Just! News! Number 224, December 31, 2011
JUST! NEWS!
Number 224 – December 31, 2011
JUST! NEWS! is a newsletter devoted to bringing news about justice and peace issues effecting the Montgomery County community, the greater Washington D.C. area, the nation and the world
Upcoming events appear after advocacy opportunities and general news listed at the beginning of this newsletter
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” — Matthew 2:16-18 – New International Version
Witness Against Torture in DC – January 2nd to 11th – join Witness Against Torture, Amnesty International and others in Washington DC. Stand in for one of the approximately 2,200 people who have been indefinitely detained without charge in Bagram and Guantanamo. We will fast through January 11, 2012 and be present and visible in the streets of Washington, DC every day. We hope that many of you can join us for this whole period of resistance, reflection and community building.
January 4th – the trial for fourteen Witness Against Torture members begins on (for their June 2011 action in the House of Representative gallery). Please support them. Trial begins at 9 am at Superior Court, 500 Indiana Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 (8:30 am – press conference outside Superior Court; 8:15 am – procession starts from Trinity Lutheran Church, 501 4th St, NW, Washington DC.).
January 4th, The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, or ADC, will be hosting a special community forum with cast members from the TLC docu-series All-American Muslim. The evening is an exclusive opportunity for ADC’s interfaith and civil rights coalition partners, who have been working tirelessly on the critical issues surrounding this series, to hear directly from the cast members about their personal experiences and feelings about the show.
The event is by invitation only, if you are interested in attending please e-mail Ms. Marwa Bakabas to mbakabas@adc.org. The forum will be held a few days after the airing of Episode #7 on January 1st. Episode #7 of All-American Muslim epitomizes what we hope will be the show’s legacy: forging the bonds of unity in the wake of tragedy. The Day the World Changed centers on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and its lasting impact, as the greater Dearborn community comes together to commemorate and reflect upon the tragedy. At the city-wide public memorial service, an Imam, a Rabbi, and a Priest pray together in solidarity for Peace and Unity. This revealing episode is arguably the most complex and nuanced take on the terror attacks from an American Muslim perspective ever seen on television. You are encouraged to watch the episode on TLC.
Thursday evening, January 5th, 7:30 pm – join the St. Francis of Assisi Pax Christi group and others as we reflect upon Pope Benedict’s New Year’s Day Peace Message (http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/articolo.asp?c=488495 or http://www.news.va/en/news/papal-message-for-world-day-of-peace-2012) exhorting Catholics to teach peace and justice to our youth. Also come and hear Frida Berrigan of Witness Against Torture speak about this year’s efforts to close Guantanamo and other sites of indefinite detention. Held in the basement of the St. Francis of Assisi rectory, 6701 Muncaster Mill Road, Rockville, MD. All are welcome!
Friday, January 6, 2012 @ 7:30 p.m. – 10 Years of Guantanamo — We Say No More! – Speakers: Carmen Trotta, Martha Hennessy and Beth Brockmanand other members from Witness Against Torture (WAT). Jan. 11, 2012 marks the tenth year that the first prisoners in the so-called war on terrror were brought to Guantanamo. In 2005, following a trip to Guantanamo by Catholic Workers and other activists who tried to visit the prisoners, WAT was formed. Since then, WAT has initiated a nonviolent direct action campaign to call for the closing of Guantanamo and Bagram, and for an end to indefinite detention and torture. From January 2-12 there will be a fast and other actions in D.C., including a 2,000 person human chain that will stretch from the White House to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 11. And on Jan. 3 a jury trial will begin for WAT members who were arrested during a June 23 witness inside the U.S. House Gallery. For more info see: www.witnessagainsttorture.org. Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20010. For more info contact Art @ 202-360-6416 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.
Friday, January 6, 2012 from 7 – 9 p.m. (6:30 – socializing and snacks) – Economic Democracy: Another Life is Possible ~Using our resources for the welfare of all~ ~Lessons from life in Venezuela ~ presented by Dada Maheshvarananda – Our speaker lives in Venezuela and has a deep understanding of the transformation happening within its society. With more than 66,000 operating cooperatives, the question remains whether this economic democracy will prove to be a model for development throughout the region – and the hemisphere. In spite of the successes, Venezuelan society remains deeply divided between those who love President Hugo Chavez and those who hate him. While political democracy can be exploited by big money & powerful elites, economic democracy is a dynamic economy of, by and for the people. It is based on community based leadership, full employment and a high quality of life that can be experienced by all. Warning: Dada may include some experiential activities in his presentation, so come prepared to participate. Donations accepted for the work of Prout Institute, Venezuela. Held in the Dining room (north entrance) of St Stephen’s Church, 1525 Newton St NW, Washington, DC 20010.
