What is The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation?

The Olympia Chapter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation works for a nonviolent world, a healthy environment, social justice, economic justice, and peace. We bring together people of diverse ages, races, and faiths who are committed to active nonviolence as a transformative way of life and as a means of profound social change. We model these principles by personal example. We collaborate and dialogue with the larger community for mutual education and to engage in nonviolent and compassionate actions.

Since 1976 the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) has been working in the greater Thurston County area and beyond to create peace, social justice and nonviolence locally and worldwide. We organize at the grassroots and carry out a variety of activities to inform and activate people. Specifically, the Olympia FOR produces newsletters and TV programs, conducts weekly peace vigils, and sponsors speakers, workshops and other events. We are part of the Western Washington FOR (a regional FOR network), the national FOR, and the International FOR. Nationally and internationally, FOR was founded when World War I began and has opposed all wars since then. More information is posted in the menu below.

What's New?

THURS JUNE 16: Celebrate Dan Berrigan. Watch film about nonviolent peace activism. Traditions Café at 5th & Water, downtown Olympia. Enjoy social time and finger-food starting at 6:30 pm. At 7:00 some Olympia folks who knew Dan will share some first-hand stories and insights about working with him. Then we’ll watch the 97-minute documentary film “Hit and Stay,” which provides information and inspiration about recent decades of nonviolent peace activism. We’ll wrap up with a brief discussion.

264 Olympia FOR Newsletter for June-July 2016

Calendar of Coming Events - April & May 2016

Nuclear Weapons Are Getting More Dangerous! January 2016

What the COP21 Paris Climate Summit Accomplished, What it Failed to Do, And Our Next Steps

Discussing Syrian Refugees, Islam, ISIS, etc.

Olympia and Thurston County anti-Racism Education and Action Resources

Nuclear Weapons

Sept 2015 issue of WWFOR newsletter "Pacific Call"

Programs to Watch through www.olympiafor.org

Stop the Pentagon's Slush Fund

Olympia FOR Newletter for August & September 2015 and Opt Form "Protect Young People's Privacy from Military Recruiters"

Accomplishments from May 2014 to April 2015

Violent Foreign Policy by Glen Anderson

During the seven decades after the 1917 Russian Revolution, the U.S.’s forces of repression exploited fear of Bolshevism and Communism and the USSR in order to suppress the U.S.’s labor movement, peace movement, and other voices of dissent.

When the USSR collapsed, the U.S.’s forces of repression and the military-industrial complex needed another boogeyman to justify domestic repression, foreign domination, and taxpayer funding for the military-industrial complex.

A convenient choice was a cluster of oil-rich nations in the Eastern Hemisphere, where the dominant religion was one that Americans did not understand and could be manipulated into fearing.

Now after decades of Cold War, we are in an ongoing new “war on terror” that the U.S. government tells us will last for another many decades.

The essay at this link explores these issues and ends up with some fresh recommendations for peaceful and just policies that will be better for everyone internationally and within the U.S.

100th Anniversary Commemoration - History of The Fellowship of Reconciliation http://youtu.be/SdfdvB4x1_s Bruce Pruitt-Hamm shared the 100-Year history of The Fellowship of Reconciliation that began at the end of WWI. The presentation was part of the “1914 Christmas Truce 100th Anniversary Commemoration” in Seattle, Washington on December 18, 2014.

~ Also see October 2015 "100 Years of F O R 's Bold, Nonviolent Work for Peace and Social Justice" (Word) (pdf)

The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s “Confronting the Climate Crisis” group is gathering signatures to deliver a petition to Governor Inslee, directing the State to: (1) Immediately freeze any new investments in fossil fuels; (2) Divest from direct owner ship and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years; (3) Have the State of Washington’s retirement plans offer fossil-free investment fund options for state employees.

Please sign the petition and ask others to sign it.
It’s at: http://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/divest-from-fossil-fuels-17

For more information about the Olympia FOR’s vigorously active climate group, see http://www.olympiafor.org/Climate_Crisis.html, look for new information to be added to the Climate Crisis portion of www.olympiafor.org in early June, and see climate information in recent newsletters and our upcoming June-July 2014 issue. (We post our newsletters on our website.)

We invite other FOR chapters and members to collaborate with us. Many of our activities are regional for Wash/Ore, and some are statewide regarding our state government. We invite you to collaborate with us by contacting the chair of our climate committee, Bourtai Hargrove, at (360) 352-6327 climate@olympiafor.org

Olympia FOR member Beverly Bassett took this photo of the exploding oil train bomb designed and built by Olympia FOR member Rod Tharp. We displayed it at Heritage Park Fountain near Capitol Lake in Olympia WA on Friday May 23, 2014 immediately before the 7 pm performance & speaking engagement of Dana Lyons (“Cows with Guns”) and Matt Krogh (www.forestethics.org) on their "Crude Awakening Oil Train Tour" at Traditions Café in downtown Olympia, Washington

Syria: Public Opinion Prevented a War for Now. We Must Change the Underlying Violent U.S. Foreign Policy. (Word) (pdf)

Guidelines for a Climate Change Effort (pdf) This printed resource can help small groups discuss and act on climate change. More info from John Conner at grassroots1@pa.net

Guns - Problems and Solutions

The Olympia FOR’s website – www.olympiafor.org – has added a Climate Crisis page to provide you with more information to inform and activate you.