Calendar Volunteer Opportunities Workshops and Presentations Library Links Contact ICPJ
The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) is pleased to offer the following presentation lineup, a series of workshops and presentations offered free of charge to area congregations, classes, religious education groups, and other groups and organizations. Most presentations are free of charge, and we can customize a workshop to meet the needs of your community.
To schedule a workshop, or for more information, please contact ICPJ by phone at 734-663-1870, by email at info@icpj.net, or by mail at 730 Tappan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104.
Call to Faith, Call to Justice
What do different faith
traditions say about social justice? More importantly, what do they do about
social justice? How can you and your faith community put your values into
action to promote a more just and peaceful world? (30 minutes to 1 hour)
Hunger in a World of Plenty
This one-hour workshop is
mostly group activity. Participants will receive a hands-on experience of
the disparity of the food economy and spend time in open discussion reflecting
on their experience. Participants will leave with information on how to take
action in response to the poverty of food distribution in our world. (1 hour)
Do You Know Enough to Enlist?
Geared
toward high school students, this workshop provides alternative perspectives
to what young people hear from military recruiters. It encourages participants
to think fully about their decision before signing up for the armed forces.
(30 minutes to 1 hour)
Welfare Simulations
This is a highly interactive, 2.5
to 3 hour workshop. Participants will receive identities in the "State
of Poverty," and spend four 15-minute
'weeks' living on welfare. They will experience some of the challenges and
hurdles of poverty first hand. (There is a fee for this workshop. Please
call 734-663-1870 or email jason@icpj.net for details.)
Some Good News for Change
As peace and justice advocates,
we look at problems and propose ways to address them. Sometimes we spend
so much time looking at the problems we fail to see what is going well in
the world and what advances we are making. This workshop celebrates progress
in the work for justice and peace and explores what we can learn from these
successes. (30 minutes to 1 hour)
From El Mozote to Abu Ghraib
Our values and religious traditions
teach us to respect the worth and dignity of all human beings. Are we ensuring
that our foreign policy lives up to these ideals? This presentation explores
areas in which people of faith and conscience can hold governments accountable
and promote human rights. (1 hour)
Nuclear Weapons: Security or Idolatry?
This workshop explores
religious and secular responses to the danger of nuclear weapons and the
need for global solutions to this global problem. (30 minutes to 1 hour)
Guns and Greed in Latin America: The U.S. Army School of the Americas
(WHISC)
This presentation explores the history of the U.S. Army
School of the Americas. The schools graduates have a disturbing record
of human rights abuses throughout Latin America, leading some to consider
it a school of terrorists on our own soil. The presentation also explores
how people of faith and people of conscience are standing up and saying "No!" to
the School of the Americas and "Yes!" to a foreign policy based
on democracy, self-determination, and human rights. (30 minutes to 1 hour)
Globalization for Beginners
What do low clothing prices,
trash shipments from Canada, and impoverished coffee farmers have in common?
This workshop explores some of the issues raised by economic globalization
and presents some ways that people of faith can promote economic justice
and sustainable globalization. (1 hour)
Is There Hope For Peace in Israel/Palestine?
This workshop
explores the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as well as appropriate
denominational and religious perspectives on promoting a just peace. Participants
will leave equipped with resources to learn more, stay informed, and to promote
peace. (1 to 1.5 hours)
Religious Values and Budget Priorities
When you follow the money, what does it show about our values and priorities
as a nation? In this workshop participants explore how their budget priorities
compare to the Federal Budget, as well as what other faith leaders are saying
about our federal spending. (30 minutes to 1 hour)
Interfaith Solidarity: Opposing Abuse of Muslim and Arab Detainees
News reports of Quran desecration and abuse of Muslim detainees is a concern
for all people of faith. This presentation, offered in collaboration with
the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor, explores how people of all
faiths can stand up for universal human rights. (1 hour)
A Call to Conscience: Stopping the Genocide in Darfur
Violence and destruction are raging in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
Since February 2003, government-sponsored militias known as the Janjaweed have
conducted a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement
in Darfur. How are people of faith called to respond to this crisis? What
can we do to stop this atrocity? (1 hour)
Little Kids Make a Big Difference in Darfur, Sudan
This workshop begins with the children drawing a picture of a typical Saturday
afternoon with their family. After the pictures are drawn, pictures of daily
life drawn by Darfurian refugee children will be shown to the class. In a
real, but non-graphic manner, information on the genocide in Darfur will
be presented to and discussed with the children. With their new understanding
of life in Darfur, they will help to write a letter to local media or politicians
asking them to stop the violence. Little kids can make a big difference!
(30 minutes to 1 hour)