Interested in Energy and the Environment? Think about attending a Global Power Shift Conference

Dear friends,

It’s time to try something new.

The last few weeks have seen some remarkable movement activity — the US Do the Math tour, India Beyond Coal, and the Arab Youth Climate Movement. These efforts have been game-changing and are mobilizing tens of thousands of people worldwide.

While we’ve made inspiring progress, nothing we’ve done so far as a movement has been quite large enough. That’s the hard truth. To take on this planetary climate crisis, we need to create truly transformative change.

That’s why today we’re publicly calling for a Global Power Shift. Click to learn more.

Global Power Shift (GPS) will be a multi-pronged project to scale up our movement andestablish a new course, like never before. The basic plan is this:

  1. In June of 2013, 500 of us will gather in Turkey — from leaders to engaged community members
  2. We’ll train in grassroots and digital organizing, share our stories, and chart a strategy for the coming year
  3. Attendees will then return to their home countries in teams to organize mobilizations
  4. These national or regional events will be launchpads for new, highly-coordinated campaigns targeting political and corporate levers of power
  5. Together, we will truly shift the power and spark the kind of visionary transformation we need to fight the climate crisis

In other words, 2013 is going to be our biggest year yet:  www.globalpowershift.org.

Not everyone will be able to attend the gathering in Istanbul, so we’re asking interested individuals to apply. This will ensure that a great diversity of folks are able to attend and see through the full GPS vision — from Turkey to national mobilizations worldwide. Even if we can’t meet you in Turkey, we’ll need all hands on deck to be part of the massive organizing work that will take place throughout 2013. So get ready!

Power Shift was established in the US in 2007. Since then it has mobilized thousands of youth and received national attention.

We’ve never undertaken a project like this before, but believe now is the time to take it worldwide. We hope you’ll join us.

Let’s shift the power!

Will Bates

350.org Global Campaigns Director

Art Opening by Anna Peters-Wehking

I want to share some news about a very exciting, very big show that I have coming up:  Continental Breakfasts: A Three-year Photographic Collaboration. 

For just shy of three years, my friend Lisa and I have each posted one photo a day from our mornings to our blog, Continental Breakfasts, from opposite sides of the continent. Its now been well over 1000 consecutive days, and we decided its finally time to take it to the walls. Our show will feature all three years worth of photos- totaling over 2,000 images. We are very grateful to The Yards Collaborative Art Space for hosting this exhibit. 

Continental Breakfasts: a three year photographic collaboration 
OPENING: Saturday December 1st, 6-10 pm 

The Yards Collaborative Art Space 
50-52 Public Market   (upstairs from Flour City Bread and Java’s) 
Rochester NY 14609 
Here’s the event on Facebook 

The show will also be open market hours through January 12th: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 10am-2pm; and by appointment as well. 

Lisa and I met in January 2010 when I was visiting Rochester. Lisa showed me the book A Year of Mornings, and upon discovering how much we had in common- especially our mutual love of both farming and photography- we decided to take on a similar project for ourselves. 

Lisa is involved in all manner of art, community and farming projects, based in Rochester and surrounding area.  We’ve only seen each other in person once in the three years we’ve been doing this. They have been very rich years for both of us.  The photos cover it all: lots of travel and adventure, major life events both trying and great, and plenty of simple ordinary days.  The last few years have seen me move several times, travel extensively in BC, Ontario and my recent move to Northern California.  I will be returning to Rochester for the opening, and we are both so very excited to share our three years of photos with you. The prints will also be for sale by request. 

It would be an honor to see you at the opening. 

Cheers!

Anna Peters Wehking

Upcoming Opportunities with the African Great Lakes Initiative

Report from Kenya  – November 18, 2012

Opportunities with AGLI

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

 

          The African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams has numerous activities that you can participate in: (1) speaking tours, (2) webpage for 2013 Kenyan Elections, (3) work camp, (4) international training for Healing and Rebuilding Our Community facilitators, (5) webmaster, and (6) extended service volunteering.