Saturday, January 7, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to Noon – Immigration Referendum Training Session –
Keep Their Dream Alive – Help make higher education affordable for all qualified Maryland students regardless of immigration status. Learn how you can activate and educate your parish or community to support their DREAM. They were brought here as youngsters and love America – their home. They are hardworking, file taxes and will not take any university spots away from other Maryland students – and they will pay the full Maryland in-state tuition rate.
The Maryland Catholic Conference is holding training sessions for those who want to campaign to keep the DREAM alive for these students. Archdiocese of Washington, St. Mark the Evangelist Church, 7501 Adelphi Road, Hyattsville 20783- Directions. Click here to register and for more information.
Saturday, January 7, 2012 from 4 – 6 p.m. Dada Maheshvarananda, born in the US, is an activist, writer, and monk. His recent book, After Capitalism: Prout’s Vision for a New World, has been published in 10 languages with foreword by Noam Chomsky and many others. For many years Dada has protested the policies of the World Bank and IMF and corporate greed. He has directed community development projects, taught meditation and yoga in prisons and community settings and has given hundreds of seminars and workshops around the world – in Southeast Asia, Europe and South America. Since 2006 he lives in Caracas, Venezuela, and directs the Prout Research Institute that promotes and strengthens cooperatives. www.priven.org or www.aftercapitalism.org Sponsored by: Washington Peace Center, Howard County Friends of Latin America, Just Peace Circles, Inc. For info, contact Bette Rainbow Hoover bette@justpeacecircles.org at 202-329-4667. Howard County Central Library www.hclibrary.org – 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD 21044.
January 11th, Witness Against Torture will stand with Amnesty USA and dozens of other groups and thousands of people to form a human chain that stretches from the White House to the Capitol. We are helping to organize buses and groups of people to join us for that day of rally, action and solidarity with those unjustly held. There is more information about the January 11, 2012 action and spectacle online at amnestyusa.org/jan11. Please sign up!
January 11th, 6:30 pm – Committee for Palestinian Rights (CPR) book club meeting is on “The Birth of Israel: Myths and Realities,” by Simha Flapan. The author explores and debunks seven myths concerning the birth of Israel which have become fairly well ingrained in most people’s understanding of this issue. The book was written in 1987, is 243 pages long, plus Notes, but is a fairly easy read. The Howard County library has only one copy, so it would have to be ordered from Amazon or a book store. Please consider coming even if you haven’t read the book; the discussions are interesting.
Meet at 6:30 at the Café at David’s Natural Market. Order a sandwich or salad, if you wish, by 2:30 p.m., to be held for you at 6:30 p.m. (410-730-2304).
Monday, January 16, 2012, 10:00am – Keep the Dream Alive Mass & Awards A Liturgy & Celebration – St. Aloysius Church, 900 Block of North Capital Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001. Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington invite you to join us as we honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and contemporary heroes who keep his dream alive through their work to reduce poverty in America.
January 17, 2012 — Civil Resistance on the Steps of the Supreme Court — Washington, DC - On January 17, 1977, Gary Gilmore, a “volunteer” for execution, was killed by a firing squad in Utah, marking the first execution since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty. Thirty-five years later, the U.S. has exterminated nearly 1,300 more prisoners since Gilmore. On January 17, 2012, the death penalty abolition community will mark this shameful anniversary with non-violent civil disobedience, just as we have done every five years since 1997 (hyperlink has information on the last several actions). Traditionally, the act of resistance on January 17 has involved unfurling a large banner reading “STOP EXECUTIONS!” on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, declaring our opposition to the death penalty. The act of protesting on the Court steps or plaza is in itself illegal, which makes us subject to arrest on minor charges. We use this small act of knowing disobedience to stand in solidarity with the thousands of men and women on death row and to demand that our government recognizes the sacredness of their lives.
If you would like more information or would like to be included in a future conference call about this action, please email scott@abolition.org or call 518-769-1867.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 7:30 p.m.- What is the truth about Islam and Muslims in America? (Everything you always wanted to know – but were afraid to ask). In recent months, anti-mosque protests, anti-Sharia legislation and related controversies have left many Americans confused about Islam and Muslims in America. Join a panel of experts for a civil dialogue that separates fact from fiction in the current debates about Islam in the U.S. Bring your questions — and learn about resources for addressing these important issues in your own community.
