Category Archives: Faith and Social Justice

items from Not in Our Town Princeton (http://niotprinceton.org) and Princeton United Methodist Church (http://princetonumc.org)

Mel Leipzig and Leon Rainbow: for Trenton Kids

Dance and the other arts, Faith and Social Justice, Uncategorized, ,

 

One of my favorite people, celebrated realist painter Mel Leipzig, will give a gallery talk at Princeton Shopping Center where two of his paintings on display including the one above (Gregory at Gallery Henoch, photo by Tasha O’Neill). The talk will be Monday, December 14, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Princeton Shopping Center on North Harrison Street. He will be joined by Leon Rainbow, a graffiti artist who — I believe — has one foot in the corporate world as a web designer, his work below.

These paintings  are part of an exhibit “Art for Read to Achieve,” hosted by the Center for Child and Family Achievement, which has come up with an efficient way to really improve education for children in Trenton. It’s worthy of support.

Faith Ringgold one of the other featured artists and other names you’ll recognize are Alonzo Adams, Romare Bearden, Judith Brodsky, Elizabeth Catlett, Aminah Robinson, Lucy Graves McVicker, Sydney T. Neuwirth and Thomas Malloy. There is a range of prices.

It’s an exciting exhibit, to see all these artists together. The exhibit and sale. cosponsored by the Arts Council of Princeton, runs till December 22, open daily except Mondays (and events like this one).Mel will be a superb lecturer/teacher on December 14.

 

“See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil” by Leon Rainbow

Credit: Tasha O’Neill

2015 12 Rainbow

Tuesday – Thursday 11 am – 7 pm

Friday 1pm -8 pm

Sat – Sun 1pm – 5 pm

 

 

5.

Allen Toussaint: joy can change us

Faith and Social Justice, Uncategorized, , ,

The late Allen Toussaint “had a sweet voice, gentle and worn in places, like the skin of a velveteen rabbit,” writes Amanda Petrusich in a New Yorker piece titled The Gladness of Allen Toussaint

For a glimpse of his voice, this interview.

What is his connection to a Princeton -centric blog? I had the joy of meeting him, once, and became an instant fan.  He inspires me even posthumously, through the words of others. Here, Petrusich:

It’s easy—nearly satisfying—to think of pain as transformative. But Toussaint’s work suggests a different way. Joy can change us, too—that’s evident in his songs. See something miraculous, and watch yourself reappear on the other side, different, better. There is so much gratitude in this music: a true gladness. What a thing to hold in mind. What a thing to let yourself follow, all the way down to the grave.

Or, as Odetta said As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

In this Advent season, let’s submit ourselves to the transformative powers of . .. joy!

Photo from New Yorker: Allen Toussaint, in northern Spain, in 2009.CREDITPHOTOGRAPH BY ADRIAN RUIZ DE HIERRO/EPA

Karen L. Johnson: On Thanksgiving

Faith and Social Justice, multicultural, , , ,

Here is a story that has become part of our family Thanksgiving tradition.  My father was a printer, and at Thanksgiving he would distribute hundreds of copies of this story on burnt orange paper.  At home by each Thanksgiving Dinner plate were five grains of corn, and this was read before dinner:

THANKSGIVING is distinctly an American holiday;  there is nothing like it elsewhere in the world. It celebrates neither a savage battle nor the fall of a great city. It does not mark the anniversary of a great conqueror or the birthday of a famous statesman. It does not commemorate the writing of a historic public document or the launching of a new constitution. The American Thanksgiving Day is the expression of a deep feeling of gratitude by our people for the rich productivity of the land, a memorial of the dangers and hardships through which we have safely passed, and a fitting recognition of all that God in His goodness has bestowed upon us.

In early New England it was the custom at Thanksgiving time to place five grains of corn at every plate as a reminder of those stern days in the first winter when the food of the Pilgrims was so depleted that only five grains of corn were rationed to each individual at a time

To continue, click here  for the Google doc

Thanks to my friend Karen  L Johnson for this inspiring story.

Wrong Way to Curb McMansions

Business, Faith and Social Justice, , , , , ,

I’m against McMansions as much or more than anybody (see this U.S. 1 story), but I have big questions about new rules being rushed through Princeton Council that aim to curb them.

Says architect Marina Rubina, who lives in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, “Our elected officials decided to take on the issue of “tear downs and McMansions” and solve it in one month without thinking it through or giving the public a chance to weigh in. The problem is that what they are proposing won’t stop McMansions, but will hurt a lot of people and lower income people much more than others.”

Here’s a quick read: the opinion of Walkable Princeton, an organization I respect. It has links to the ordinances presented at council last week. An excerpt:

Unfocused restrictions on FAR will have some effect on reducing the numbers of ‘McMansions’, but it will also make it harder for people to build rooms for aging parents, or to sell their homes at full value. A stealth downzoning appears to be underway, in the rush to be seen to be doing something about development that many residents consider ‘ugly’ or ‘not fitting the neighborhood’. But for many homeowners, the new restrictions may prove costly in the long-term. 

It’s complicated. I can’t decide. But we can all ask Princeton Council to take more time to decide. Council meets at 7 pm tonight (November 30) on another matter and is supposed to vote on Monday, December 7. Come to either meeting or send a note to somebody on council with the message “WAIT . . .. LISTEN” before you take a vote.

PART TIME JOB; YOUTH MINISTRY

Faith and Social Justice, , ,

best

YOUTH MINISTRIES: Princeton United Methodist Church seeks a part-time, temporary Assistant Director to support youth ministries and programs from now to May 2016.  

