MEETING NOTES FOR PEOPLE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND HEALING
November 24, 2007
People for Peace, Justice and Healing met Saturday, November 24, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. at Associated Ministries. Present for check-in were Colleen, Nancy, Sallie, Rob, Mark, Ray, Jan, Sheila, Kyle, Sol, and Karen.
AGENDA:
1. Bill of Rights Day (Colleen)
Bill of Rights Day, Sat., Dec. 15, will be celebrated this
year in the downstairs auditorium at the Washington State Historical
Museum. Program starts at 7:00 p.m. and Colleen encourages people
interested in participating in an approximately twenty-minute "skit"
for the program to attend a rehearsal on Wed., Dec. 5, in the
Olympia Room of the downtown main branch of the Tacoma Public Library.
The scheduled speaker for
the event is Nancy Bristow of the University of Washington-Tacoma.
Michael Honey, also of the University of Washington-Tacoma,
will provide the musical entertainment. Following the program, the
audience will be asked to participate in the traditional public
reading of the Bill of Rights.
2.Interfaith Camp (Sallie)
Every year the campers from the Interfaith Camp collect blankets for
street people. Sallie will bring some blankets to our next meeting that
need a few finishing stitching touches and asked for those in
attendance to help finish the blankets. Sallie attended an Interfaith
Thanksgiving Dinner at St. Charles and made contact with a man from
Pakistan who told her that Pakistan "can't deal with Democracy right
now" and that military law is currently necessary. Discussion: recent
quote to local group from former governor, Booth Gardner re: elections
2008.
Discussion: Group expressed desire to have an extended study/discussion session to discuss various strategies for protest and resistance. Tabled to future agenda for time, date and place.
3. Leonard Peltier Dinner (Sallie)
General discussion. We need to find out when the
march is this year in February, whether First Congregational Church
will be available for a dinner, etc., and decide whether we can do the
dinner.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Digging Deeper: UFPPC Study Circle: November 26 and December 3, 10, and 17th, 2007 - As tensions with Iran escalate, the study circle will look at these books: Treacherous Alliances: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States by Trita Parsi; Target Iran: The Truth about the White House's Plan for Regime Change by Scott Ritter; Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S., and the Twisted Path to Confrontation by Barbara Slavin; and Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic by Ray Takeyh. Digging Deeper meets Monday nights at the Mandolin at 7 p. m.
2. Tues., Nov. 27, at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Room at 911 St. Helens Ave., there will be a discussion on whether or not to manage or slow down housing/building development in Pierce County. Citizen input welcomed. On Dec. 4 there will be a discussion/decision re: permitting domestic partner benefits to city employees. The vote is tight on this one. Citizen input needed.
3. December salon -- will be held this month on Sat., Dec. 1, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. at 3901 South 37th St. This salon is a fundraiser for the Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Service at Urban Grace Church. There will be entertainment which will start at 7:00 p.m. with 2012, a hip-hop group. Main speaker is Dr. Dexter Gordon, author of Black Identity: Rhetoric, Ideology and Nineteenth Century Black Nationalism (Southern Illinois University Press, 2006). Dr. Gordon is director of African American Studies at University of Puget Sound.
4. Asian Pacific Artists: A reception will be held at the Asian Pacific Cultural Center, 934 Broadway, next to the Children's Museum, to celebrate Asian Pacific art on December 5 between 6 and 8:00 p.m.
5. Adam Smith -- On Dec. 8, Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., there will be a town hall meeting at Carwein Auditiorium on the U. of Wash.-Tacoma campus, Keystone Building, 1900 Commerce. Questions/ comments can be left at Smith's phone number: 896-3775 or 1-888-Smith09
6. Bill of Rights Day will be celebrated at the Washington History Museum at 7:00 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 15. The public is invited and admission is free. Guest speaker is Nancy Bristow of the University of Washington, Tacoma. Music provided by Mike Honey. Plus brillant skit (see agenda item #1) by local talent and traditional reading by the audience of the Bill of Rights.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen