In response to the recent grand jury indictment of Father Bill "Bix" Bichsel and four others for an antinuclear action at Bangor late last year, UFPPC and the Micah Project will cosponsor a fundraiser featuring a lecture on "How Peace Activists Saved the World from Nuclear War" by eminent SUNY-Albany scholar Lawrence S. Wittner, author of the famous Struggle Against the Bomb trilogy, and a showing of "Free World," the documentary short on a trip to Hiroshima last year by a group from Tacoma that included Father Bichsel and several UFPPC members.  --  The event will be held on Wed., Sept. 29, at 8:00 p.m., at First United Methodist Church in Tacoma.  --  More information below.[1] ...

1.

WHAT: "How Peace Activists Saved the World from Nuclear War" (lecture) & "Free World" (short film on the interfaith peace group from Tacoma, WA, that undertook a "Journey of Repentance" to Hiroshima in 2009). 
WHO: Dr. Lawrence S. Wittner, professor emeritus at SUNY Albany and author of the scholarly trilogy The Struggle Against the Bomb (Stanford UP, 1995; 1997; 2003).  Members of the Journey of Repentence group, which included Father Bill Bichsel, will participate.  Cosponsors:  FUMC's Micah Project and United for Peace of Pierce County.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: First United Methodist Church, 621 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, WA 98402

This event is free and open to the public, with a donation requested to contribute toward legal expenses connected with the trial of Father Bill "Bix" Bichsel, recently indicted along with four others for antinuclear activism last year at Bangor.  Your support is needed and appreciated!

"Free World" covers the Journey of Repentance led by Father Bichsel of Tacoma's St. Leo's Catholic Church, to Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki in August of 2009, to attend events surrounding the memorials of the atomic and hydrogen bombings.  Members of the journey will be in attendance to answer questions from the audience.

The lecture, by an eminent visiting author, activist, and professor, Dr. Lawrence S. Wittner, will address "How Peace Activists Saved the World from Nuclear War."  His most recent book, published in 2009, is Confronting the Bomb.  Prof. Wittner is retired from the State University of New York in Albany. 

The event begins at 8:00 p.m., is open to the general public, and is free with a suggested donation to assist with legal costs for the trial of Father Bichsel.  The event is co-sponsored by the Micah Project of First United Methodist Church along with United for Peace of Pierce County.

For more information call Kristi Nebel at 573-1504 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.