At Yom Kippur services yesterday, I announced to my congregation that I will be traveling to Iran on an interfaith peace delegation next month. I devoted the majority of my remarks to our current conflict with Iran, and why I have been so deeply frustrated with our government’s and the Jewish community’s response to this [...]
Archive for the ‘Global Activism’ Category
Understanding Iran, Facing our Fears: A Sermon for Yom Kippur
Posted in Global Activism, High Holidays, Interfaith, Iran, Israel, Peace, Politics, Religion, Sermons on October 10, 2008 | 2 Comments »
The Season of our Sustenance: A Sermon for Erev Rosh Hashanah
Posted in Environmentalism, Fair Trade, Global Activism, Green Buildings, HIV/AIDS, High Holidays, Hunger, International Aid, Judaism, Poverty, Religion, Sermons, Spirituality, Tzedakah on October 2, 2008 | No Comments »
As I sat down to write my sermons this New Year, I somehow found myself returning to the theme of “sustainability.” Click below for my remarks on Erev Rosh Hashanah:
Comfort in the Wake of Trauma
Posted in Global Activism, Israel, Palestine, Spirituality, Tisha B'Av, War on August 15, 2008 | 1 Comment »
This evening begins Shabbat Nachamu (”The Shabbat of Consolation”), the Sabbath immediately following the festival of Tisha B’Av. Last week we highlighted our collective experience of pain and loss; beginning this week we begin the road to recovery through the consoling themes of the Haftarah portions chanted during the next several Shabbat services. These reminders [...]
Harvesting Peace
Posted in Africa, Fair Trade, Global Activism, Interfaith, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Judaism, Peace, Poverty, Religion, Uganda on July 21, 2008 | 1 Comment »
As promised, we went to the Abayudayah Jewish community on Shabbat morning for services. It was actually a fairly auspicious time to be visiting: last week their new spiritual leader, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, was formally installed in his home community. Rabbi Gershom has been studying for the past several years at the Conservative movement’s Ziegler [...]
On Coffee and Coexistence
Posted in Africa, Coexistence, Environmentalism, Fair Trade, Global Activism, Interfaith, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Religion, Uganda on July 19, 2008 | 1 Comment »
That man in the picture above is JJ Keki - Ugandan farmer, musician, fair trade entrepreneur, local politician and interfaith activist (I’m sure I’m missing several more job descriptions…) JRC has gotten to know JJ well over the years through our our relationship to the Peace Kawomera interfaith fair trade coffee cooperative. JJ (a Ugandan [...]
Return to Nantandome
Posted in Africa, Global Activism, HIV/AIDS, International Aid, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Uganda, Water, Women's Issues on July 17, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Today was another full day for our group. It was completely devoted to a visit to the Foundation for the Development of Needy Communities (FDNC) - an NGO that JRC visted three years ago during our first Africa delegation.
In April 2005 JRC was the first group hosted by FDNC, on a trip made in [...]
JRC in Africa
Posted in Africa, Fair Trade, Genocide, Global Activism, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Rwanda, Uganda, Women's Issues on July 6, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Tomorrow I’ll be traveling, along with 25 other JRC members, on our congregation’s second service trip to Africa. I am immensely proud of JRC for organizing this effort, which reflects our deep and growing commitment to global service work in general and to addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic in particular.
From July 7- 15 we will be [...]
Don’t Just Stand There
Posted in Current Events, Food, Global Activism, Hunger, International Aid on May 8, 2008 | 2 Comments »
If you are reading the news about recent global crises and you’re feeling overwhelmed and impotent, I’ve always found that actually doing something seems to help allay my feelings of helplessness.
To help aid victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, I’m encouraging donations through the International Development Enterprises. IDE Myanmar opened in 2004 and is one [...]
Trash is Cash
Posted in Environmentalism, Global Activism, Orgs You Should Support, Poverty, Water on April 22, 2008 | 1 Comment »
If you’re looking for a meaningful way to celebrate Earth Day 2008, here’s an inspiring project worthy of your support. Taka ni Pato (”Trash is Cash”) is an income-generating, solid waste management and recycling project that removes more than 2000 tons of trash each year from a slum in Kenya.
More than 700,000 people live in [...]
Dream - and Act - for Darfur
Posted in Africa, Current Events, Darfur, Genocide, Global Activism, Human Rights on April 3, 2008 | No Comments »
I wrote about Mia Farrow and ”Dream for Darfur” almost a year ago - and since that time DFD has geared up big time to use the Beijing Summer Olympics to focus world attention on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
Here’s DFD’s own description of their mission:
The 2008 Olympics are fast approaching. Between [...]
