St. Pete for Peace Home

The following writeup is from Pax Christi Tampa Bay

Mar. 3, 2010

Pax Christi Tampa Bay E-mail Newsletter


NEWSLETTER ITEMS
1.      Weekly calendar of regular local peace and justice events
2.      Lenten farmworker shirt drive
3.      Help for Haitian burn victims
4.      Eckerd College’s Plight and Promise of Africa
5.      Pax Christi Youth Retreat
6.      Refuge Thrift Store grand opening
7.      Execution this Tuesday
8.      Eliminating nuclear weapons talk
9.      Environmental book study
10.  16th Annual Peace and Justice Conference
11.  Iraq invasion anniversary actions
12.  Southern Exposure music festival with Stetson Kennedy
13.  Singer/songwriter/activist Anne Feeney
14.  March on Washington
15.  “Way of the Cross Today” contemporary Stations of the Cross
16.  CIW mobile Modern Slavery Museum
17.  Fair Food drawing contest
18.  Congressional bill to reduce nukes, help children
19.  National Farm Worker Ministry’s Youth and Young Adult Network list of actions
20.  Upcoming events
 
Good folks,
 
A hundred people filled Lakewood United Church of Christ to hear Fr. Roy Bourgeois talk about the School of the Americas/WHINSEC, SOA Watch’s campaign to close the school, and his journey as a peacemaker.  WMNF radio aired a two-part report about Fr. Bourgeois’ appearance.  To hear part one, click here; to hear part two, click here.  To hear an interview on RadioActivity with Rob Lorei, in which Fr. Bourgeois also addresses women’s ordination in the Catholic Church, click here
 
URGENT ACTION NEEDED: The state of Florida is planning to kill David Johnston at 6:00 PM next Tuesday, March 9.  Click here to email the Governor or call (850) 488-7146; FAX: (850) 487-0801.  Anti-death penalty activists will gather in Pinellas County from 5:00-6:00 PM on Tuesday, March 9 at the intersection of Ulmerton Road and 49th Street N. in mid-Pinellas County.  More details are below.

To receive updates on executions and other death penalty issues from Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, click here 

On Good Friday, Christians remember the execution of Jesus, a poor man with no wealth or political connections.  Jesus lived in a land under the occupation of the Roman military.  His challenge to the authorities was so great that he was tortured to death by the Romans.  Today, Florida’s Death Row is filled with the poor.  The people of Iraq and Afghanistan are reeling from the United States’ military occupation. 
 
This Good Friday, April 20, at 5:30 PM beginning on the corner of 1st Ave. and 6th St. N. in downtown St. Petersburg, Pax Christi Tampa Bay will conduct its annual “Way of the Cross Today.”  We will follow the traditional stages, or “stations,” of Jesus’ crucifixion during the Roman Empire set in the modern context of the 20110 American Empire.  This is a sobering and renewing experience for those engaged in the struggle for justice and peace.   More information is below.
 
Also below is the Weekly Calendar of regular peace and justice activities in west Florida, and information on concerts, marches, a book study, demonstrations, retreats, on-line activism and other activities that promote a more peaceful and just world.
 
Pax Christi Tampa Bay
 
 
weekly calendar
 
JUSTICE RADIO: Overnight Underground is a new radio program featuring lively socially conscious and politically provocative music; announcements of local peace and justice events; good news about those in the struggle for peace and justice; and listings of social services in the Tampa Bay area.  The show is broadcast from 1:00 AM-4:00 every Tuesday morning on WMNF 88.5 FM.  Each show is available online for the week following the broadcast at http://wmnf.org/programs/329

Dunedin peace cornering: Cornering is at Alternate 19, in front of the Dunedin Marina in Dunedin, 4:30-6:00 PM on Wednesdays; parking is available at the Dunedin Marina. For more information (FMI): Melissa or Kim

NEW SITE: PEACE FIRST: Peace First will gather at the corner of 34th Street and 22nd Avenue S. in St. Petersburg every Wednesday in March from 5:00-6:00 PM. Participants usually gather afterward at a nearby restaurant for a meal. FMI: SMcCown@tampabay.rr.com

WEEKLY PEACE DEMONSTRATION: The Pasco County Peace Vigil is held at US 19 and Ridge Rd. in Port Richey every Friday from 7:30-8:30 AM. Participants meet at Denny’s afterward for breakfast. FMI: www.flpan.org or bettejo@flpan.org

