Thursday, December 21, 2017

Baltimore Activist Alert - December 22, 2017 -- May 6, 2018

33] The SPCA is collecting toys for the cats and dogs – Dec. 22
34] Peace vigil at White House – Dec. 22
35] WIB peace vigil – Dec. 22
36] Gift of Life to an Animal – through Dec. 31
37] Not Without Black Women: Holiday of Resistance – Dec. 22
38] Black Lives Matter vigil – Dec. 22
39] Harm Reduction Happy Hour – Dec. 22
40] HumanLight Celebration and Potluck Dinner -- Dec. 22
41] Ballroom Dancing – Dec. 22
42] Feast for My People Project -- Dec. 23
43] Community Trash Cleanup in Herring Run Park – Dec. 23
44] Puppypalooza – Dec. 23
45] West Chester peace vigil – Dec. 23
46] WAKE-UP Call for Peace at Lockheed Martin – Dec. 23
47] Vigil for Life – Dec. 23
48] Film CHASING CORAL – Jan. 5, 2018
49] Help deliver a Healthcare not Warfare petition – Jan. 11 & 12
50] Conference on U.S. Foreign Military Bases -- Jan. 12 - Jan. 14
51] Catonsville Nine Commemoration – May 4 – 6
52] JONAH HOUSE NEEDS WORKERS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
53] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records
54] Do you need any book shelves?
55] Join the Global Zero campaign
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33] – Throughout December, the Maryland SPCA is collecting toys for the cats and dogs in its adoption center. The goal is to collect enough toys in one month to entertain the homeless animals in the shelter throughout the coming year by filling its sleigh! You can help by bringing new cat and dog toys and treats to the Maryland SPCA's adoption center, 3300 Falls Road, Baltimore 21211 or Project Adopt in White Marsh Mall, 8200 Perry Hall Blvd, Baltimore 21236. Some of the toys which are needed are kongs, hard rubber chew toys, soft treats, toy mice (without catnip) and small cat balls w/ bells. Providing toys for the animals is more than a nice touch. Having toys and treats in the shelter environment helps socialize animals, reduces stress and improves health. See http://www.mdspca.org/updates/detail/presents-for-pets.

34] – On Fri., Dec. 22 from noon to 1 PM, join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in a vigil urging the powers that be to abolish war and torture, to disarm all weapons, to end indefinite detention, to close Guantanamo, to establish justice for all and help create the Beloved Community! This vigil will take place at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contract Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416. 

35] – On Fri., Dec. 22 from noon to 1 PM, join a Women in Black peace vigil. A vigil will take place in McKeldin Square at the corner of Light and Pratt Sts. Enjoy lunch afterwards.  Bring a brown bag lunch or something to share. Another one is at Roland Park Place, 830 W. 40th St, Baltimore. 21211. Wear black. Dress for who knows what kind of weather. Bring your own poster or help with the "NO WAR IN MY NAME" banner.  When there are others to stand with, you don't need to carry the burden alone. Do this to be in solidarity with others....when everything around us says “Be afraid of the stranger.” Carpool and parking available. Just send an email that you need a ride [mailto:wibbaltimore@peacepath911.org].  Peace signs will be available.

36] –  Continuing through Dec. 31, you can have the Gift of Life Adoption Special, hosted by BARCS Animal Shelter, 301 Stockholm St., Baltimore 21230.  On Fri., Dec. 22, for example, the shelter will be open from 2 to 6 PM.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/174440716485060/?event_time_id=174440769818388.

   On Sat. Dec. 23 from 11 AM to 4 PM, get the Gift of Life Adoption Special at the BARCS Animal Shelter.  Give the animals the gift of "home," the Gift of Life! This holiday season, BARCS' adoption fees are $0 thanks to many generous friends who are sponsoring adoption fees right this very minute through online and mailed-in donations. This holiday season, BARCS has hundreds of homeless animals in the shelter who need families. These precious animals are spending the holiday season at the shelter through no fault of their own. Help us given them a second chance by choosing adoption. Please consider sponsoring an adoption fee of an animal in the shelter by making a donation this holiday season!

37] – On Fri., Dec. 22 from 4 to 7 PM, participate in Not Without Black Women: Holiday of Resistance!, hosted by Not Without Black Women at the Motor House, 120 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201. Come together for a final evening of celebration, networking and sisterhood before 2018! Celebrate the 5th gathering, and toast Andre Mazelin (former owner of the Room) on becoming the new managing director at Motor House!  Music will be played by Jill Scott, Lauren Hill, Common, D'Angelo, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, Queen Latifah and more. 

38] – There is usually a silent vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends Meeting, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on Dec. 22. Black Lives Matter.  

