Recent Events

CFPA members and supporters gathered for a 3-part holiday event last Thursday, 12/12/19. There was an outdoor vigil for Diplomacy, Not War with North Korea, then a potluck meal, followed by a program of speakers, and music by David Brahinsky & Friends. 

The speakers recounted highlights of CFPA's work in the past 40 years. See photo of three of our speakers below: Darlene McKnight, former Board Chair, who spoke on our gun violence prevention project; Irene Goldman, Board Chair, who spoke on CFPA's music and comedy events over the years, and Stephanie Harris, Chair of the Voting Security Task Force, who spoke on our 15-year history fighting for secure, voter-marked paper ballots. 

CFPA's Executive Director, the Rev. Bob Moore, was part of an interfaith conversation about Abraham on Saturday, Nov. 23, at Taqwa Community Learning Center in Trenton.

See photos below!

Group photo with some of the event's attendees

Rev. Bob Moore with other panelists, Rev. Rene John, Dean of Trinity Cathedral, and Imam Deen Mohammed

On November 10, 2019, the Coalition for Peace Action held our annual Multifaith Service and Conference for Peace, marking the beginning of our 40th year! 

The day was a success, with a combined total of 600 attendees for both the morning Service and afternoon Conference.

Special thanks to the 58 Organizational Co-Sponsors!

Our speakers were: Jim Wallis, the co-founder and president of Sojourners; Jenny Town, co-founder and managing editor for 38 North; Ray Acheson, director of Reaching Critical Will; Dr. Frank von Hippel, a research physicist and Professor Emeritus of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University; Shiho Burke, 2nd-generation Hiroshima bombing survivor; Dr. Zia Mian, co-director of Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security; and Dr. Alan Robock, a climatologist at Rutgers University.

Click here to watch a video of the first part of the Conference, Jim Wallis's talk.

Click here for a video of the second part, a panel of Jenny Town, Ray Acheson, and Dr. Frank von Hippel. 

Click here for a video of the third (final) part, a panel of Shiho Burke, Dr. Zia Mian, and Dr. Alan Robock. Special thanks to George McCullough, director of Princeton Community TV, for these videos. 

Click here to see more photos on our Facebook page, all taken by Anna Savoia. 

Click here to read coverage of Jim Wallis's sermon in the Daily Princetonian, and click here to see coverage of Shiho Burke's talk in the Princeton Packet.

Jim Wallis giving a talk at the afternoon Conference

Audience during Q&A session

Opening session of conference starts

“The Nuclear Ban Treaty: The Path Forward”—held at Penn on September 19^th—was rated as a great success by attenders who have since contacted CFPA and the PA Nuclear Ban Alliance.

We gathered at Perry World House, a welcoming place at the University.  Our speakers included our Keynote, Joe Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund, who advocates nuclear abolition, and works for diplomatic, not military solutions.  Joe also participated in a workshop, led by Elaine Scarry of Harvard and Mary Day Kent of the UN Association, on women’s leadership in nuclear policy.  Participants discussed ways that we strengthen all-gender participation and leadership in this movement, if it is to move forward most successfully. 

Elaine Scarry discussed her book, Thermonuclear Monarchy,** which exposes the dangers to world peace posed by allowing one person to determine the fate of the Earth, by launching a nuclear war without Congress, or public debate - that is, the US President.  Mary Day has been a national leader of CARE and WILPF—Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom—and is now a leader in the UN Association of Greater Philadelphia.

Other workshops included “Warheads to Windmills—How We Pay for the Green New Deal”, led by NuclearBan.us leaders Vicki Epson and Timmon Wallis, PhD.  This popular workshop showed us how we can channel the $1.7 trillion of taxpayer monies in the pipeline for nuclear weapons, to building a strong Green New Deal, with clean energy and infrastructure, in the next decades—before it is too late for the Planet.  Here’s a LINK, explaining how this works.

Finally, Alyn Ware of PNND, and Jeff Perkins of Friends Fiduciary Corp., led the Nuclear Divestment Workshop—i.e., both the world movement, and, how cities, universities, and pension funds can get rid of weapons investments—especially nuclear weapons—that may be in their portfolios.  More on this workshop—and activities taking place right now in Philly and NJ—will be reported at the late October meeting of PNBA—the Pennsylvania Nuclear Ban Alliance. You are welcome to attend the meeting, and join these efforts.  For the next meeting announcement, send your name, phone, and Email address to Aguilarcfpa1@gmail.com.