SILENT PEACE VIGIL IN SARASOTA: Join the Southwest Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice for a silent vigil for peace on Fridays from 4:00-5:00 PM at the Sarasota Bayfront (near Marina Jack's) off Route 41, just after the Ringling cutoff.  FMI: http://www.swfcpj.org/

FRIDAY PICNIC AND SHARING IN ST. PETE: At 7:00 PM each Friday, the St. Petersburg Friends sponsor a picnic  that provides food for between 50 and 125 people each week.  The picnic is at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 719 Arlington Avenue N. on Mirror Lake Drive in downtown St. Petersburg.  Volunteers, supplies and food are needed, especially food that is easy to carry and slow to spoil, such as peanut butter sandwiches, cheese and crackers, etc., as well as T-shirts and blankets.  Toiletries, clean t-shirts, jeans or work pants, and blankets are needed. FMI and to help: Ed at (727) 327-1954 or Dottie at (727) 647-6929.

PEACE DEMONSTRATION: Join the Nature Coast Coalition for Peace and Justice at the corner of U.S. 19/Commercial Way and State Road 50/Cortez Boulevard from 10:00 AM-12:00 noon every other Saturday in Spring Hill.  FMI: brianmor@tampabay.rr.com or (352) 686-9936.

BRADENTON PEACE GATHERING: Join the Green Bridge Patriots to protest the war every Sunday at the base of the Green Bridge beginning at 11:00 AM in Palmetto.  FMI: alvinlevie@hotmail.com or (941) 747-0941.

STAND FOR PEACE:  The Social Concerns Committee  and the Youth Group at Spirit of Life Unitarian Universalists in Odessa is sponsoring a Stand for Peace at the intersection of Tarpon Springs Road and Burrell Road  on the third Sunday of every month from 12:45 - 1:45 PM. FMI: http://www.spiritoflifeuu.org/
 
 
single events

 
LENTEN LONG-SLEEVE SHIRT DRIVE:  For farmworkers, the Diocese of St. Petersburg is collecting long-sleeved shirts, infant supplies, and personal hygiene products.  The drive ends March 31.  More details and a list of drop-off points can be found by clicking here

LOCAL Assistance for Haitian Burn Victims: Catholic Charities is coordinating services for the Haitians that have been flown into Tampa with Humanitarian Parole and is currently assisting 46 families with medical needs - most of them burn victims.  They need volunteers who can help with transportation, office assistance, food preparation, vehicles, interpretation and clothing.  FMI and to volunteer, call  Denise at (813) 631-4370, x 215.
 
PLIGHT AND PROMISE OF AFRICA AT ECKERD COLLEGE: During 2010, Eckerd College in St. Petersburg is hosting lectures, films, concerts, activism and art concerning Africa.  The website for the program is at http://africa.eckerd.edu/; a listing of events with links is below.
 
John Prendergast: "Stopping Rape as a War Weapon: Congo and Beyond"
Thu, 03/04/2010 - 7:30pm
Fox Hall at Eckerd College
John Prendergast, Eckerd Students and Alumni: "Taking Action: Reflections on Service-Learning and Social Justice in Africa"
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 7:00pm
Miller Auditorium at Eckerd College
Elie Wiesel and John Prendergast: "From the Holocaust to Darfur: If We Had Only Learned Our Lesson"
Thu, 03/11/2010 - 7:30pm
Where:
Progress Energy Center for the Arts - Mahaffey Theater, 400 First Street South, St. Petersburg
This event is free and open to the public; reserved tickets are required. Maximum of 4 tickets per person. All tickets will be distributed by Eckerd College. Due to the high volume of tickets distributed, we strongly encourage that all reservations will be submitted via the online form. K-12 teachers and youth directors requesting group seating for students should contact us here.
Photo Exhibit: "Images from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda and Malawi"
Fri, 03/12/2010 (All day) - Sun, 03/28/2010 (All day)
The Studio@620, 620 First Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 727.895.6620
 
PAX CHRISTI YOUTH RETREAT: The Pax Christi Young Adult/Student Winter Retreat will be March 5-7 just outside of Jacksonville, Florida. For more information on the retreat, click here to go to the Pax Christi USA website or see the event page on Facebook.
 