39] – On Fri., Dec. 22 at 5 PM at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, turn out for a BALTIMORE HARM REDUCTION COALITION HAPPY HOUR. Celebrate all the work of BHRC members and volunteers this past year! Get some yummy snacks and drinks from Red Emma's! Hang out, buy a new BHRC t-shirt, grab a button, sign up to volunteer next year, and much more! It's a great chance to gather before the end of 2017!   Call 443-602-7585.  RSVP at http://www.redemmas.org

40] – Come to a HumanLight Celebration and Potluck Dinner on Sat., Dec. 23 from 6:30 to 10 PM at the Baltimore Ethical Society, 306 W. Franklin St., Suite #102, Baltimore.  Signup for the potluck at https://goo.gl/7CGLGD.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/133493264004138/.  The celebration also involves the Baltimore Coalition of Reason. HumanLight is a celebration of the winter season conceived by the New Jersey Humanist Network as a humanist or secular alternative to traditional religious celebrations. HumanLight features music and the lighting of three candles celebrating Reason, Compassion, and Hope. HumanLight was first celebrated in 2001 in New Jersey and has since spread throughout the country. This year is the eighth celebration of HumanLight by the Baltimore Coalition of Reason. To learn more, visit the HumanLight website (http://www.HumanLight.org/).
  Music will be provided by “Swing & Samba," the duo of Bob Jacobson (saxophone, clarinet) and Rob Winter (guitar). Jacob Woolcutt will return for his amazingly creative balloon twisting! This is a family-friendly event, and children are welcome.  RSVP with what you plan to bring.  If you can’t access the Google Doc, then email BmoreCoR@gmail.com or call 443-267-8585.

41] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at  8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be on Dec. 22. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

42] – On Sat., Dec. 23 from 8 AM to 3 PM, participate in a Feast for My People Project, hosted by Save-Us-Now, Inc., at 2205 New York Ave. NE, WDC 20002-1900. This is a great Volunteer Opportunity to give back to the community! A great Volunteer Opportunity to come out and help someone. If you would like to volunteer, email info@saveusowdc.org.

43] – On Sat., Dec. 23 at 10 AM, come to the Community Trash Cleanup in Herring Run Park.  Blue Water Baltimore offers the opportunity for volunteers to make an immediate positive impact on the health of our parks, neighborhoods, and waterways through community trash clean-ups. Trash is a major cause of pollution in Baltimore City and it is one of the easiest to address. No experience is necessary and supplies and instruction are provided. Sign up here: https://www.bluewaterbaltimore.org/events/trash-cleanup-12-23/.

44] – On Sat., Dec. 23 from 11 AM to 3 PM get over to Puppypalooza at PetSmart, 24 Mountain Rd., Glen Burnie 21060, hosted by Last Chance Animal Rescue. Lots of puppies, dogs, kittens and cats will be available.  All animals are spayed/neutered and up-to-date on age appropriate vaccines! Go to the adoptable dog album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1496130907087681.1073741997.150481478319304&type=1&l=d6f2de2aa6.  To get the process started, submit your adoption application ahead of the event at http://www.lastchanceanimalrescue.org/adoptus-html/.  To volunteer, email volunteer@lastchanceanimalrescue.org, include your full name and phone number!

45] – Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com.

46] – Christmas 2017 WAKE-UP Call for Peace at Lockheed Martin, King of Prussia, PA, behind the rear of the King of Prussia Mall (Mall & Goddard Boulevards), will take place on Sat., Dec. 23 from noon to 2 PM.  A great darkness has descended across the land that threatens the world.  Turn this holiday season into an ongoing outcry for peace and a reinvigorated movement of anti-war commitment.  Lockheed Martin is the world’s #1 war (including killer drones) and nuclear weapons profiteer. Mindless profits are flowing to Lockheed Martin and endless war.  Donald Trump has his hands on the codes that would unleash radioactive hell on earth. WAKE UP.  Make some noise!  Pick up a drum or noise maker.  Come with a whole lotta love for people, peace, and the planet. Contact the Brandywine Peace Community at 484-574-1148 or www.brandywinepeace.com.

47] – On Sat., Dec. 23 from 3 to 5 PM, attend the Vigil For Life, hosted by Carrollton Ridge Community Association on the 400 Block of S. Pulaski St., Baltimore 21223. Pray, sing, bring forth a short message, light candles, hear a blessing over the area, and remember everyone who has been murdered within the Association boundaries. From April to December 2017, there have been eight murders.

48] – The First Friday Movie Nights will continue at Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St. on Jan. 5 with CHASING CORAL.  The film will begin at 7:15 PM, following the vigil from 5 to 6 PM and a potluck meal from 6 from 7 PM. There will be snacks and some discussion after the film. "Chasing Coral" (postponed from Nov. 3) is an award-winning documentary showing the beauty of undersea gardens and their decline. Enjoy a visual tropical get-away in the middle of winter! Contact Megan Shook <mega330@comcast.net>.

