3.) To register your participation in the study, please log into our
registration page.
(4.) Please note that additional VHS and DVD resources are available for
your use in addition to the initial Hands in Healing documentary.
(5.) Plan the study for a series of several weeks.
(6.) To enrich your study, the following questions have been provided for
use by individuals or study groups.
Screening the documentary
It is best if groups can view the initial Hands in Healing documentary in
its entirety (57 minutes), taking time to read the study questions before
viewing the program.
The Hands in Healing documentary chronicles the pilgrimages and teach-ins
conducted by 16 young-adult travelers and their advisors during a
seven-week, cross-country trek that included stops at the three sites
affected by the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Other sites of
pilgrimage included the memorial for those killed in the home-grown
terrorism of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing; the national cemetery at
Gettysburg; the National Civil Rights Museum; and the field where college
student Matthew Shepard was left to die.
The documentary first aired January 18-20, 2003, via cable television in
more than 80 communities of Southern California.The documentary is organized
in segments that follow the sequence of cities visited. These segments can
be replayed to allow for more in-depth study of one or more issue raised.
Questions for study, reflection and action
Segment One •
Introduction
(1.) How do you define violence?
(2.) What is the opposite of violence?
(3.) In what specific ways—through daily life, professional work,
volunteer activities, ministry, spiritual practice, or in other ways—are
you engaged in the prevention of violence?
Segment Two • Departure
(1.) What are the disciplines of pilgrimage?
(2.) In what ways can travel be “the best teacher”?
(3.) Each of the travelers has personal experience with violence.
According the the documentary, how are they continuing to address, or to
redeem, the effects of violence?
Segment Three • Las Vegas
(1.) In what ways is violence exported from Las Vegas, and how is it
imported into Las Vegas from Los Angeles?
(2.) Why is “entertainment” so full of violence?
(3.) Dr. King said that action for non-violence begins with inner practice
of personal attitudes of non-violence. How does theological reflection
assist in the prevention of violence?
See also— and discuss—Hands in Healing Violence Prevention Guide section
on Gang Violence.
Continued, next page.
Questions for study, reflection and action, continued
Segment Four • Laramie
(1.) What is a hate crime?
(2.) What is homophobia?
(3.) Matthew Shepard was an Episcopalian and part of an Episcopal Church
college-chaplaincy community in Laramie. What are some benefits of
community in time of crisis?
See also— and discuss—Hands in Healing Violence Prevention Guide section
on Hate Crimes.
Segment Five • Omaha
(1.) Why is domestic violence about power and control?
(2.) Why do victims sometimes remain with abusers?
(3.) What are the most effective strategies for breaking cycles of
domestic violence?
See also— and discuss—Hands in Healing Violence Prevention Guide sections
on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
Segment Six • Chicago
(1.) What factors combine and result in shooting deaths?
(2.) How can gun safety be achieved in homes?
(3.) U. S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy speaks often of the impact of gun
violence on her family. What can be done to prevent similar incidents?
See also— and discuss—Hands in Healing Violence Prevention Guide section
on Gun Violence.
Segment Seven • Detroit
(1.) What economic factors cause—and hide—violence?
(2.) How does racism spark and fuel violence?
(3.) How can prejudice and stereotypes be dispelled and overcome, much as
“Art” has had his past views transformed?
See also— and discuss—National Conference for Community and Justice
resources, www.nccj.org
Segment Eight • Pittsburgh
(1.) What can teens and adults do to prevent child abuse?
(2.) How does verbal abuse correlate to physical abuse?
(3.) Clergy are among mandated reporters of suspected child abuse. Is your
faith community aware of this obligation?
See also— and discuss—Hands in Healing Violence Prevention Guide section
on Child Abuse.
Segment Nine • New York
(1.) In what ways does grief persist after 9/11? Healing?
(2.) How does the media perpetuate violence?
(3.) The travelers visited the United Nations. What is the role of
diplomacy vs. force in resolving international conflicts?
See also— and discuss—Hands in Healing Violence Prevention Guide section
on Terrorism.
Segment Ten • Newark
(1.) How is violence understood differently by different generations?
(2.) How can young people work to prevent violence?; how can older adults
work to prevent violence?
(3.) What do you think needs to change in our families, neighborhoods,
schools—and the wider world—for people to feel safe? What can you do to
make a difference?
See also— and discuss—Hands in Healing Violence Prevention Guide section
on Elder Abuse.
Segment Eleven • Philadelphia
(1.) What is oppression; what is tyranny?
(2.) What is liberation; what is freedom?