REFUGE THRIFT STORE GRAND OPENING: The grand opening of the Refuge Thrift Store, 510 49th St. South in St. Petersburg, will be this Saturday, March 6th beginning at noon. Free hamburgers, hotdogs and refreshments will be served, and a DJ will provide music. The store will carry books, furniture, clothes, electronics, and knick knacks.  Everything sold benefits the Refuge’s work with the homeless and poor.  The store is accepting donations; large donations may be picked up.  FMI: bruce@stpeteforpeace.org .
 
EXECUTION PROTEST: The state of Florida is planning to kill David Johnston at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, March 9.  Anti-death penalty activists will gather in Pinellas County during the execution.  Details are below, including links to vigils elsewhere in the state. 
 
Last fall, the American Law Institute, which created the intellectual framework for the current death penalty almost 50 years ago, said the death penalty system is irretrievably broken and abandoned its support for executions.   One law professor called the group, which consists of 4,000 judges, lawyers and law professors, “the only intellectually respectable support for the death penalty system in the United States.”  To read a New York Times article on that decision and other actions affecting the death penalty, click here
 
Contact information for Governor Crist is below.  For a report in the Lakeland Ledger about the enormous cost of the death penalty, click here. To read about Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty’s concerns on the issue of cost, click here .

Demonstration During the Execution: Join Pax Christi Tampa Bay, Peace First, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and other death penalty opponents at an anti-death penalty vigil from 5:00-6:00 PM on Tuesday, March 9 at the intersection of Ulmerton Road and 49th Street N. in mid-Pinellas County.  This is the site of past vigils.  Park in the lot next to Checkers on the northwest corner of the intersection.  Signs will be provided, or you can bring your own.   FMI: sjstew@gte.net or (727) 894-2832. 

For prayer, study, and action suggestions about the death penalty from Pax Christi Florida, click here.

Take Action Now:  Contact Gov. Crist to express your opposition to Florida’s executions:
Office of Governor Charlie Crist
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Press Control and click here to Email the Governor
Executive Office of the Governor Switchboard: (850) 488-7146; FAX: (850) 487-0801

FMI:  Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP)   For a downloadable death penalty fact sheet with talking points: http://www.fadp.org/FL_factsheet.pdf; click this link for FADP suggestions to take action.
 
ELIMINATING NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Elaine Hallmark, the first Executive Director Emeritus of the national organization of Beyond War, will give a lecture on her recent trip to Copenhagen at the 2010 World Climate Summit, and on the elimination of nuclear weapons.  She will be speaking at the Englewood Community Presbyterian Church, 405 S. McCall Rd. in Englewood, Florida on Tuesday, March 9, at 7:00 PM.  This event is free.  Hallmark will also speak to a small group, (reservations required) at a luncheon on March 10 at the Manasota Beach Club, 7660 Manasota Key Road in Englewood.  Cost is $20 and includes lunch.  For more information & reservations, contact Dr. Peter Duisberg, at (941) 474-5204. 
 
ENVIRONMENTAL BOOK STUDY: The Social Justice Ministry/Green Team of St. Paul Catholic Church is conducting a book study of Sharon Astyk's Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front, or One Woman's Solutions to Finding Abundance for Your Family while Coming to Terms with Peak Oil, Climate Change and Hard Times.  The study will meet on the second and fourth Wednesdays of March, April and May from 7:00-9:00 PM in the Parish Center at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 1800 12th Street North in St. Petersburg. Books can be ordered at http://www.betterworldbooks.com/, a website that promotes global literacy.   FMI:  walt231@mindspring.com. 
 
 16TH ANNUAL PEACE AND JUSTICE CONFERENCE: “Human Dignity and Economic Justice” is the theme of the sixteenth annual Leaven Conference.  Workshop and class subjects include the environment, human dignity and economic justice, executions’ impact on families, homelessness, responding to the recession, ending genocide, and farmworker justice.  The conference will be from 8:00 AM-4:00 PM on Saturday, March 13 at the St. Thomas More Catholic Parish, 2506 Gulf Gate Drive in Sarasota.  Cost is $10 in advance and $15 the day of the event; a continental breakfast and box lunch are included. Advance registration can be done online at www.dioceseofvenice.org FMI: (941) 484-9543 or click here

