Brainerd Area Coalition for Peace (BACP) held our monthly meeting on Monday, October 4 in the Brainerd United Church of Christ (UCC) upstairs library.   Judi and Richard Schiller, Donna Bowen, and Doug Olson joined the meeting.

Meeting participants reviewed BACP hosting a table at the Brainerd Pride Picnic in Gregory Park on Saturday, September 18 and the Camp Ripley peace vigil on Sunday, September 19.   Both events went very well.   Meeting participants agreed BACP should host a table at next year's Brainerd Pride Picnic.   The next Camp Ripley peace vigil will be held in September 2023, when Camp Ripley hosts Open House Day again.

Meeting participants selected Saturday, October 16 to hold the Fall BACP Adopt a Highway cleanup.   Cleanup volunteers will meet at the former Cabin Fever restaurant parking lot at 11 a.m. to plan the cleanup.   The former Cabin Fever restaurant is located off Highway 76 north of Little Falls.   The cleanup should take about two hours.   More information about the Fall BACP Adopt a Highway cleanup can be found at the BACP website, www.brainerdpeace.org, under the Adopt a Highway Project section of the BACP website's home page.

If bad weather forces the cleanup to be cancelled, the cleanup will be held on Wednesday, October 20 at 11 a.m.

Doug will encourage Brainerd Lakes Area Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members to join the Fall BACP Adopt a Highway cleanup at the Tuesday, October 12 DSA online meeting.   [DSA posted a notice about the cleanup in their weekly online newsletter and will ask members to join the cleanup].


The Minnesota Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Community will hold In Search of Justice for Palestine, an online presentation via the Zoom website, on Thursday, October 21 at 7 p.m.  In Search of Justice for Palestine is a free presentation.  BACP and DSA are hosting In Search of Justice for Palestine.

In Search of Justice for Palestine will feature three Minnesota BDS Community speakers:  Mariam El-Khatib, a Palestinian-American and Muslim who grew up in the Occupied Territories; Karen Schraufnagel, a staunchly anti-Zionist Jew who has planted citrus trees with Palestinian farmers; and John Darlington, a retired Methodist minister who has visited Israel/Palestine four times, most recently on a fact-finding tour of the West Bank.   More information about the speakers and In Search of Justice for Palestine can be found on www.brainerdpeace.org

There will be a question-and-answer session after the presentations hosted by Minnesota BDS Community member Sylvia Schwarz.

The Zoom link to In Search of Justice for Palestine is:

Topic: In Search of Justice for Palestine

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81323170066


BACP member Steve Long expressed concerns prior to the meeting, in phone conversations with Richard and Doug, the antiwar banners are not being used often enough.   The banners are professionally made and get our anti-war message out very clearly.   Their presence enhances the appearance of our peace vigils.   Everyone at the meeting agreed the banners should be used.   How many banners are used at a peace vigil depends on how many signs are available at the vigil.   If there are many signs, fewer banners will be used while if there are few signs, more banners will be used.   Ideally, a mix of banners, with their broad antiwar statements (i.e. "War Kills Kids") and signs topical to an issue (i.e. "No War on Iran"), would be used at a peace vigil.


Richard reported BACP has $721.95 in our treasury.   Bill McGrath, a Northfield People for Peace and Goodwill member who joined the Camp Ripley peace vigil, made a $20 donation to BACP.   BACP greatly appreciates all donations.


Meeting participants agreed BACP should meet online for our November monthly meeting.   With the weather becoming colder, deer roaming more, and meeting participants driving in the dark, it makes sense to hold BACP meetings online, via the Zoom website, until next Spring when meetings can be held in the Brainerd UCC upstairs library or Gregory Park, weather permitting.


BACP will hold our next meeting on Monday, November 1 at 7 p.m.   The meeting will be held online via the Zoom website.    The meeting will last 40 minutes, the maximum amount of time Zoom provides for free meetings.   A link to the BACP meeting on Zoom will be provided with the meeting announcement.


The BACP meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.   


BACP Meeting Notes Submitted by Doug Olson