Last but not least, while we have no video of former Iranian ambassador Seyed Mousavian at Penn, who gave a very informative Morning Address, we have video of his appearance for us this June, 2019, at this LINK.  Ambassador Mousavian debunked many of the distortions by the current Administration of the Iran Nuclear Agreement. He shows that this Agreement is still valid. CFPA as always supports upholding international law, which includes this Agreement, the best way to keep Iran free from nuclear weapons. We support talks, not war, in appeals to the US Senate.

For more information, contact Ed Aguilar on next steps for PNBA, at Aguilarcfpa1@gmail.com, or stay in touch with CFPA for developments.  Thanks to all who support these efforts!

- Ed Aguilar, CFPA Pennsylvania Director

** Order this book from CFPA—it will be on sale at our November 10 Peace Conference in Princeton, or you can call our offices and pre-order it as well! 

Joe Cirincione, President of Ploughshares Fund, speaking at the event
(Photos by Walter Tsou) 

On Monday, August 5, the Coalition for Peace Action held a Commemoration that marked 74 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Commemoration was CFPA's 40th. About 60 were in attendance. 

The event featured (in order) - Glenn Swann, who plays the Shakuhachi (Japanese flute), a moment of silence at 7:15 (which correlates to the 8:15 AM bombing on August 6 in Hiroshima), singer Diane Beeny's rendition of "Never Again the A-Bomb," keynote speaker Mira Nakashima (daughter of renowned woodworker and furniture designer George Nakashima, and a celebrated artist herself), a group sing-along to "Down by the Riverside," an update on Iran and North Korea from Dr. Rob Goldston of Princeton University, a statement regarding the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton over the weekend, and a candlelight vigil accompanied by classical guitar from Charlie Frantz. 

See photo below of speakers Mira Nakashim and Rob Goldston.

Please click here for a very valuable resource on presidential "first use," which very dangerously allows any sitting president to unilateraly issue an order for a nuclear strike, even if we are not under nuclear attack ourselves.  

(photo by Wendy Greenberg)

Since all peacemaking work needs to be diverse and inclusive, the Coalition for Peace Action promoted and participated in Princeton's first-ever Pride Parade, which thousands attended! 

Click here to see more photos

(photo by John Lien)

About 125 CFPA members and guests attended our 39th Annual Membership Dinner and Gathering!

We recognized Irene Etkin Goldman for her 15 year anniversary as Board Chair, and we honored Norm Cohen, who led our South Jersey chapter for over 35 years (click here to read his remarks). Dr. Zia Mian of Princeton University was honored for his work as a scientific advisor for the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty of 2017, and NJ Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald was honored for his gun violence prevention work in the legislature. 

We also heard from Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian on Iran/US relations, the dangers of war, and the path forward through diplomacy. Click here for a video of his talk, including the Q+A afterwards.

Thanks to all who made this event a sucess. See more photos below, and click here for more on Facebook! 

Ambassador Mousavian speaks on the current Iran situation. (photo by John Lien)

NJ Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald is presented with an award for his leadership on gun violence legislation. On the left is Rev. Bob Moore, CFPA Executive Director, and on the right is Dolores Phillips, Ceasefire NJ Legislative Director. (photo by David Crow)

The NJ Assembly voted on Thursday (May 23) on Assembly Resolution 230, which urges the federal government to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and pursue other measures to reduce the danger of nuclear war. The Resolution passed by a vote of 56 yes, 3 no, and 15 abstentions. Special thanks to Dr. Zia Mian for spearheading this initiative. 

BE IT RESOLVED by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House urges the federal government to spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons in a first strike, ending the President’s sole authority to launch a nuclear attack, taking the nuclear weapons of the United States off hair-trigger alert, canceling the plan to replace its entire nuclear arsenal with enhanced nuclear weapons, and actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

2. This House urges the President and the Senate of the United States to  ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Thanks to all who emailed and called their legislators to encourage the passage of this important resolution! Click here to read a follow-up op-ed in the Star Ledger and Trenton Times about the importance of the resolution. 

Click here to read the full text of the resolution. 

Gun violence prevention leaders in NJ stand with author and activist Igor Volsky (third from right), at a public discussion in Princeton about Guns Down America's next steps in a campaign to persuade banks in the US to change their relationships with the gun industry and the NRA. 

Click here to read a New York Times article about the bank campaign. 

