Riverside-Salem UCC/DC

Program Schedule

November – December 2008

All programs at our Environmental Chapel (a/k/a The Cottage), 3449 West River Road, Grand Island,

from 4-6 p.m. Sundays, unless otherwise indicated (potluck always following program).

For information:  www.riversidesalem.org or 773-1426 (June).

November

2          Area Meeting, so BUSINESS MEETING is moved to 5:00 p.m.

9          Jim Whitlock, “Encounter Point” (85 min dvd).  Jim describes this as “an extraordinary . . .             documentary about the violent Israeli-Palestinian conflict and about the personal transformations that       have affected some of those who have lost the most and brought them to deep and enduring             commitments to non-violence.”  Discussion/brainstorming following.

16        Squash Sunday: Bring poems, photos, paeans, pies, soups, soufflés, stews.  We’ll be sharing!

23        Jim Hartz, “Reports from/Reflections on Iraq and South Dakota.”

30        Eric Walker and Aaron Bentley, “Stop the Demolitions:   Preserve Buffalo's Housing!” PUSH is             a Buffalo-based grassroots organization dedicated to working on anti-poverty housing projects.  Their             main goal is to assist poorer Buffalo residents in gaining access to affordable houses that are in             disrepair and will be demolished unless purchased and rehabilitated.  The organization is dedicated             both to advocating for stopping the City's policy of demolishing basically good housing stock and for             assisting poorer residents in purchasing and rehabilitating those houses.  Eric Walker was raised in             the Mid-Hudson valley, is a SUNY@B graduate, active in the "green jobs" initiative, and is the head             organizer for PUSH.  Aaron Bartley is a Buffalo native, a Harvard Law graduate who worked on             Harvard's living-wage campaign, and is the executive director of PUSH.

December

7          Dr. Peter St. Jean, “Lessons from Homicides: The Buffalo Story.” We will offer a Violence             Prevention and Conflict Resolution Workshop with the film. We will introduce our project and then      ask members to complete a short pretest of ideas about violence (before watching the film). After the             film, we will ask them to complete the post-test and enter discussion. At the end, Dr. St. Jean will             outline the Quality of Life Approach to Violence Prevention and Conflict Resolution and provide             participants with a certificate of completion.  Dr. St. Jean, from Dominica, is a criminologist and             sociologist and currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at UB. He has             authored two books and is working on a second documentary (of which we might be a part!).

10        IWI – UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Info: IWI at 332-6988.)

14            BUSINESS MEETING [Note change from first to second Sunday!]

21            “Christmas in the Woods,” a Carol Sing and Potluck with Nan Hoffman.

28        No Church on Sunday:  New Year’s Eve Celebration instead:

31        New Year’s Eve:  at Ken & Marge Neal’s, 184 Lehn Springs Drive, Williamsville, 8 p.m.+  Bring             something to share!  Info: 634-9712.