With all the talk this week relating to the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, I decided to dig up Peace, Arms and a Test of Faith, a 1992 documentary I produced for Jean Martensen and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, through the ELCA Department for Communication and the Division for Church in Society.
We recorded most of this program in the Rocky Mountain Synod of the ELCA at a conference attended by ELCA members who were actively engaged in social opposition to the nuclear arms industry and specifically the re-opening of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Arsenal near Boulder, Colorado. The conference was also attended by members of the ELCA who were then employed in the U.S. nuclear defense industry either in formal military roles or as scientists.
The keynote speaker at the event was the late Dr. Timothy Lull, then Academic Dean and Professor of Systematic Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. Lull was a prolific writer and widely sought speaker with a particular interest in the life and work of Martin Luther.
During filming at a protest, I was nearly arrested along with peace activists as we recorded their provocation of Rocky Flats security personnel and successful attempts to get arrested themselves. At the time, I was struck by the contrast in costumes between the two groups; the peace activists with their Birkenstock sandals and tie-dye shirts and the security personnel with their camoflage uniforms and aviator sunglasses. Everyone has their herd.
Interviews included:
Mag Seaman, American Friends Service Committee
Dr. Gary Rochau, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rev. Nelson Bock, Araria Higher Education Center, Denver, Colorado
Melody Buck, Peace and Justice Activist
Dr. Timothy Lull, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
Janet Miller, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
Lorne Matheson, NOAA Space Environment Lab Boulder, Colorado
Typically I misspelled Matheson’s title using the name “NOAH” instead of NOAA, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Oh well, it was a church video…
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