Assists Associate Pastor of Children and Youth Ministries and works collaboratively with staff, parents, volunteers and congregation to insure the spiritual growth and discipleship of youth.   Helps with planning and leading Sunday evening youth program as well as youth participation in worship, mission and overall life of the church.  Leads youth program and provides continuity while Associate Pastor is on leave.  Experience in Christian Youth Ministries required.   Degree in ministry or in process desirable.Approximately 10 hours per week.  Salary $4,000.

If interested, submit resume to Iona Harding ifkharding@gmail.com.

Black Prophetic Rage in the Age of Ferguson

Faith and Social Justice, , , ,
2015 11 10 black rage
“I will not submit to be charged with praying, nor do I accept the righteousness of the some 60 charges laid against those participating in the Moral Monday protests during Ferguson October,” said Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, pleading not guilty last December at Ferguson. “The only signs of Assault, Disorderly Conduct and Disturbance of the Peace I saw that morning clearly came from the garrison of riot police protecting the state citadel from a group of singing, praying, peaceful clergy, seminarians and members of the community.”
He will speak at a conference organized by The Center for Black Church Studies at Princeton Seminary, “Black Prophetic Rage in the Age of Ferguson,” on Tuesday, November 10th at 7 pm in the Theron Room at the Princeton Seminary Library. Yolanda Pierce directs the center. The roster also includes Dr. Brittney Cooper, Ph.D. and Minister Janisha Gabriel, MA, responders, and Candice Benbow, MA, M.Div., Moderator. Yolanda Pierce directs the center.

Autumn Culinaire Video

Faith and Social Justice, ,

Here is the video from the gala for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Greg Olsen comes on at about minute 4. Kudos to executive director Susan Dunning for this innovative way to tell a nonprofit story.

Cassidy-Angus-Deaton-690Writes Angus Deaton: I  see students who want to relieve suffering in the world. Should they go to Dhaka or Dakar? Focus on bed nets or worms? I tell them to go to Washington or London and to work to stop the harm that rich countries do…” (from an article in the Boston Review. 

Here is John Cassidy’s level-headed take on Princeton University’s latest Nobel Prize winner, economist Deaton, published in the current New Yorker. He quotes Deaton as questioning the widespread presumption that rising inequality is always a bad thing. In developing countries, he wrote, “inequality is often a consequence of progress.”

The North Star: heroism, romance, and treachery

Faith and Social Justice, , , , , ,
"The North Star": Jeremiah Trotter stars as Benjamin 'Big Ben' Jones, carrying John Wooten, playing Lewis Stone.
“The North Star”: Jeremiah Trotter stars as Benjamin ‘Big Ben’ Jones, carrying John Wooten, playing Lewis Stone.

One of my tablemates, at the Princeton chamber breakfast featuring Jacque Howard on Wednesday, was Robert Church of the Doughmain Education Fund based in Research Park. He told about a golf tournament on October 19 to raise funds for innovative financial literacy tools for students. He was also excited about a historical film re the slave trade and the Underground Railroad.

Church went to the Kimmel Center premiere of the new North Star film (the old one, made in 1943, was about the Nazi invasion) starring former Philadelphia Eagle Jeremiah Trotter as Benjamin “Big Ben” Jones.

Says Church:

From my point of view, The North Star was a remarkable re-telling of a truly American story that demonstrated what is great about the American spirit.

I found the cinematography was very different from anything that I have ever seen in a film on this particular subject matter. It put the characters front and center with the viewer, making for a very personal experience. Also, Jeremiah Trotter, the former Eagle linebacker had a leading role and gave a warm and impressive performance. I had all to do to keep myself from giving him a big hug when I saw him following the film. 

The North Star will be screened in Newtown, Pennsylvania with tickets available now through September 24th.

In this true story, Big Ben and Moses Hopkins, according to the plot summary, were slaves who escaped from a Virginia plantation and made their way to freedom in Buckingham (Bucks County) Pennsylvania in 1849. They experienced heroism, romance, and treachery. “Big Ben’s 6 foot 10 inch size and a record bounty for his safe return make him the focus of every slave hunter on the east coast. Their journey exposes them to danger and cruelty; however it also exposes them to the unexpected kindness of the people involved in the Underground Railroad. These experiences will change Ben and Moses forever. Upon reaching the relative safety of Mt. Gilead Church on Buckingham Mountain, Ben and Moses get to experience life as free men and cross paths with historical figures such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Joshua Fell.”  Big Ben worked for Fell in Mechanicsville, PA.

When, how, can we see this film in New Jersey?

Ordinary Experts Needed

Faith and Social Justice, , , , ,
sidebar stories heartAre you passionate about a cause — neighborhood safety, addiction recovery, affordable education, housing and healthcare, racial equality and relations, veteran issues, incarceration and re-entry, gender issues, economic opportunity, parenting, mental health, gun control, the environment …. And do you have first hand experience with it?

A new nonprofit, Sidebar Stories, invites anyone to a free workshop this Saturday at PUMC. If you sign up, you will be called an “ordinary expert.” You will learn how to own and tell your story in a way that makes sure it will be felt by those who need to know where you’ve been and what you’ve seen.

Founded by a hospice chaplain in Bucks County, Ron King, Sidebar Stories helps people connect real life experience, storytelling and visual art. “We offer a full day workshop for people we call ordinary experts to share a personal story related to a significant social issue that has impacted their life (living on minimum wage, urban violence, disability, race relations, veteran’s issues, affordable housing, etc).” says Ron.

At the end of the workshop, you will have made a 3 frame storyboard that can be published or posted to help advocates for your cause determine policies and provide services. Sign up here for the Sidebar Stories pARTy — it’s free, and lunch is included.

A Native American saying: “It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.”