Candle Light Vigil & Teach-In for Human Rights on International Human Rights Day — Wednesday, December 10th

On Wed., !2/10/08, demonstrations will be taking place across the world to promote human rights. Join us to send an important message to the new Obama Administration: the United States must abide by the Universal Declaration fo Human Rights and promote its standards throughout the world!

Join us for action and education: petition our government to ratify human rights conventions, sign a letter to President-elect Obama, and learn from human rights scholars and community leaders.
         Candle Light Vigil - 5pm - Main St. & Liberty (downtown Ann Arbor)
         Human Rights Teach-In - 7pm - Michigan Union, Anderson Room (UM Central Campus)

**Visit www.icpj.net/human-rights-day in the coming weeks for updated information**

<– PLEASE PRINT THE flier-for-posting AND HAND OUT TO YOUR FRIENDS/AT YOUR CONGREGATION/WORKPLACE/OTHER ORGANIZATIONS!

Sponsored by: The Common Ground for Peace Group of the Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice, Michigan Peaceworks, Amnesty International Ann Arbor, U-M SOLE (Students Organized for Labor and Economic Equality), Gray Panthers, Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights (WICIR), Megiddo Peace Project, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Sadaqa Social Justice Network, and others.

Please call (734) 663-1870 or email gracek@icpj.net for more information.

Help sort medical supplies bound for Iraq

Every year, hospitals around the country either pay to incinerate or dump in landfills thousands of tons of medical supplies that were never used of have become outdated.

At the same time, hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands of people around the world die and suffer because of a lack of the most basic of medical supplies–gloves, syringes, sutures, and so on.

You can work to help bridge this gap by sorting unused leftover medical supplies that will be shipped to Iraqi hospitals in need by volunteering at the Children of Abraham warehouse.

Sorting will begin at 7pm on Wednesday, December 3 at the Warehouse, 3741 Plaza Drive, Suite 1.

No medical knowledge is necessary. Cosponsored by Interfaith Students for Peace and Justice and Children of Abraham. To RSVP (optional) or for more information, contact Mike Stricof at (520) 247-3674 or mstricof@umich.edu. For more information about Children of Abraham, visit http://www.umich.edu/~coa/index.html.

This fall ICPJ’s Steering Committee and other volunteers held a strategic planning retreat to chart the course of ICPJ’s future.

What we saw was a sense that overall we are on the right track as a local, multi-issue, interfaith grassroots peace and justice organization.

Out of the retreat and follow-up discussion, four areas emerged for continued work:

1. Diversity of our Steering Committee, membership, and program groups;
2. Fundraising to ensure we have the resources to support our mission;
3. Program feedback/alignment of objectives, activities, and evaluations. That is, working to become more intentional and reflective so that we create a feedback loop for programs so we set clear goals and then evaluate programs based on those goals;
4. Increasing policy making credentials and opportunities to develop a greater ability to affect change on a local and national level.

To get involved with any of these efforts, contact Chuck Warpehoski by email or phone at 734-663-1870. You can review the notes from the retreat below. Continue Reading »

Is your holiday season anything but simple?

Join us for an evening of preparing yourself to celebrate the holidays (whatever holidays you celebrate) in a way that is simpler and more spiritual.

There will be a short panel and discussion circles to help us focus on what really matters this holiday season.

This seems especially timely, given the current financial crisis-many of us may find simplifying an important strategy for responding to these challenges.

This “Dinner and No Movie” event in November takes the place of ICPJ’s usual Dinner and a Movie!

The discussion is preceded at 6:30pm on Thursday, November 20 by a potluck dinner. Bring a dish to pass if you wish. 7pm. Memorial Christian Church, 730 Tappan, Ann Arbor. Free. Reservations requested but not required. 663-1870, chuck@icpj.net.

Download the  flier and help spread the word.

AND, after learning to Simplify Your Holidays, you can join us for Holiday Shopping to Help Others! The 25th Annual Alternative Holiday Fair will be held on Sunday, December 7th from 2-6pm at First Baptist Church, 512 E. Huron, Ann Arbor.  This holiday season, give to your loved ones in a way that gives to others. Learn more!

Today eight area religious leaders met with Sen. Levin’s regional representative, Gale Govaere, to  call on the Senator to ask President-elect Obama to sign an executive order banning torture. The delegation also asked Sen. Levin to support the formation of a select committee to investigate the use of torture since 9/11.

You can make the same request of the president- elect. You can do this in three easy steps:

1. Visit his transition website at http://change.gov/page/s/ofthepeople.
2. Fill out your contact information.  Write “torture” in the “another issue” box.
3. In the “Your ideas” box, write something like “As a person of faith, I am deeply troubled by our nation’s use of torture.  Please act to end U.S.-sponsored torture by issuing an executive order based on the Declaration of Principles endorsed by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.  Then click “submit form.” Continue Reading »