Before Dr. King's assassination 50 years ago, he initiated the Poor People's Campaign to seek justice and policy reform related to racism, poverty and militarism.
You are invited to join us Saturday, April 14th from noon to 4pm to learn about the local work being done to re-invigorate his vision for equality and justice in our community, state and nation. The training session will be held in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church in Manhattan (612 Poyntz Ave., ATA Red line). At the training, we will review the basic principles and goals of the Poor People's Campaign: ending systemic poverty, racism, militarism and ecological devastation. We will also discuss how these four core issues affect our local community and introduce how we can get engaged at the state and local level in making positive social change. During the training, we will video conference with participants in 40 other states as we hear from Rev. Dr. Barber and Rev. Dr. Theoharis. Together, we are building unity across lines of division as we support one another in our efforts towards morally just social change. To sign up for the April 14th training follow this RSVP link. We are working on plans to provide childcare and there is a place to indicate your need for childcare on the RSVP. For more info on the national Poor People's Campaign, you can visit their website. PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! Share the Facebook event for the April 14th training Print flyers for the event (single page, two-to-a-page) We are honored to have Rabbi Moti Rieber speak at our service on Sunday, March 18. Reb Moti is the Executive Director of Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA) and a life-long activist on peace, social justice, and environmental issues. He is a regular presence at the state capitol and testifies at hearings and meets regularly with legislators in pursuit of KIFA goal of bringing a faith-based moral voice to public policy in Kansas. KIFA acts on the belief that everyone deserves equal opportunity and equal protection, and the right to live in peace per their principles, which includes discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and other variables that describe marginalized populations. Reb Moti will speak on non-violence as a faith-based action for change. The Vitality Committee will host an extended Fellowship time with a light brunch and the opportunity to meet Reb Moti and learn more about KIFA and his current work in Topeka.
Mark your calendars… Monday, March 5 - Stand with Muslim Neighbors Advocacy Day. KIFA and CAIR-Kansas are once again co-sponsoring Muslim Advocacy Day. All of us - Muslims, Christians, Jews, Unitarians, agnostics, and others - will visit the state capitol to let our legislators and the people of Kansas know how important our Muslim neighbors are to the well-being of our communities, and our refusal to see them victimized or singled-out, legally or politically. A rally will begin at 10AM in the 2nd Floor Rotunda, and there will be activities throughout the day. For more information and to register go to the KIFA website, www.kansasinterfaithaction.org Thursday, March 15 - WEALTH Day. WEALTH stands for Water, Environment, Air, Land, Transportation and Health. This is our chance to make our concern for Creation visible to everyone! The day will start with an interfaith climate vigil at 9 AM, followed by a legislative briefing/training, meetings throughout the day, and a lunch with legislators. For a full agenda and to register for the event check the KIFA website. Saturday, March 24 – Turn Off Your Lights. Annual Earth Hour, 8:30 – 9:30 PM local time. April 3 – 5 - Unite to End Racism. The National Council of Churches invites us to unite to end racism! Join faith leaders in Washington, DC April 3-5 in the clarion call to heal the soul of the nation as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. Visit www.rally2endracism.org Wednesday, May 9, 6:30pm. KIFA Annual Event, First Christian Church, Topeka Exciting announcement about the guest speaker is coming soon! Stay informed… Want to keep up with UCC social justice actions at the national and global level? Sign up for info-packed newsletter, Take Action, of the United Church of Christ, Justice & Peach Action Network, at www.ucc.org They also have a FaceBook page. Make a difference in 2018… Last month, we started a short series based on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Five Ways to Make a Difference in 2018. The February newsletter discussed #1: Start a Conversation (don’t stay silent when you hear words of hate), and suggested SPLC’s, Speak UP: Responding to Everyday Bigotry, available free at their website, www.splcenter.org #2 is Be Informed. Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." Make a pledge to stay informed in 2018 about your government, your community and the injustices occurring to those around you. SPLC recommends On Tyranny, The March Against Fear, and The Blood of Emmett Till. You can sign up for the UCC newsletter, Take Action, or follow the SPLC on Facebook or request their newsletter. #3 is Stay Engaged. SPLC suggests volunteering with a cause that is important to you. We have many opportunities at First Congregational! Many community organization request help and there will be many opportunities to work for candidates and to get out the vote this fall. Wednesday, Jan. 10, Topeka Statehouse
11:30am-1pm #KSPeoplesAgenda Rally (2nd Floor Rotunda) The Capitol Opens at 8:00am, Lobby Training 9:30-11am PLEASE REGISTER ONLINE: KansasPeoplesAgenda.org MAPJ Bus Available from Manhattan to Topeka: Sign up for bus here Facebook event This is an inclusive event and agenda planned by many Kansas organizations and hundreds of folkx from every region and walk of life. The rally will feature speakers sharing personal stories related to the issues, music and performance art. We believe that standing together to represent a broad fusion of concerns and demands from the people of Kansas is a way to build power and to be heard. We believe that art and music are part of our story as people. We will also be joined by many groups, faith traditions, organizations, and intersections, who stand as a moral witness to our movement and to our struggles and suffering. We represent people from all over the state in addition to many different experiences in Kansas. Are you excited and/or curious about the recent resistance actions in DC? Join Rachel Shivers, Carol Sevin, and Mark Nelson in the church conference room this Thursday at 9pm or Sunday at 4pm to hear and share stories, ask questions, gain insights and find out about how to join in next week's civil disobedience actions in DC (Dec 4-7).
