Family Promise Founder to Speak at Grand Opening of New Day Center in Albuquerque

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Karen Olson, the founder of Family Promise, is the featured speaker at the grand opening of the new home for the organizations Albuquerque affiliate on Sunday, November 1, 2015, at  3:00 p.m. You are invited to come hear her amazing story and to celebrate Family Promise of Albuquerques new space and expansion at 808 Edith Blvd NE (map).  For more information, call 505-268-0331.

Below is a speech that Ms. Olson gave at the  University of Arkansas Clinton School of Service in May of 2011. 

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A Prayer for Justice at the Roundhouse Rotunda Ahead of the 2016 Session of the State Legislature

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2016

Witness for the People

Our State of the State Address

Monday, January 18   1:30 PM

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."  Proverbs 29.18

Featuring the
New Mexico Peace Choir, directed by Christy Conduff, in the Rotunda of the Roundhouse
following the Martin Luther King Day Celebration sponsored by the Santa Fe NAACP

As our state legislature prepares to shape a new budget during this 30 day session
Let Our Voices Be Heard proclaiming the priorities for their work on behalf of the people of New Mexico.  

For more information, contact Rev. Holly Beaumont, (hbeaumont@iwj.org)

Here are a couple of videos from the 2015 commemoration, which featured the Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Senior Minister Emeritus of The Riverside Church in New York City, and President of the Healing of the Nations Foundation.



Rev. Bert Scott, representing the Interfaith Hunger Coalition, was one of several faith leaders to offer a reflection/prayer.

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Dominican Leadership Conference Representative at UN to Speak in Albuquerque about Pope Francis Encyclical on the Environment

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"Our goal includes bringing the perspective of the United Nations to our Dominican Family and to support global action for justice and peace nationally." -Dominican Leadership Conference

Sister Margaret Mayce, OP, the NGO (non-governmental organization) representative for the Dominican Leadership Conference at the UN, is the featured speaker at the monthly presentation sponsored by the Dominican Ecclesial Institute (D+E+I) in Albuquerque on Sunday, October 25, 1:00 -3:00 PM,UNM Continuing Education Building, 1634 University Blvd. NE (map).

The topic of Sister Margarets address is "Sustaining God’s Creation," continuing with the D+E+Is reflections on Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment Laudato Si.

Sister Margarets work with worldwide governmental representatives on environmental issues will give a broad dimension to the crisis the Pope addresses in his encyclical.

Sister Margaret has also worked on other issues at the UN, including womens rights. Here is a piece that she wrote in February of this year.
 
If you plan to attend the talk, please RSVP to: contact@deiabq.org or 505-243-0525
Free to D+E+I members; others $10 free-will offering is appreciated.

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Documentary Follows Refugee Students at New York City Summer Program

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A new documentary, Refugee Kids: One Small School Takes On the World, made its debut in many communities around the U.S. this fall. The documentary, by award-winning filmmakers Renée Silverman and Peter Miller, follows students at a New York City summer program for children seeking asylum from the world’s most volatile conflicts.  Below is a trailer, followed by more information.


from Renee Silverman on Vimeo.

The film presents an intimate, emotionally gripping account of the students’ stories of escaping war and conflict and resettling in America, chronicling their triumphs and setbacks as their lives unfold over the course of one formative summer. Refugee Kids humanizes complex geopolitics and depict the challenges and urgency of immigration to America in an increasingly dangerous – and interconnected – world.

To find out if the film is showing in your community or if your group or coalition wants to help bring the documentary to your city or town in the near future, contact Kari Steeves (kari@refugeekidsfilm.com). No showings are yet scheduled in New Mexico,

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2016 Hunger Report Looks at Relationship of Health and Hunger

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The Bread for the World Institutes 2016 Hunger Report, The Nourishing Effect, was the talk of Twitter on the day it was released on Monday, November 23. #HungerReport was the #1 Twitter trend in Washington and was the #6 trend in the nation.

Several VIPs were on hand for the release of the report at the National Press Club, including Kevin Concannon, the Undersecretary of Agriculture, and Deb Eschmeyer, who runs the Let’s Move program in First Lady Michelle Obama’s office.

Here is  an excerpt from the executive summary.

Hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition ruin health. But good nutrition is preventive medicine. Hunger leads to poor health and poor health contributes to descents into hunger and food insecurity—especially among people who must choose between paying for food or medicine. In the United States, the issues of hunger and health have been seen as two separate and distinct challenges. But that is beginning to change as the system adapts to an ambitious reform agenda driven by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA is moving the U.S. healthcare system to focus on prevention and to address the root causes of chronic diseases.

Photo: Bread for the World

The Bread for the World Institute and Bread for the World will host a Twitter conversation this (Tuesday) morning at 11:00 A.M. Eastern Time (9:00 A.M. Mountain Time).

If you have any questions or observations about the report, please share them with the hosts of the Twitter conversation: Kelvin Beachum, an anti-hunger activist who plays for the  Pittsburgh Steelers; Lisa Scales of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and Asma Lateef, director of the Bread for the World Institute. If you want to participate, follow @BreadInstitute on Twitter.

Download the full report

Here are some tweets related to the release of the report.