IRAQ INVASION ANNIVERSARY: The Southwest Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice will observe the seventh anniversary of the Iraq War invasion with a sign rally on Friday, March 19 from 4:00-6:00 PM at the Sarasota Bayfront (near Marina Jack's) off Route 41, just after the Ringling cutoff.  (NOTE: This is an hour longer than their usual Friday demonstration)  This action will coincide with the March 19th-20th Rally for Peace in Washington D.C. and in other major cities.  FMI: http://www.swfcpj.org/

MUSIC FESTIVAL WITH STETSON KENNEDY: The Southern Exposure Music & Heritage Festival, hosted by and in honor of human rights activist and folklorist Stetson Kennedy, will be Sunday, March 14th from 11:30-sundown at Alpine Groves Park, 2060 State Road 13 in Switzerland, Florida.  Performers include Arlo Guthrie and Family, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Frank Thomas, Anne Feeney, Alvah Allen, Willie Green, Shorty Robbins, and many more.  The festival features music, barn dances, old Florida vendors, southern cooking, storytelling and kids' activities.  Cost is $15 for adults; children 12 and under are free.  Proceeds benefit the Stetson Kennedy Foundation and the Guthrie Foundation.  FMI:  904-209-3750 or www.southernexposurefestival.com
 
SINGER/SONGWRITER/ACTIVIST ANNE FEENEY: Pittsburgh-based singer/songwriter/agitator Anne Feeney describes her music as designed to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” She has performed her songs of peace and justice, including her anthem “Have You Been to Jail for Justice?” at thousands of rallies, picket lines and demonstrations over the past 35 years.  Singer Utah Phillips calls Feeney  the “best labor singer in North America, “ but her repertoire includes Irish, bluegrass, traditional, labor, pop, folk and contemporary material.  Opening will be Louise "Goody Haines" and Tom Scudiero.

Anne Feeney will perform on Friday, March 19 at Sacred Lands, a Native American mound.  Parking entrance is at 1700 Park Street North in St. Petersburg.  Admission is $15.00.  FMI or tickets: www.sacredlands.info or call 727 347-0354.

MARCH ON WASHINGTON: A national rally and day of outreach in Washington D.C. sponsored by A.N.S.W.E.R. to demand the withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan and Iraq will be March 19-20.  FMI: http://march20.org.  For information on others going from the Tampa Bay area, click here
 
CONTEMPORARY STATIONS OF THE CROSS: On Good Friday, Christians remember the execution of Jesus, a poor man with no wealth or political connections.  Jesus lived in a land under the occupation of the Roman military.  His challenge to the authorities was so great that he was tortured to death by the Romans.  Today, Florida’s Death Row is filled with the poor.  The people of Iraq and Afghanistan are reeling from the United States’ military occupation. 

On Good Friday, April 2, at 5:30 PM beginning on the corner of 1st Ave. and 6th St. N. in downtown St. Petersburg, Pax Christi Tampa Bay will conduct its annual “Way of the Cross Today.”  We will follow the traditional stages, or “stations,” of Jesus’ crucifixion during the Roman Empire set in the modern context of the 2010 American Empire.  As we wind through downtown St. Petersburg, we will find the parallels between the crucifixion of Jesus and crucifixions today: war, homelessness, injustice, the School of the Americas, the farmworkers’ struggle, gun violence and ecological destruction.  We will also find how the life and teachings of Jesus call his followers to another way of life.

Based on the ritual written by the Los Angeles Catholic Worker, “The Way of the Cross Today” is a sobering and renewing experience for those engaged in the struggle for justice and peace. Join Pax Christi Tampa Bay at the corner of 1st Ave. and 6th St. N. in downtown St. Petersburg from 5:30-7:00 PM on Good Friday,  April 10 for The Way of the Cross Today, the traditional stages of Jesus’ Crucifixion interpreted in a contemporary setting of poverty, lethal injection, war, and other modern crucifixions. 