The fall Dinner and Conversation sponsored by Vitality will be on Friday, November 10 at 6 PM. The topic will be fair trade in Manhattan, with guest Amy Kay Pavlovich from the fair trade store, Connected on Poyntz. She’ll tell about her journey to developing 3 fair trade stores in Kansas and will have some of the goods from the Manhattan store.
Conversations on Race Reconciliation: A Community-Based Dialogue
Oct. 30, 7-9:30pm at St. Thomas More Catholic Church Our event will begin with a panel discussion of prepared questions. Following that the group will divide into round table groups as we are joined by Cats for Inclusion to discuss the issues raised and possible initiatives to improve issues of race relations. WOW! Look at this amazing panel! Laverne Bitsie-Baldwin Mirta Chavez John Exdell Susanne Glymour Ryan Kelly Richard Pitts This event will feature a panel discussion, small groups facilitated by community members, and time for social networking. Facebook event Mass Meeting for the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival - August 21 in Topeka8/7/2017
Join Co-convenors Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis for a Mass Meeting for the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival on Monday , August 21 at 7:00 pm at Topeka First United Methodist Church (600 SW Blvd, Topeka). You can hear about the inspiration,vision and strategy for the Campaign. Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. The Campaign aims to build a broad and deep national moral fusion movement – rooted in the leadership of the poor, marginalized and moral agents and reflecting the great moral teachings – to unite our country from the bottom up. The call for a Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival has emerged from more than a decade of work by grassroots community and religious leaders, organizations and movements fighting to end systemic racism, poverty, militarism, environmental destruction & related injustices and to build a just, sustainable and participatory society. We draw on the history, vision and unfinished work of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. There is a resounding call to save the very soul of this nation: We need a new Poor People’s Campaign for a Moral Revival in America. It is time to become a new and unsettling force in our complacent national life. Join us for the Mass Meeting for the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival on Monday, August 21 at 7pm at Topeka First United Methodist Church. Childcare is provided and pre-registration is required for those who need childcare. Doors open at 7pm. Please pre-register if you plan on attending. SPREAD THE WORD! Small flyer jpg 8.5 x 11 PDF 4-to-a-page PDF Facebook event RIDE THE BUS FROM MANHATTAN: MAPJ is sponsoring a bus to this event. 50 seats are available on a first come, first served basis. We are asking for a $10.00 free-will donation to help off-set the cost of chartering a bus. Register for the bus here. Manhattan Ongoing Discussions:
Join us at First Congregational on Sunday, August 27 after worship for a Discussion & Reflection on the Poor People's Campaign. All are welcome to join us, even if you were unable to attend the mass meeting on August 21. We will meet in the basement of the church and you are invited to bring your own lunch. On September 21, Indivisible Manhattan will host a discussion of "Democracy in Chains: The Deep history of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America" by Nancy MacClean beginning at 7:00 PM in the Grosebeck Room. Nancy MacLean is the award-winning author of Behind the Mask of Chivalry (a New York Times “noteworthy” book of the year) and Freedom is Not Enough, which was called by the Chicago Tribune “contemporary history at its best.” The William Chafe Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University, she lives in Durham, North Carolina. Copies of "Democracy in Chains" as well as Dr. Barber's books are available at Claflin Books in downtown Manhattan. Summary: Reverend Wm. Barber’s 14-Point Fusion Political Movement The Third Reconstruction and Reverend Wm. Barber’s 14 Point Fusion Movement Strategies. The Third Reconstruction is a remarkable 135 page book that details Rev. Barber’s evolution from preacher to organizer (and preacher). It provides a summary of precisely how Rev. Barber developed his Fusion Movement approach to organizing, how he strategically formed alliances, how he used civil disobedience, how he used moral language to unify groups who previously had been splintered by the 1%, and how he organized, not around elections, but around issues, issues where people of all colors had common ground: the same force opposing justice. The last chapter of the book is a discussion of his 14 strategies. # 1. Organize Locally & Engage in indigenously led grassroots organizing across the State. A sustained movement for the “long haul” requires local people who know and trust one another and equip these volunteers with tools and resources to effectively raise their voice at a state and local level. #2. Use Moral Language. Claim the higher ground and expand your base by embedding your advocacy in moral and constitutional values shared by the majority. #3. Incorporate Civil Disobedience. Civil disobedience conveys a willingness to sacrifice and has been integral to the first and second reconstructions. We are working with SURJ to offer a series of trainings culminating in one on civil disobedience. #4. Use the Voices of Everyday People. We do not speak for those