On Sunday, March 31, CFPA held its annual Membership Renewal and New Member Welcome Gathering. About 75 attended! We enjoyed a meal together, then heard from nuclear weapons experts - Dr. Zia Mian and Dr. Rob Goldston, from Princeton University, and Lydia Wood, the Campaign Coordinator for NuclearBan.US.

Click here to see photos. and click here to see video of the whole event!

Pictured below: Lydia Wood speaking to our attendees. Thanks to everyone who attended and our amazing volunteers for helping put the event together. 

On Monday, April 1, 2019, Ceasefire NJ representatives met with Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, the NJ Assembly Majority Leader, to discuss moving forward on new gun violence prevention legislation. 

On Thursday, March 14, 2019, a delegation of 18 CFPA members went to D.C. to advocate for peace! We met with staff for three Senators and five Representatives, and we met with Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ02) in person. 

We urged our members of Congress to support legislation that would cut off funding for security assistance to Saudi Arabia, prohibit military action in Venezuela, call for a formal end to the Korean war, restrict the first use of nuclear weapons, block funding for low-yield nuclear weapons, and block funding for weapons that were covered by the INF Treaty. See pictures below!

We received very positive feedback from our participants. We had several for whom it was their first lobby day - they thought it was a great experience, and would do it again. One even said it was the best day of her life! When it came time to make specific "asks" of the staffers, we distributed speaking roles among the attendees, making their individual voices heard and giving a more participatory experience to everyone involved. Many were also impressed by how smooth and well-organized the day was.

Meeting with Sen. Booker's staff

Our delegation meeting with Rep. Jeff Van Drew

Posing with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)

On Monday, March 11, 2019, CFPA supporters and members of the Central Jersey Democratic Socialists of America gathered in Palmer Square to say NO to US military intervention in Venezuela. About 30 attended! We held up signs and handed out informational flyers. 

Click here to take action by emailing your members of Congress about the Venezuela crisis. 

Photo by Anna Savoia 

On Monday, March 11, 2019, CFPA's Executive Director, the Rev. Bob Moore, testified at a hearing of the Science, Innovation, and Technology Committee of the NJ Assembly in favor of a resolution for redirecting US nuclear weapons policy towards arms control and disarmament. This testimony was coordinated with the Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security. 

A half dozen CFPA members came to show support - thank you!

The bill passed, and now goes to the Assembly floor!

After meeting (for the second time now) with CFPA last week, Congressman Andy Kim (D-NJ03) has co-sponsored a resolution that calls for a formal end to the Korean War. Click here to read more about the resolution and other co-sponsors!

We met with Rep. Kim only a few days before the deadline to co-sponsor, and urged him to do so.

15 CFPA supporters gathered in downtown Princeton to hold a vigil in advance of the second Trump-Kim Summit in Vietnam. We held signs calling for "Real Peace in Korea," and "No More Reality TV Summits!" 

Rev. Bob Moore testifying before NJ Senate Law and Public Safety Committee in favor of S2547, to codify biannual reports of where guns used in crimes in NJ originate being published online. This committee hearing was held on February 14, the first anniversary of Parkland. Photo by Carole Stiller.

On Wednesday night, 2/6/19, CFPA's BuxMont Chapter in PA co-sponsored a meeting at the Fallsington Friends Meeting about the proposed Elcon incinerator. Click here to read more about Elcon and its dangers. 

The meeting was completely full, with about 80 in attendance. See pictures below!

On January 21, 2019, the Coalition for Peace Action and the Princeton Clergy Association co-sponsored the Annual Multifaith Service to Commemorate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, from 7 to 8:30 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton.

300 people attended the service. Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Associate Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, and Chairperson of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Princeton, gave the sermon.

Click here to read transcript of her talk! 

Diverse faith leaders from a wide range of traditions co-led the multifaith worship service:

The Rev. Carlton Branscomb, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Princeton
The Rev. Laura Craig, Fellowship in Prayer
The Rev. Dave Davis, Pastor of Nassau Presbyterian Church and President of the Princeton Clergy Association
Steve Drake and Avis Hofstad, First Church of Christ, Scientist in Princeton
The Rev. Donald Locklear, Music Minister, First Baptist Church
The Rev. Lukata Mjumbe, Pastor of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Robert Moore, Executive Director, Coalition for Peace Action and Chair, MLK Planning Committee
The Rev. Bill Neely, Pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton
Imam Sohaib Sultan, Muslim Chaplain at Princeton University
The Rev. Jenny Smith Walz, Lead Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Princeton
Cantor Jeff Warschauer, Jewish Center of Princeton
Dr. Eberhard Wunderlich, Princeton Bah’ai Community

See pictures below (by John Lien except where noted), and click here for more.