US spends more on health care of all rich countries, yet sees poorest health outcomes. #HungerReport #health pic.twitter.com/m3DmmpUmkQ

— Bread Institute (@breadinstitute) November 23, 2015

#hungerreport: socioeconomic inequality largely responsible for #hunger in US. @bread4theworld @breadinstitute pic.twitter.com/3gTZDhFFrk

— AllianceToEndHunger (@toendhunger) November 23, 2015

TOMORROW 11 a.m EST: Twitter chat about the linkage between hunger & health. #HungerReport https://t.co/GDhlOSV1oS pic.twitter.com/5JoByam7Fh

— Bread for the World (@bread4theworld) November 24, 2015

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Join Us at Parish Social Ministry Conference Next Saturday

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"Sowing Seeds of Love in Action" is a conference for anyone interested in the social mission of the church including parish social ministers, teachers, youth ministers, young adults, catechists, St. Vincent de Paul volunteers (Vincentians), outreach volunteers, Deacons, JustFaith grads and more!

Please spread the word and help us to make this Archdiocesan conference! Registration is now open on line and is accessible on the Archdiocese of Santa Fe Web site on the Social Justice and Respect Life page. The direct link to registration is here . On this link, you will find the schedule for the day.
 
Conference Objectives: · Build capacity in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for the social mission of the church · Increase knowledge, skills and abilities of parish social ministers in all outreach ministries · Inspire social ministry—charity and justice as “love in action”

Workshop topics include Global solidarity, the new Encyclical, Laudato Si, keeping your spiritual center, life and dignity of the human person: respecting life from womb to tomb, using media and technology for social mission, engaging youth and young adults in solidarity, exploring Communities of Salt and Light, how to be a voice of the poor, immigration and migration, Catholic social teaching, how to form a social concerns committee, and more!

Workshops offered in Spanish and simultaneous translation offered.

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DIY workshop at Green Bazaar

8:56 PM in Aqua, at, bazaar, diy, green, workshop

This weekend was exciting as Green Bazaar had organised an event on "Design Matters". One of the many workshops was on Aquaponics. Here i got a chance of talking to a lot of Aquaponics enthusiasts who wanted to know more.
After a short presentation, I did a DIY session where i showed how one can make a Miniponics - Aquaponics for just under 10$.

Here are a few pics of the workshop. and also a video on DIY - Miniponics

A quick video grab of the workshop.

DIY - Video - How to make Aquaponics system for under 10$

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Electrify Africa Act Wins Approval in Congress and a Group of Students at UNM Helped

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Photo montage from ONE

The Electrify Africa Act  is now law. The initiative directs the President to establish a multiyear strategy to assist countries in sub-Saharan Africa implement national power strategies and develop an appropriate mix of power solutions, including renewable energy, to provide access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power in order to reduce poverty and drive economic growth.

There are many people to thank for helping to make this happen. Over four years, ONE members worked tirelessly to turn an idea into a law.

Sherif Aboubakr and Jielin Pan staff ONE table at UNM?

With petitions, letters, tweets, and in-person meetings, ONE members continued to raise their voice in support of this bill. This included a group of students at the University of New Mexico, who set up a table at an international fair on campus in 2014 to gather signatures to be sent to Congress.

Members of Congress played a key role as well. Many worked across party lines, and across Chambers, to build a strong bipartisan bill built on private sector partnerships. Electrify Africa would not be the law it is today without their hard work and support.

Take a minute to send a note of thanks to Congress. 

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Oxfam at UNM Invites You to Celebrate International Womens Day

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We now live in a world where just 62 individuals have as much wealth as the 3.6 billion poorest people. Such runaway inequality is bad for all of us, but it’s the poorest among us who suffer the most.

New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps and Oxfam at UNM invite you to celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women while focusing attention on the areas requiring further action.

Saturday, March 5

2:30pm- 4:00 pm 

Student Union Building Atrium 

University of New Mexico 

For more information, contact New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps (newmexico@oxfamactioncorps.org)

Oxfam America Invites You to Send an ECard

Here is another way to commemorate International Womens Day,. Oxfam America invites you celebrate this occasion by sending an eCard to friends and family, spreading the word on social media, or honoring a woman who is making a difference in your community. Whatever you choose to do, you’re sending a powerful message about the role of women as a force for change. 

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Members of Albuquerque Synagogues Serve Meals at Homeless Shelters on Christmas Day

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By Michelle Radden-Vogler

For the past four years, members of several Jewish synagogues in Albuquerque; Congregation Nahalat Shalom, Temple Albert and B’nai Israel, have been preparing and serving breakfast meals to homeless people in our community on Christmas day and Easter Sunday. Volunteers from many different faith communities in Albuquerque also participate.

This year, Nahalat Shalom hosted the meal at the Good Shepherd Center and Congregation Albert prepared and served breakfast at St. Martins Hospitality (in much of the same manner as on Christmas Day, 2014)

As members of the Jewish community we are providing this service so that those Christians who regularly work at the Good Shepherd Center have the opportunity to celebrate these important holidays with their families or in ways that are meaningful to them.

We are also participating in the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, a Hebrew term defined as ‘acts of kindness through human actions that help to repair the world’. Through these actions we seek to transform our broken world so that it reflect the divine values of justice and compassion.

The challenges of hunger, homelessness and poverty are huge issues that must involve all of us- from different faith communities and belief systems—in fact from every aspect of society.

We are grateful to be part of these efforts within our community as well as the many social justice projects affecting our world today.

The photos in this blog post were taken on Christmas day 2015 at Good Shepherd Homeless Center. The center, located in downtown Albuquerque, serves over 300 meals every day of the year to people in need. Brother Gerard Sullivan and all the fine members of the Center provide a variety of programs that assist people in lifting themselves out of homelessness and poverty.

The author is a member of Nahalat Shalom and a participant in the Interfaith Hunger Coalition.

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