who can speak for themselves. Make the pain of the majority human, immediate and real by providing a place for these people to raise their voices. Retake Our Democracy has a developing strategy unfolding for videotaping individuals who can put a human face on injustice. #5. Recognize the Centrality of Race. While both race and class are central to Barber’s approach, he asserts that class divisions cannot be understood apart from a society built on white supremacy. #6. Build a Broad Diverse Coalition Including Moral & Religious Leaders. Retake has met with the Santa Fe Interfaith Leadership Alliance and will continue to develop relationships with religious leaders. #7. Diversify the Base by Seeking Unlikely Allies. Part of Retake Our Democracy’s emerging community conversations strategy is to have neighborhood level conversations across party lines and to find common moral ground. At the same time, Roxanne went to the GOP Annual Meeting on Saturday and was very well received. We will be presenting to their membership soon. #8. Build a Transformational Movement that doesn’t Measure Success Based upon Elections. Fusion politics is about forging sustained relationships based on common moral ground. This is not about making “transactional” alliances where I will support your issue, if you support mine. It is about forging common moral ground that is transformational to all involved. #9. Make a Serious Commitment to Academic and Empirical Analysis of Policy. Retake has assembled over 50 experienced researchers who have a well-developed Research Resource Inventory and Protocol for developing Research Action Kits on a wide variety of issues. These will be available beginning in Feb. #10. Coordinate Use of All Forms of Media and Social Media. Retake has a Media Team that is in the process of developing plans for maximizing our use of media and training Retake supporters in how to maximize their use of social media. #11. Engage in Voter Registration and Education. A major strand of Retake’s approach is to Engage, Educate and Activate. Education will come in many forms: panels, trainings, book clubs, and community conversations. #12. Pursue a Strong Legal Strategy. Here is an area where Retake is not strong. We need to recruit attorneys to explore ways in which we can go to the courts to seek redress and to confirm our constitutional grounds on specific issues. #13. Engage the Cultural Arts. We are just beginning this process and will be announcing a musical and cultural celebration very soon. We are also supporting events like Writes Resist which was held yesterday at Counter Culture. But this is an area where we could do more. #14. Resist the “One Moment” Mentality. This is a movement, not a campaign. No one victory will usher in justice and no single defeat can stop us. Justice is on our side. Stand with Muslim Neighbors. What a great turnout for the Brunch with our Muslim friends after the special service on Sunday, March 5. We estimated that about 80 people were part of the hospitality hour, brunch, and visiting. A special thanks to those who prepared food and cleaned up afterward. We were well represented at the Advocacy Day in Topeka on the 13th. See pictures on the UCC Facebook page. And don’t forget, we have a good supply of Neighbors yard signs/posters. Social Justice Write-In. The first write-in produced letters to friends, journal entries, and postcards to policy makers at the national and state level. We also had coffee, tea, treats and good conversation. Please join us at the next Write-In on April 26. We’ll provide cards, paper, stationary, pens, stamps and snacks. Little Apple Pride 2017. The annual Pride festival and parade are scheduled for April 22nd, with the parade starting at 10:30. First Congregational UCC will be walking with our group in the parade, so mark your calendar – we hope for a big turn-out walking behind our church banner. Line-up begins in the parking lot of the mall at 9:30. If you want to help organize and make signs, contact Courtney Keith or another member of the Vitality Committee. For up-to-date information regarding the parade or festival please check out the Little Apple Pride Parade Facebook page! facebook.com/LittleApplePride Other Information Every week, Davis Hammet of Loudlight recaps activities by the Kansas Legislature and Governor’s office at facebook.com/BeALoudLight. CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) has launched a “#RegisterMeFirst” website designed to challenge Islamophobic policies, including the ongoing “Muslim ban” and a proposed “Muslim registry.” Registermefirst.com provides an opportunity for anyone who wants to oppose the Muslim Ban, any future Muslim registry or other unconstitutional actions by the current administration to join the broader movement challenging those unjust policies. If you sign up at the site, you will get updates on how they can express their solidarity with American Muslims and how they can oppose Islamophobic policies and proposals. On Wednesday, April 26 from 6:30-8:00pm, the Vitality Committee invites members and friends to a Social Justice Write-In, a casual event for people to spend time together reading and writing or just sitting quietly in community. You might write to local policy makers, a neighbor, a close or estranged family member, or in your diary. We will provide coffee and tea, as well as writing materials and stamps. Feel free to bring your supper or snacks. Contact Rachel Gintner for information or suggestions.
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