 

1.      Speaking tours: AGLI will be arranging for four speaking tours between March 18 and June 24, 2013 as follows:

  • David Bucura, AGLI’s Central Africa Coordinator, March 18 to April 28. Starting in Indiana and ending in Baltimore, MD.
  • Theoneste Bizimana, HROC-Rwanda Coordinator, March 29 to April 28. Ending in Bosie, ID. If you would like to arrange for a basic HROC training with Theoneste, please consult with me.
  • Florence Ntakarutimana, Program Manager for HROC-Burundi, April 26 to May 28. Starting in Olympia, WA, to St Louis, DC area, and ending in Florida
  • David Zarembka, AGLI Coordinator, May 10 to June 24. Starting in Richmond, IN, St Louis, MO and then the east coast.

 

I have attached a picture, brief biography, speaking topics, and current schedule for each of these speakers. If you would like to arrange for one of us to come to your community, please email me at  with the possibility and date.

 2   Webpage for Kenyan Elections at www.kenyanelections2013.org:

Message from Andrew Peterson:

When I have the opportunity to be in Africa and see AGLI’s work first hand I am struck by the idea that if people could see what our projects are and how much they affect people, we would have a huge outpouring of support. I know that people would support it because time and again I see that they really do care, but they just do not have the opportunity to travel to Africa to meet the amazing people with whom we work, to learn about all the challenges and opportunities facing Kenya, and to see how our work fits into this context. So my hope was that we could take a small step in this direction by creating a website that provides updates from Kenyans working for peace in their country as the elections approach. The website will include real analysis of what is going on, of the sort David Zarembka provides, so that people can get a richer view that is not available in the conventional media. Kenyans can also post directly to the site through their twitter accounts, so the site should hopefully provide a resource for very up-to-date information.

Already the website has become one of the top 5 or 10 search results. But we need for people to talk to others about what is going on, share the website, and give donations that make the work possible.

 

3.     Work camp:

Place: Mutaho, Burundi
Dates: Saturday, June 22 to Saturday, July 27, 2013 

Host Partner: REMA, a group of about 50 women (Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa) from Mutaho Friends Church led by Pastor Sara Gakobwa. The name,REMA, means “be comforted, do not get discouraged.” Learn more on page 23 of After the Guns Have Stopped at
http://www.aglifpt.org/publications/articles/hroc/pdf/aftergunsstopped.pdf

Location: Mutaho, Burundi – Northeast of Bujumbura near Gitega – the second largest city in Burundi

Objective: The Work Camp Team of up to six international and six Burundian work campers will build guest rooms for the REMA Women’s Group Center.

 

Cost: $2300 plus airfare.

 

Contact Dawn Rubber at  for more information.

4.   

4.  Third International Training for Healing and Rebuilding Our Community Facilitators: 

 

The African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams will conduct a seminar to train facilitators in the Healing and Rebuilding Our Community (HROC) program developed in Rwanda and Burundi for psycho-social healing of individuals and society after deadly conflict. To learn more about the program please visit www.aglifpt.org/Program/hroc.htm.

 

Dates: July 21 to August 10, 2013

 

Location: Gisenyi, Rwanda

 

Objective: To bring together up to twenty-five participants from various countries throughout the world in order to conduct a professional training for the participants to become facilitators of the Healing and Rebuilding Our Community program.

 

Language of instruction: English, but translators will be available if needed.

 

By the end of the HROC training, the participant

  • will be able to facilitate a three day basic HROC workshop.
  • will have a basic understanding of personal and community trauma and how they interact in situations of violent conflict
  • will be able to lead small and large group discussions, role plays, guided meditation, and light and livelies.
  • will be able to understand and respond to trauma and its symptoms and effects on individuals.
  • will be able to work with family, friends, and neighbors on methods to heal the local community’s trauma.
  • will be able recognized as a peace leader in the home community with specialize skills.

 

Cost: $800 per person including in-country travel, food, accommodation, and training costs.

Items that are not included are international travel, visa fees, accommodation in Nairobi before or after training, personal expenses, and cost of translator if needed.

 

Deadline for application: June 9, 2013 or until full.

 

For further information and application contact me at 

 

5.     Need Webmaster:

 

AGLI needs a person to post updates to the AGLI webpage, www.aglifpt.org. AGLI also needs a webpage designer to design a more up-to-date webpage. If interested in either of these, contact me at 

 

6.     Extended service volunteering:

 

AGLI is always open for people who would like to volunteer with our partner organizations in East and Central Africa. The minimum placement is for 3 months and there is no maximum time limit. See http://www.aglifpt.org/get/get.htm for requirements and an application. Contact Dawn Rubbert at for questions and more information.

