Opportunities for Sharing and Enrichment |
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| WREN – Women’s Re-Entry Network | |
| An organization that provides services to women who are incarcerated or who have been recently released from jail or prison, is in need of toothpaste of any size, and soap, either of the bar or pump variety. These items will be given to the women who are no longer incarcerated, so there are no restrictions on size or type. Please bring your donations to church and place them in the basket on the table between the windows. | |
| CITIZENS CIRCLE | |
| A group of EACC and Church of the Covenant members met at our church last month to discuss the possibility of starting a Citizens Circle for women in this area. Several successful Citizens Circles already exist. They are groups of concerned and caring people who meet once a month (or more often) with people who have been recently released from prison to encourage and support them in their readjustment to the community. If this sort of ministry calls to you, please join us at our next meeting in our church parlor at 7PM on Monday, May 19. Your help and caring is needed. | |
| MOTHERS’ DAY PEACE PARTY | |
| Come to a party at the India Garden on Martin Luther King Blvd. at 2 PM on Mothers’ Day, May 11, for a party celebrating mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, mothers-in-law, and all other mother figures, and their contributions toward peace. There will be music, refreshments, speakers, art activities, and readings from the book “What My Mother Taught Me About Peace.” Several members of EACC contributed reflections for that book. A free copy will be given to all who attend. (All the food and entertainment are free, too. And the party will be over by 4, giving you plenty of time to take your mother out to dinner.) See Kathy Baker for more details. | |
| Hope is Global: | |
| An Interreligious Call to Action for Darfur on April 13th There will be an interreligious gathering to shine light on the genocide that continues to take place in Darfur, and a call to action to people of all religions on April 13th, beginning at 3pm at the Interfaith Center at the Church of the Covenant (11205 Euclid Ave, University Circle). There will be music, guest speakers, art projects, and opportunities to sign up for future activities at state and national levels, including a rally on the Mall in Washington DC in October of this year. Please join us in speaking out to local and national governments as one voice on behalf of the people of Darfur. For more information visit the InterAct website at www.interactcleveland.org. | |
| Children's Defense Fund | |
| The Cleveland office of the Children’s Defense Fund has begun an ecumenical and interfaith network of women, called Women of Faith, to provide strong effective voices for children. Of particular concern are poor children who cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves. To learn more about this ministry, please phone Rev. Mylion Waite, Senior Manager, at 216-298-4480. | |
| INTERACT JOB POSTING | |
| InterReligious Partners in Action of Greater Cleveland (InterAct Cleveland) is pleased to announce the posting of the position of Volunteer Coordinator. The Volunteer Coordinator is a full-time, 40 hour per week position and includes benefits. The successful candidate will have experience in the area of volunteer recruitment, training, evaluation, retention and donor cultivation. Please contact Sister Donna Wilhelm at 216-241-0230 or partners@interactcleveland.org if you are interested. The entire job description is posted on the InterAct website at www.interactcleveland.org. | |
| TENTS OF HOPE | |
FLYERThe Church in the World Ministry wants you to be aware of a very special project coming your way. We will need your help to become part of two national efforts: Tents of Hope and Tent2Tent. Although these efforts give us the opportunity to learn about and respond to the crisis in Darfur, this will also be an opportunity for us to grow in community with each other as we prepare pictures, videos and letters for a refugee camp in Chad to tell them who we are. Who are we? As we journey together over the next few months let’s hope that we discover our compassion, our energy and how similar we are with the local groups (other churches and schools) we hope to invite to join us as well as the African family that we will hear from first hand. Let’s see how similar our hopes and dreams are. So get ready to learn about people far away but also about each other and yourself. More details will be shared as they become available but a very tentative time line includes the following plans for January and February: Preparation of materials (letters, photos, video, personal messages and artwork including decorated canvas panels for our Tent of Hope) to introduce ourselves to our “sister tent” family in one of 12 refugee camps administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The Tents of Hope partner group, Stop Genocide Now, will deliver this first round of communication in March. As we receive materials from our Darfurian brothers and sisters we will record our reactions and responses to their introductory items and continue our exchange in what we hope will become a long-term relationship. Sometime in June we hope to hold a larger community tent event to educate and activate those attending concerning the current situation and steps we can take to support and advocate for peace and justice for those who will no longer be strangers. By our September Homecoming we hope to have completed our very own Tent of Hope, decorated with our creative panels. What can you do now? Please start collecting pictures, videos and/or written stories that tell who you are and who EACC is and pass these along to Brenda Bagby. Stay tuned for more details but if you can’t wait to hear more then please contact Brenda Bagby at 932-2946 or check out the websites www.tentsofhope.org or www.stopgenocidenow.org. — Brenda Bagby |
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| DONATIONS NEEDED | |
| The Renaissance Residence, scheduled to open this month, is a 12 month re-entry program for women sponsored by “Just Like Us” Family Enrichment Center. The program will provide support and help prepare women for employment, re-uniting with families, housing, education and community. Donations of twin sized linens, towels, wash cloths, toiletry items, paper goods, kitchen supplies, cleaning materials, shower curtains, washable rugs, robes, house shoes, dressers and night stands are needed. Contact Dyeatra Williams at dew7@sbcglobal.net | |
| GATHER THE WOMEN TO SAVE THE WORLD | |
| Gather the Women to Save the World will be meeting on Saturday, April 19, at 7:45AM to pray for peace and meditate on nonviolence in the Trinity Cathedral chapel, 2230 Euclid Avenue (parking off of Prospect). Please join us. | |
| PRISON MINISTRY AT EACC | |
| Thanks to those of you who have been bringing
in personal hygiene items for the women in the County Jail and Northeast Pre-release Center. There is a basket in the parlor for your donations, and it is emptied and its contents delivered to the women who need them at least twice monthly. They are not allowed glass bottles, dental floss, aerosol cans, or anything - such as mouthwash - containing alcohol, so please bring in items in plastic containers such as lotion, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner. Toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap are also welcome. |
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| ARE YOU A “SEASONED INDIVIDUAL?” | |
| Several Cleveland area nonprofit organizations, including the ACLU of Ohio, Community shares, Adoption Network Cleveland and Hard-Hatted Women, are collaborating on a volunteer program called “Engaging for Civic Change” supported by the Cleveland Foundation’s Successful Aging Initiative. They are looking for seasoned individuals moving into a new phase of their lives who want to volunteer to support the causes they care about. To learn more, visit www.communityshares.org/eecc.shtml or call Francis Martin at Community Shares, 216-361-9920. | |