PANEL – Haroon Mogul, Columbia University, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding; Rabbi Marc Schneier, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; Melissa Rogers, Center for Religion and Public Affairs, Wake Forest University; Asma Uddin, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding – MODERATOR – Charles C. Haynes, Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum
Admission is free, but registration is required. To RSVP or for information, contact Ashlie Hampton at ahampton@freedomforum.org or 202/292-6288. Held at the Annenberg Theater, Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, January 25th, 7:30 pm – Panel Discussion on the upcoming Montgomery County Budget – which will be lead by Chuck Short, Special Assistant to the County Executive, Ike Leggett. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington Montgomery County Justice and Advocacy Council and held at St. Jane de Chantal, 9601 Old Georgetown Road Bethesda, Maryland 20814.
To have more background on the budget for this panel discussion, you are encouraged to attend one of the FY2013 Budget Forums Scheduled; Resident Input Invited, which will be held at the following times and locations. All of the forums are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., on the following dates:
- January 9, Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor La.,
- January 12, Silver Spring Civic Building, One Veterans Place;
- January 17, Mid-County Community Recreation Center, 2004 Queensguard Rd., Silver Spring;
- January 23, BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown; and
- January 31, Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Rd., Silver Spring.
Tuesday January 31 2012, 7-8:30pm, Washington Peace Center Volunteer Orientation – Interested in learning more about the Washington Peace Center and how you can be involved? Come join for our Volunteer Bash! You will learn about our work at the Peace Center, what we have planned for the fall and how you can help. If you’re planning to join us, please RSVP here. Held at St. Stephen’s Church, 1525 Newton St. NW
Saturday, February 4, 2012, 10am-4pm – Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation presents Mystery of Suffering Quiet Day – the mysterious presence of God is in all things, often especially hidden in suffering. The fear and pain of loss and change can lure us away from the contemplative stance of living into the mystery of suffering. Sometimes the fear and pain are so deep that all we can do is come with our questions and our fragile desire.
Join them for this time of opening to the presence and transformative power of the Spirit in the sacred space of a dedicated community. The hope is that we will be strengthened to embrace the suffering in our lives and in the world with compassion and healing grace.
Held at Dayspring Farm House, 11301 Neelsville Church Road, Germantown, MD 20876. Led by Ann Dean, who is Director of Shalem’s Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups & Retreats Program and Director of the Personal Spiritual Deepening Program Leadership Initiative. Ann is a spiritual director and nationally-known leader of retreats and conferences and Anne Grizzle, who is a spiritual director, family therapist, retreat leader, and author of three books, including Reminders of God. She also serves on Shalem’s faculty for the Personal Spiritual Deepening Program. “Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or to remove it. He came to fill it with his presence.” — Paul Claudel. This day will have a gentle rhythm of prayer, guided meditations, silence, and optional sharing. $50 (please bring a bag lunch). To register online, please click here.
March 9 – 11 2012, Consistent Life 25th Anniversary Conference – Celebrating a quarter century of working for Peace, Justice and Life! A weekend to rejuvenate and invigorate your commitment to the Consistent Life Ethic – registration materials coming soon. For more information, contact Bill Samuel at president@consistent-life.org.
Thursday to Saturday, March 15-17, 2012, New Ways Ministries presents a Symposium on Catholicism and Homosexuality – From Water to Wine: Lesbian/Gay Catholics and Relationships*. Held at the Renaissance Baltimore Harbor Place Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland.
Major speakers include: Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, Luke Timothy Johnson, Patricia Beattie Jung, Richard Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson will also facilitate a pre-symposium retreat day. Workshop topics: marriage equality, transgender issues, African American issues, youth and young adults, lesbian nuns and gay priests/religious, Latino/a issues, and coalition building. For Catholic ministers, laity, educators, LGBT persons and their family, friends, and advocates. For more information: info@NewWaysMinistry.org or(301) 277-5674 or http://www.newwaysministry.org/symp2012.html.
Fund Our Communities campaign – is a new grass roots movement to get support from local organizations and communities to work together with their local and state elected officials to pressure our Congress persons and Senators to join with Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul, who have endorsed a 25% cut to the federal military budget. We then want Congress to bring these savings home to state and county governments to meet the local needs which are under tremendous budget pressures. For more information about this movement in Maryland, please go to www.OurFunds.org.
MD CASE says the 2012 legislative session is just around the corner – and our chance to make Maryland the next state to repeal the death penalty!
There is support for repeal – within the legislature and from the governor. What we need is the political will for a vote to be taken on the 2012 death penalty repeal bill. This is where you come in. We need your help to move the repeal bill in 2012. We need your help to keep up the pressure. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to send your representatives an email right now.
REFLECTION: “We are all children of society, but we are also mothers. We have to nourish society. If we are uprooted from society, we cannot transform it into a more livable place for us and for our children.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
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