(3.) The American Revolution achieved historic freedoms. How does the
Revolution compare and contrast with Dr. King’s policy of non-violent
resistance?
See also— and discuss—Hands in Healing Violence Prevention Guide foreword
and afterword on Gandhi and Dr. King.
Segment Twelve • Gettysburg
(1.) What is the purpose of war, of military conflict?
(2.) What is your assessment of the “just war” theory? (Resources on-line:
www.dfms.org; see “Bishop for
Armed Forces”)
(3.) Some 51,000 men died in the Gettysburg campaign. How does modern
defense technology differ from civil war artillery?
See also— and discuss—recent on-line postings from The Episcopal News
Exchange on Peace and War; visit The News at
www.episcopalnews.com
Segment Thirteen • Washington, D. C.
(1.) What is the significance of Memorial Day?
(2.) What is the travelers’ reaction to the Pentagon?
(3.) Washington Cathedral has been identified as “a great church for
national purposes.” What is the historical significance of cathedral
churches?
For further discussion log on to:
www.cathedral.org;
www.defenselink.mil;
www.supremecourtus.gov
Segment Fourteen • Memphis
(1.) How are children taught acceptance, not prejudice?
(2.) How do the travelers engage the story of Rosa Parks?
(3.) How might one address guilt felt by individuals who had much to gain
under unfair race relations?
Log on and take virtual tour offered by the National Museum of Civil
Rights,
www.civilrightsmuseum.org
Segment Fifteen • Oklahoma City
(1.) What are continuing effects of the 1995 bombing?
(2.) How can homegrown terrorism be prevented?
(3.) What are the moral implications of the chief perpetrator’s execution
under the death penalty?
View Web site:
www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org
Segment Sixteen • Return to Los Angeles
(1.) How are the travelers changed by their trek? Why do they share their
stories more boldly than at the journey’s outset?
(2.) How are you changed by the Hands in Healing story?
(3.) The Los Angeles City Council welcomed the travelers to City Hall to
commend them and their journey. What is the nexus of city government and
faith communities in preventing violence?
How do you feel called to take new steps to prevent violence?
Objectives for study
participants
Each participant in the Hands in Healing study process will gain increased
understanding of the impact of violence in modern society; of the
interrelationships between violence
Other DVD/VHS resource segments
(1.) Orange County Judge Pamela Iles on domestic violence.
(2.) U. S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and travelers on gun safety
(3.) Travelers’ sermon from the National Cathedral
To order VHS footage, send e-mail to
media@ladiocese.org
Scripture references for companion study
Bible study can greatly augment the Hands in Healing documentary study.
While the sequential guide and study questions have been prepared for use in
non-sectarian settings as well as in communities of faith, the addition of
scriptural study and prayer offers additional dimensions to participants,
both in groups and as individuals.
The Hands in Healing travelers used many of the following passages and study
methods while on the itinerary. They engaged in theological reflection
during all segments of the trek.
In study groups, read
each suggested passage aloud (biblical Revised Standard Version
recommended).
Ask participants for “one-word” responses of an idea that “jumps out” from
the text. Ask another participant
to read the passage aloud a second time. In reference to the text, the
group may then answer the following:
• What do you see now that you did not before?
• What do you believe now that you did not know you believed before?
• What are you going to do about it?
Segment One • Introduction
The Beatitudes, with Additional Lessons
Matthew 5:2-16
Segment Two • Departure from Los Angeles
Numbers 12:24-30
Segment Three • Las Vegas
Exodus 23:1-8
Segment Four • Laramie
John 8:5-8
Segment Five • Omaha
Genesis 45:6-8 & 10-11
Segment Six • Chicago
Isaiah 22:1-4
Segment Seven • Detroit
Acts 19:24-29a
Segment Eight • Pittsburgh
Isaiah 42:1-3 & 6
Segment Nine • New York
Ezekiel 37:1-10
Segment Ten • Newark
Micah 6:8
Segment Eleven • Philadelphia
Luke 4:16-19 and
Leviticus 25:10 (Verse is text forged on Liberty Bell)
Segment Twelve • Gettysburg
Micah 5:7-9
Segment Thirteen • Washington, D. C.
Lessons for the Day at the National Cathedral
on May 26, 2002, for Hands in Healing sermon were:
• Genesis 1:1-23
• 2 Corinthians 13:5-14
• Matthew 28:16-20
Segment Fourteen • Memphis
Genesis 37:17-20
Segment Fifteen • Oklahoma City
Luke 8:16-18
Segment Sixteen • Return to Los Angeles
Luke 9:57-62
Thank you for your participation.
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