Participants gather at a nearby restaurant afterward for a meal.  Since we are walking, we recommend comfortable shoes. FMI: jisacco@earthlink.net or (727) 866-1717

Modern-day Slavery Museum: The slavery museum is a mobile educational vehicle in the form of a box-truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in the recent slavery prosecution and accompanied by educational displays on modern-day slavery in Florida, its roots, its causes, and its solutions. FMI, and to arrange for a museum visit to your community, contact the Coalition of Immokalee Workers at workers@ciw-online.org
 
FAIR FOOD DRAWING CONTEST: Support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers by entering their Fair Food Drawing Contest.  Young people from pre-kindergarten can enter by drawing what “Fair Food” means to them, and how everyone can work together with farm workers to make a fairer world for the people who pick our fruits and vegetables.  Winners will have their art reproduced on CIW postcards which will be distributed around the country.  The deadline is April 1.  FMI, click here

REDUCING NUCLEAR WEAPONS, INCREASING CHILD WELFARE: “Global Security Priorities” Resolution, H. Res. 278, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), reduces the number of and access to nuclear weapons and directs a portion of the resulting $13 billion saved annually towards child survival, food security, and universal education. H. Res. 278 urges the President to continue negotiations to further reduce nuclear arms to minimal levels, to have the U.S. and Russia agree to cut the number of deployed nuclear weapons, to assist other countries in reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons throughout the world, and to expand efforts to prevent terrorists from gaining access to nuclear materials.

The bill currently has 25 co-sponsors; none are from Florida.  For a summary of the bill and a list of co-sponsors, click here  For more information and a link to send a message to your representative, click here.  The message to your representative is available here.

YAYA ACTIVISM: Below are opportunities for action from YAYA, the Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry.
 
Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Join thousands from across the country at the March for America in Washington, DC on March 21. It is up to us to bring Comprehensive Immigration reform this year! Thousands of people depend on us! Please join us! Click for more Info.
 
End Child Labor in the Fields: Hundreds of thousands of children are employed as farm workers in the United States, often working 10 or more hours a day. They are often exposed to dangerous pesticides, experience high rates of injury, and suffer fatalities at five times the rate of other working youth. Barely half ever finish high school. The Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act) would update US law to ensure that all working children are protected equally. We need your support to make sure that this bill is passed. Take Action.
Help farm workers who lost their jobs due to the recent Florida Freeze: Contact us to find out where to drop off food donations or where to send cash donations. Your help is urgently needed!

Protect Farm workers and their Communities from Pesticide Exposure: Children in farming communities are on the front lines everyday because they live, play and learn near agricultural fields. Protect rural kids from pesticide drift. Take Action  Urge the EPA to ban Chloryrifos, one of the most toxic pesticides still in use. Take Action.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2010 TEACH PEACE CONFERENCE: “Where are the R’s in PEACE?  Rethinking Education, Restoring Justice, Respecting Environment” will be April 9-10, 2010 at New College of Florida.  Sponsored by the Peace Education and Action Center. FMI: peacenter@gmail.com
Farmworker Freedom March: Three-day march of farmworkers and allies from Tampa to Lakeland (home of Publix) from April 16-18.  FMI: http://www.ciw-online.org/ or here.

FRANZ JÄEGERSTÄTTER RETREAT: Join Notre Dame theology professor and Catholic Worker Michael Baxter for “Franz Jägerstätter: A Man for Our Time?” which looks at the life and witness of a man who suffered martyrdom rather than cooperate with the Nazis.  The retreat is sponsored by Mary’s House Catholic Worker and will be held from April 16-18 at the Walnut Grove United Methodist Church in Midfield, Alabama.  FMI: Mary’s House at (205) 780-2020 or shelleyd9@juno.com
PAX CHRISTI FLORIDA RETREAT: Jesus and the Gospel of Nonviolent Resistance, with G. Simon Harak, S.J. will be at the Life Enrichment Center near Leesburg, Florida from April 24-25. Rev. Harak helped found Voices in the Wilderness, which has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and has traveled to Iraq several times, violating US/UN sanctions to bring medicine and toys to Iraqi hospitals. In 2003, Rev. Harak joined the War Resisters League (WRL) as its National Anti-Militarism Coordinator and created a speakers bureau on war profiteering.  Rev. Harak planned and directed Marquette University’s Center for Peacemaking (http://www.marquette.edu/peacemaking/) which was established in 2008.  His many publications include Virtuous Passions: The Formation of Christian Character; he is currently writing Vicious Passions : The Deformation of Christian Character. FMI: http://paxchristiflorida.org/

Contact Pax Christi:
paxchristi@stpeteforpeace.org

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