         

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

Please donate to AGLI’s programs by sending a check to the African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams made out to Friends Peace Teams/AGLI  to 1001 Park Avenue, St Louis, MO 63104 or go to our webpage atwww.friendspeaceteams.org to donate by debit/credit card.

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

Since 1998, David Zarembka has been the Coordinator of the African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams. He has been involved with East and Central Africa since 1964 when he taught Rwandan refugees in Tanzania. He is married to Gladys Kamonya and lives in western Kenya. David is the author of A Peace of Africa: Reflections on Life in the Great Lakes Region (available atwww.davidzarembka.com).

__________________________________________________________________

— 
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
P. O. Box 189, Kipkarren River 50241 Kenya  
Phone in Kenya: 254 (0)726 590 783   in US: 301/765-4098
Office in US:1001 Park Avenue, St Louis, MO 63104 USA 314/647-1287
Webpage: www.aglifpt.org

Newest Edition of the Canadian Friend

Dear Friends,

Please use the link below to get to the latest issue of the Canadian Friend.

https://quaker.ca/Publications/cfriend/cfriend-2012.html#20124

Audio Recordings of Presentation about the Countering the Militarization of Youth conference

Here is a link for downloading two mp3 audio files which are the recording of a presentation by Christel, about her experience at the Countering the Militarization of Youth conference in Germany this past summer. The wide-ranging discussion includes reflections about the war of 1812 propaganda, war video games, and the internet in general.

Canadian Yearly Meeting 2012 in Camrose

August 17th 2012

CYM Young Friends Epistle,

            This year has been a fun and exciting one for Quaker youth here at CYM in Camrose, Alberta. Much fun was had by all thanks to our Youth Secretary; Katrina McQuail, as well as many other hard working young friends. Throughout the week, young adult friends attended Special Interest Groups and meetings. Thanks to their efforts, the upcoming years will be filled with many new faces and opportunities.

The week started late Friday evening when many exhausted friends arrived dreary from their trips. After making some first-time acquaintances over card games, young friends pitched their tents, made their beds, and fell into a well-earned sleep. The following morning all the young friends met officially for the first time and got to know each other better. We then explored Camrose and its respective 7-11’s and Dairy Queen’s. Later in the day we got to know each other’s wild sides with some ice breaking card games. Sunday began with meeting for worship and ended curled up under the stars, telling jokes and watching the meteors fall from the sky.

This year the young friends community was smaller than usual but because of this our relationships were also stronger and more intimate. Monday entailed more board games, which were becoming a reoccurring theme in our week. Later we had our first young friends business meeting. We discussed the exciting prospect of the Youth Challenge, an initiative to send as many as fifty youth to the 2013 Canadian Yearly Meeting.

Tuesday commenced with a talk on relationships and sexuality from Bill and Dale, which provided us a new outlook on human relationships and responsibilities. Yet more board games were played to keep spirits high through an unusual Alberta rain. Quaker Trading Cards started appearing on Wednesday, cards created by the younger friends to raise money for CFSC. Much fun was had as cards were sold and swapped. After lunch many of the young friends made their way down to the local pool, where hours were spent sliding, and splashing through the waves. We capped off the day with a walk to Subway, and yet more games.

Thursday, exhausted from a week of fun we indulged in a morning of sleep, followed by a nature walk guided by Vince Zelazny. After a brief rest we toured a local Youth Center, “The Open Door”, which proved to be very eye-opening. The day ended with young friends gathered, sharing stories and playing games, and much later, typing the dreaded epistle. In the half-asleep words of a young friend; Friday is half an hour young, Saturday is yet to come, and there’s no Sunday – nope, nope, nope!

 

CYM Young Friends, 2012

Jane Ackerman, Shaun Bartoo, Ben Von Schulmann

 

 

FLGBTQC Mid-Winter Gathering info

UPDATED INFORMATION ON MID-WINTER GATHERING OF FRIENDS FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, AND QUEER CONCERNS!

As in the past, the Midwinter Gathering will be held over Presidents’ Weekend – February 15-18, 2013.

LOCATION: The Gathering will be held at Bryn Mawr Mountain Conference Center. This is located in Honesdale, PA, which is in the Poconos. (Note: This is NOT in Philadelphia, and it’s NOT in the town of Bryn Mawr with which you may be familiar because of a Quaker college of that name which is in that town.)  Here is the website for the conference center at Bryn Mawr Mountain: http://www.brynmawrmountain.com/

TRANSPORTATION: The nearest airport to Bryn Mawr Mountain is the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport (AVP), located about 1 hour away. This is a smaller airport, but our research indicates that it is actually less expensive to fly to this airport from most major cities in the US. Other airport options include: Lehigh Valley/Allentown (ABE) – 2 hours away. Newark (EWR) – 2 1/2 hours away. Philadelphia (PHL) – over 3 hours away. We strongly encourage you to use the Scranton airport if possible!

We are working on a way to provide shared transportation from Philadelphia to the Gathering. It is likely that we will arrange a bus or vas, as we anticipate a large number of attendees from the Philadelphia area. If you are coming from the Philadelphia area, please be assured that we will have updates for you as soon as possible on how we can help you get to the Gathering!

REGISTRATION: The registration form will be available soon (thank you for your patience!), but we do now have the information about registration fees. The standard adult rate will be $260 (per adult, for the whole weekend, all meals included). Some of the rooms are “summer camp” style (3-6 bunk beds, shared bathroom); others are “dormitory” style (1 bunk bed, 1 single bed, bathrooms on the hall) — all these rooms are $260 per adult. There are a few rooms available which are further separated from the rest of the campus and have private baths; these rooms will be $280 (per adult). The rate for teens (age 13-18) will be $100, and for children (3-12) will be $60 (per teen/child, full weekend, all meals included). Children 2 and under can attend for free.

There are scholarships to assist with transportation and registration costs, and that more info on how to request this will also be available soon.

If you have questions, please direct them to Planning Committee Co-Clerks – Karen Lightner and Kody Hersh…but please know that your question may be answered soon as we will have much more information available for you, hopefully within the next few weeks!

If you have questions about OUTREACH – (i.e. “What can I do to help promote the gathering?” “What should I say when I tell people about this Gathering?” “Where should I make announcements about the Gathering?”) – please direct THOSE kinds of questions to me!

We’re looking forward to a really awesome Gathering and hope to see you there! Please stay tuned for further updates!

Blessings,

Oliver Danni

PELHAM HALF YEARLY MEETING: October 28, 2012

First Day, twenty-eighth of the Tenth Month, 2012

to be hosted by Pelham Executive Meeting (Niagara Quakers)

Norwich Museum, Norwich, Ontario

 

Draft Agenda

9:15 – 9:40  Arrival and greetings, with coffee, tea and refreshments

9:40 – 10:50  Meeting for Worship for Business (Pelham Executive Meeting will provide a recording clerk)

10:50 – 11:00   Break

11:00 – 12:00  Meeting for Worship

12:15 – 1:15   Pot Luck Lunch  –  Guests will bring fruit, baked goods, etc.

1:30 – 3:30   Afternoon Programme: 

Quakers in Popular Culture, to be led by members of Pelham Executive Meeting

Epistle from the Ontario Young Friends Thanksgiving Retreat at Camp NeeKauNis

The Thanksgiving retreat at NeeKauNis this year was absolutely fantabulistic. We had Friends from all over the continent, including New Brunswick, British Columbia, Indiana and New York State. In total, there were over 50 people (and 5 dogs) who showed up to partake in the festivities. Surprisingly no one sustained any serious injuries from our exciting game of wink. On Saturday we set out completing various work projects around camp, involving cleaning up brush, wood splitting, preparing for winter as well as filling up and unloading canoes full of lakeweed for the gardens. Throughout the weekend many an intense card game was had.

As usual Aden and the kitchen staff out did themselves giving us a marvelous Thanksgiving feast ending with phenomenal fruit pies. On Saturday evening after the feast came an interesting and informative presentation by Lucy M and Rick T on their experience of the Quaker Youth Pilgrimage 2012. That night, before quiet time, we celebrated our time together by attacking each other ferociously with pillows. The following morning we had a wonderful Meeting for Worship outside on the hill, concluded by an enormous snail group hug.

Over the course of the retreat everyone was so welcoming and friendly that the entire group always felt included. This was aided by the numerous croissants and occasional half donuts* shared by Friends. What with the wonderful people, delicious food and fun of dancing around the kitchen during dishes; this weekend retreat was a definite success.

 

*note from the YS: When speaking about community and inclusivity, the shape of a croissant is considered inclusive and welcoming, while the shape of a donut feels exclusive and difficult to break into.