3 March 2011 Issue - Christian Vegetarian Association Update Newsletters


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Update Newsletters
3 March 2011 Issue

1. Activist Feedback

2. Essay: Dealing with Anger, Part 2

3. Animal Welfare Activism Works

4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

1. Activist Feedback

Jeff, who leafleted with Jim, Sean, and Queenie at Revolve Tour in Phoenix, on Feb. 26, writes:

This event is described as "Awesome music, straight-talking messages, drama, and a ton of fun combine for a 2-day weekend event for teen girls!" The four of us leafleted the exits as the show let out on Saturday. We generally had a good acceptance rate. I was using the phrase "Info to help animals?" or "Have you already got one please?"

Even though that second phrase isn't proper grammar, adding the please helped the acceptance rate. :) One young girl said she wanted to be vegetarian when she grew up. I overheard other people reading the front cover out loud and contemplating it. Not too many people stopped to talk. They either accepted or they didn't. A few stopped to read the cover before deciding whether to accept. There was definitely a mob mentality here, so it was important to greet the first person in each group with a very friendly smile and 'Hello!' so they'd accept, otherwise it was tough to leaflet the rest of the people in their group. Overall a great hour of outreach! Thank you CVA for supplying the brochures!

Upcoming Activist Opportunities

3/10 CA Ontario Thousand Foot Krutch Rock and Worship Roadshow

3/10 SC No. Charleston Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/11 SC Columbia Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/11 AZ Phoenix Thousand Foot Krutch Rock and Worship Roadshow

3/11-12 MD Baltimore Revolve Tour Dream On Christian Youth Conference

3/12 CA Sacramento Thousand Foot Krutch Rock and Worship Roadshow

3/12 KY Lexington Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/13 TN Nashville Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/13 CA Fresno Thousand Foot Krutch Rock and Worship Roadshow

3/17 PA Reading Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/18 VA Roanoke Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/18-19 FL Lakeland Revolve Tour Dream On Christian Youth Conference

3/19 NC Fayetteville Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/20 VA Norfolk Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/23 MI Saginaw Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/24 IN Evansville Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/25 OH Cincinnati Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

3/25-26 OH Columbus Revolve Tour Dream On Christian Youth Conference

3/26 IL Champaign Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

4/1 MO St. Charles Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

4/1-2 CT Hartford Revolve Tour Dream On Christian Youth Conference

4/1-3 TX Fort Worth Passion Conference 2011

4/2 WA Everett Acquire The Fire Christian Conference

4/2 MO Springfield Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

4/3 IL Peoria Newsboys Winter Jam Tour Spectacular

4/8-9 Ca Sacramento Acquire the Fire Christian Youth Conference

4/8-9 NJ East Rutherford Acquire The Fire Christian Youth Conference

4/8-9 PA Reading Revolve Tour Dream On Christian Youth Conference

4/8-9 MT Billings Women of Faith Christian Conference

4/9 CA Sacramento Acquire The Fire Christian Conference

4/11 FL Tampa TABLE Talking Animals Festival

4/15-16 CA Ontario Revolve Tour Dream On Christian Youth Conference

4/16 OR Portland Acquire The Fire Christian Conference

4/17 CA San Diego TABLE EarthFair 2011

4/22 TX Arlington David Crowder Band

5/15 NY New York TABLE Post Veggie Pride Parade or leafleting

6/19 VA Richmond TABLE Richmond Vegetarian Festival

7/5-8 OH Cincinnati TABLE Church Turning the World Upside

Contact Paris at christian_vegetarian@yahoo.com if you can help. To find out about all upcoming leafleting and tabling opportunities in your area, join the CVA Calendar Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christian_vegetarian/

2. Essay: Dealing with Anger, Part 2

Last week, I discussed how it is important to recognize our anger, to take responsibility for the angry feeling (though not necessary for the events which precipitated the anger), and then to learn about what makes us angry and why. In the next three essays, I will examine three things that tend to make us angry: People who do things that damage our self-esteem, situations in which we feel powerless, and injustice.

For reasons that I have discussed in previous essays, people tend to care greatly about self-esteem. We often seek vengeance when someone has damaged our self-esteem, though occasionally we take out our anger on innocent individuals if we are unable to “get even” with the perpetrator of the original offense. Vengeance promotes reciprocal vengeance, and the cycle can easily lead to broken relationships or even violence.

I think it can be helpful to try to envision how the person who offended us sees the situation. The fascinating book Mistakes Were Made, but Not By Me relates a study in which people were asked to recall a situation in which they harmed someone else and a situation in which they were harmed. Almost universally, when relating the story in which they were the perpetrator, they expressed remorse, but they emphasized that they were not entirely at fault and they believed that the victim had probably had no lasting adverse effects. In contrast, when they were the victim, nearly everyone could think of no valid reasons for why they had been harmed, and they related that they still felt deeply wounded by what had happened. If we remember that those who harm us are struggling to gain much-needed self-esteem and that there is a good chance that their actions reflect wounds they have suffered in life, we can have compassion for them. Such an attitude is not excusing their behavior, but it helps reduce any thirst for vengeance.

When possible, an open, honest, respectful discussion about how we and the other person perceived the situation can help mend relationships. If we say, “You made me angry,” there is an implicit accusation that the other person intended to make us angry, and the other person might strongly deny this accusation. If we say, “I felt angry when…” we are expressing our own feelings, and the reality of feelings (whether justified or not) cannot be denied. By the same token, if we say something like, “You were trying to belittle me,” the other person might (perhaps very reasonably) disagree. On the other hand, I think it is respectful and helpful to say something like, “It seemed to me that you were trying to belittle me. Was my impression accurate?” The bottom line is that clarification often helps avoid conflict. “What I’m hearing is…” allows the other person the opportunity to clarify their position.

Many animal advocates end up in conflict with each other, undermining their important work for justice. Often, these conflicts among well-meaning people could be avoided, particularly if they were to engage in respectful communication about their feelings and impressions.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

3. Animal Welfare Activism Works

There has been ongoing debate, often heated, over whether or not activism that aims to improve animal welfare helps animals. Many welfare proponents seek to abolish animal mistreatment, and these see welfare reforms as important steps toward this goal. Those who disagree believe that animal welfare reforms don’t help animals and instead make it more difficult to abolish animal mistreatment. Two academic agricultural economists recently published the results of the first known study of the effects of “welfarist” reforms on consumer demand for meat. They concluded, “As a whole, media attention to animal welfare has significant, negative effects on U.S. meat demand.” It causes the public to buy and eat less meat. To read a commentary on their findings, search online for Norm Phelps: Science Weighs In at Last: Campaigns for "Welfarist" Reforms Cause People to Buy Significantly Less Meat

4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

Do We Express Our Love Even When We Disagree? http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s25feb90.html .

Your question and comments are welcome

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