49] – Please note that the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance will organize on Thurs., Jan. 11 a visit to the office of Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, 1705 Longworth House Office Building, WDC 20515 to Say No US Support for Saudi Arabia’s Assault on Yemen.  We will first gather at 11:30 AM at the White House to join Witness Against Torture in calling for the closing of the prison at Guantanamo.  At 1:30 PM, we will gather in the Longworth Cafeteria. After that meeting, we will deliver a letter to Hoyer’s office.  Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net if you want to sign the letter.

  On Fri.,  Jan. 12 at 11 AM, we will deliver a Healthcare not Warfare petition to Captain Mark A. Kobelja, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 4494 North Palmer Road, Bethesda 20889.  We are still gathering signatures on our petition.  If you want to sign it, please provide name, hometown and your organization to Max. RSVP to Max if you can join NCNR on Jan. 11, Jan. 12 or both days.  

50] – Attend a Conference on U.S. Foreign Military Bases from Fri., Jan. 12 through Sun., Jan. 14, 2018 at the University of Baltimore, Learning Commons Town Hall, 1415 Maryland Ave., Baltimore 21201, hosted by the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases.  Prior to the conference opening on Fri., Jan. 12, there will be a demonstration from 3 to 5 PM at Centre & Charles Sts. in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore.

Thirteen prominent peace and justice organizations in the United States are collectively organizing this conference.  Some of the groups are Black Alliance for Peace, CODEPINK, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Popular Resistance, Veterans For Peace, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and World Beyond War.  The conference will feature national and international experts. Several expert panels will discuss the economic, political, environmental and health costs and impact of U.S. foreign military bases in various regions of the world, including South America, Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The conference will be live streamed for the international audience.  For more information and to register for the conference, go to http://noforeignbases.org/conference-on-u-s-foreign-military-bases/?epl_action=process_cart_action&cart_action=add&event_id=723&_rand=59d50af323702.

51] –   Save the Dates.  The fiftieth anniversary of the Catonsville Nine draft board raid will be commemorated  There will be a CATONSVILLE NINE SYMPOSIUM on FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2018 from 4 to 10 PM at the Shriver Center, University of Maryland – Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Catonsville, MD 21250. Enjoy Films, Lectures, Discussion Panels and Dramatic Readings.  There will be more CATONSVILLE NINE COMMEMORATION ACTIVITIES on SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2018 from 9 AM to 2 PM at the Baltimore County Public Library Catonsville Branch, 1100 Frederick Rd., Catonsville, MD 21228.  Enjoy more Films, Lectures, Discussion Panels and Dramatic Readings.  On Sun., May 6 there will be an opportunity to engage in direct action and later participate in a prayer service.  Go to http://www.catonsville9.org/50th-anniversary-commemoration/.

52] – JONAH HOUSE NEEDS WORKERS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

After 44 years of resisting weapons and war, Jonah House is Baltimore is in danger of shutting down. Two of the three core members have announced their intention to leave the community as of May 2018. That leaves one core member, Joe Byrne, who will remain to recruit and re-form intentional community. But if no one steps forward, Jonah House will have to close.

Jonah House was founded by Phil Berrigan, Liz McAlister, and others, in 1973, during the Vietnam War. It was a center of resistance to that war. When the war ended, the focus of resistance became the nuclear arms race. This resistance blossomed into the Plowshares movement. Jonah House members have spent years in jail for Plowshares disarmament actions. Other members have spent years supporting them, and doing the work of the community in their absence. Resistance to weapons and war continues at Jonah House. More recently, Jonah House has also become involved in racial justice efforts in Baltimore, and the environmental justice movement.

Jonah House is planted in the middle of a 22-acre, mostly-wooded cemetery in West Baltimore called St. Peter’s. Maintaining and slowly restoring St. Peter’s Cemetery is the work that pays the bills for the community. Jonah House also uses the property to serve the living as well as honor the dead. Our gardens and orchards feed the Jonah House community, and the surrounding neighborhood community, via a food pantry and weekly food distribution to low-income neighbors. We envision the cemetery—particularly the 11-acre forest patch—as a haven for the people of the neighborhood, international peace activists, and numberless living beings.

Jonah House is also an interfaith spiritual community. We pray or meditate together daily, and our spiritual practice informs and empowers everything we do, whether in the fields or in the streets.

To continue the vision, Jonah House is looking for a few new core members willing to commit to a two-year stint. We are also open to short- and long-term interns (3 months to a year). The work of radical peacemaking, direct service to the poor, and stewarding the land requires workers. We pray that God will send laborers to the vineyard (yes, we have that too) and that Jonah House will continue to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable for another 44 years!  For more information, call 443-804-3410, or email us at engage@jonahhouse.org

53] -- If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs, records, tarps and table cloths, contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

54] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.

55] -- Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.


“One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan

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