UPCOMING WEBINAR… THIS COMING THURSDAY!
We know how to show up. We’ve marched, organized, written letters, held vigils, maybe gotten arrested. And the work of nonviolence asks something harder than action: it asks us to stay fully human in the presence of people whose views we find threatening, misguided, or even dangerous.
In a country this polarized, few of us were raised with genuine skills of listening, empathy, and nonviolent response — and those gaps show up not just in the streets, but at family dinners, in neighborhood meetings, and in our own inner lives. These skills matter no matter who holds power.
This workshop invites peace activists to move beyond what we know intellectually about nonviolence and begin to embody it — through reflection, shared practice, and challenging role-plays that put our principles to the test in real human encounters.
Come ready to practice. Come as you are. REGISTER HERE!
MECA bike ride announcement 2026
Madison’s 2026 Big Ride for Palestine: a fundraiser for Middle East Children's Alliance
July 19, 10am-2:pm, leaving from Olin Park in Madison.
Contact: Cassandra, madisontogaza@gmail.com, 608 445-0357
Madison area cyclists of all ages and abilities are invited to participate in Madison's 2026 Middle East Children’s Alliance Big Ride for Palestine, July 19, presented by Madison-Rafah Sister City Project and Palestine Partners.
This ride is for everyone! Regardless of your age, your bike, and your level of biking energy, this ride is for you!
Riders will gather at 10 for a brief sendoff at the east end of the park, then ride along the Wingra Creek bike path to Midland Park, a distance of about 2.5 miles, where riders will have an option of taking a break, or continuing on for a 3.5 mile loop around the zoo. Riders will then return to Olin Park together. Bike decorations, watermelon and ice water will be available at Olin Park, and participants are encouraged to wear Kuffiyas and decorate bikes in solidarity with the children of Palestine and Lebanon.
Registration is now open and Madison area riders can visit Madison’s team page at https://tinyurl.com/MadisonRide4Palestine
to view a ride map and register to ride with the Madison team, or donate to the Madison team’s fundraising efforts.
Participants have until July 15 to register and receive a Ride for Palestine shirt but are encouraged to register now and build support for their personal ride among friends, family and colleagues to make this year’s event a success in this time of desperate need in Gaza.
The July 19 event at Olin Park is free and open to the public and anyone is welcome to join the ride or cheer on Madison's team.
The event is presented by Madison-Rafah Sister City Project and Palestine Partners and co-sponsored by Madison Jewish Voice for Peace, Madison Mennonite Action, WORT FM Community Radio, Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement, Veterans for Peace Madison ~ Clarence Kailin, Chapter 25, Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America, Madison for a World BEYOND War, Families for Justice Dane County, Students for Justice in Palestine, Madison, trans* intergenerationalmutual aid project, Wisconsin Interfaith Peace Working Group
MECA works to protect the lives, rights, and well-being of children in Palestine and refugee camps in Lebanon. After over 77 years of ethnic cleansing, displacement, and attacks on their lives and livelihoods, Palestinians remain steadfast on their land and fiercely committed to the cause of freedom and liberation. This Ride for Return is an act of solidarity with Palestinian communities as they struggle to protect their children’s lives and their culture from erasure.
As Israel's bombardment of Gaza and Lebanon, and blockade of Gaza continue, our support is needed more urgently than ever. All funds raised by the Ride will go to MECA’s relief work in Palestine and Lebanon. Learn more about MECA at https://www.mecaforpeace.org.
Madison-Rafah Sister City Project is a local volunteer organization committed to standing with the people of Gaza and Palestine as they struggle to remain in their homeland despite Israel’s decades long settler-colonial occupation of the West Bank and brutal blockade and Genocide in Gaza.
Facebook event at: https://www.facebook.com/share/189NsF4YKb/
Sign up to volunteer at the ride at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FACAC28A6FAC16-64196429-madisons
4 Webinars:
5.16, 5.31,6.6, and 6.14
This Saturday, the Pax Christi New England Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (PCAN) will hold the first of four virtual summits, each featuring Catholic and other faith leaders, who will give brief presentations, exchange ideas, and field moderated questions from the Zoom audience on how to most effectively harness our collective efforts for nuclear disarmament.