(photo by Robert Eaton)

On December 21, 2018, a delegation of experts and organizational leaders met with Rep-Elect Andy Kim to discuss North Korea, preserving and extending nuclear reduction treaties, nuclear "modernization" and spending, Yemen, and gun violence prevention.

On Tuesday, December 18, CFPA held our annual Holiday Gathering for Peace at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton. 

First, there was a candlelight vigil for peace in Yemen, across the street in Palmer Square's Tiger Park. 

Then, we held a potluck for peace! Thanks to all who brought dishes!

Finally, we had a program that included music from David Brahinsky and Friends, and Sharleen Leahey, and a talk from Representative-Elect Tom Malinowski. 75 people were in attendance, filling the room!

See pictures below, and click here to see more on Facebook. 

On December 4, 2018, Ceasefire NJ and Moms Demand Action presented a screening of the film Armor of Light, at the Showroom in Asbury Park. 

The film takes a look at a conservative minister's crusade to coax his followers away from their love affair with guns, and raises profound moral and social questions. 

After the film, Rev. Robert Moore, CFPA's Executive Director, participated in a panel of faith leaders. The other panelists were Rabbi Marc Kline, Monmouth Reform Temple, and Pastor Semaj Vanzant, Second Baptist Church of Asbury Park. 

The Coalition for Peace Action held its 39th Annual Multifaith Service and Conference for Peace on Sunday, November 11, 2018. The morning Multifaith Service for Peace was attended by about 800, and the afternoon Conference for Peace was attended by approximately 250. 

The Rev. Jesse Jackson preached at the Multifaith Service at Princeton University Chapel, and faith leaders from a wide range of traditions co-led the Service. Rev. Jackson also spoke at the afternoon Conference for Peace at Nassau Presbyterian Church, and was featured at a Sponsor Reception afterwards.

Other speakers included Amb. Wendy Sherman, who led the negotiating team that succeeded in concluding the Iran Nuclear Agreement; Dr. Leon Sigal, a Korea expert; Bill Hartung, an expert on nuclear and military spending; and Ms. Ray Acheson, a Steering Committee member of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Many thanks to the speakers, the 47 organizational co-sponsors, the attendees, and the many volunteers who helped make this such a successful event.

Click here for the transcript of Rev. Jackson's morning sermon.  

Click here to see video of Rev. Jackson's talk in the afternoon. 

Click here to see video of Ambassador Wendy Sherman's talk in the afternoon.

Click here to see video of Dr. Sigal, Bill Hartung, and Ray Acheson. 

See photos below (thanks to volunteer photographer John Lien), and click here to view more photos on Facebook. 

The Multifaith Service for Peace at the Princeton University Chapel

Wendy Sherman addresses the crowd at the Conference for Peace

CFPA's Executive Director, the Rev. Robert Moore, moderates audience Q & A session for Ray Acheson, Dr. Leon Sigal, and Bill Hartung (left to right)

Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Conference for Peace

The Rev. Robert Moore, CFPA's Executive Director, wth the Rev. Jesse Jackson

Sponsor Reception with Rev. Jackson (photo thanks to David Crow)

Dolores Phillips (left), Ceasefire NJ's Legislative Director, and the Rev. Robert Moore, CFPA's Executive Director, pose with NJ Governor Phil Murphy after October 29th press conference announcing next steps on gun violence prevention.

On Sunday, August 5, the Coalition for Peace Action held its annual commemoration of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Princeton, NJ.

Over 90 people were in attendance! 

The Coalition hosted speaker Dr. Alex Wellerstein, who spoke on Reinventing Civil Defense. We also heard from poet David Steinberg, and from the Solidarity Singers. In addition, we had a guest appearance from members of the Agape March, who are walking from New York to DC to counter-protest white supremacist actions on August 12th. They spoke of their commitment to non-violence and love, and the struggles they have faced. 

Click here to watch a video of the event! 

In Doylestown, a dozen people braved a hot & humid evening on Monday, August 6, for a vigil. 

Princeton Photos: (see more here)

David Steinberg reads poetry to the crowd. Click here to read the poem he wrote for the event. 

Doylestown: