Longest Night, Worcester

There will be a memorial event for those who have died homeless the evening of December 21. The event will begin at Union Station and end at St. John’s Church.

(announcement follows:)

The Longest Night: Worcester Homelessness Memorial Day rally and memorial service will take place on Thursday, December 21, 2006, the first day of winter and the longest night of the year.

This memorial observance is part of the National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day that since 1990 has called attention to the tragedy of homelessness and those who have paid the ultimate price for our nation’s failure to end homelessness.

On December 21st, Worcester Homelessness Memorial Day, a coalition of concerned Worcester residents and organizations will gather at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall Plaza (behind City Hall), where we will hold a rally and vigil to remember our homeless neighbors who died in 2006. We will then walk to St. John’s Rectory (44 Temple Street) for a 7:15 p.m. memorial service.

The rally behind City Hall will include a call to action as well as a reading and remembrance of the names of homeless individuals in Worcester who died in 2006.

At the memorial service at St. John’s Rectory, religious leaders from a variety of faiths will each say a few words about the loss of homeless members of our community.

Together these memorial events will honor those who have died and call our community to recommit to the task of ending homelessness.

Please join us on December 21st – The Longest Night. Together we can make our communities safer and healthier for all.

TV 13 party: Electic, awesome, free

Worcester’s WCCA TV13 is having a 20th anniversary bash Saturday, Nov 18, noon-10pm, at the Mount Carmel Recreation Center. (28 Mulberry St.)

Parking and admission are free. There will be lots of food for sale.

This event is as multicultural and eclectic as WCCA itself, featuring bagpipers, a Parade of Flags, crafts, Armenian food and dancers, Swedish folk, a clown, face painting, Italian food and music, belly dancing, Greek food, Strong Man Gino Martino and other professional wrestlers (available to sign autographs), Jamaican food and music, afropop, Liberian food, Middle Eastern music, Indian food, vegetarian food from the Seventh Day Adventists, the New England Dance Center Dancers, both youth and adult jazz groups, Mexican dancers, blues, and local celebrities galore.

See the party homepage for the latest details.

Lecture: “Peace in the Middle East: Why is it so hard?”

LEARN ABOUT LEBANON

Learn about Lebanon and discuss it with:

Dr. Elaine Hagopian: Award winning sociologist and human rights scholar at Simmons College will analyze the recent conflict in Lebanon

Dean Doug Little: Discussing Lebanese history since the 50s

Lara Jirmanus: Lebanese-American evacuated from Lebanon in July, organized with Central Mass for Peace in the Middle East from Worcester will share experiences

Wednesday, Nov 15th 7:30pm, Sacler Science N105, Clark University, Worcester, Mass.

Refreshments will be served!

Sponsored by Clark Peaceworks and the Dean of the College

Lecture: “From Beirut to Baghdad: Globalization & Human Rights in the Middle East and Beyond”

Dr. Thomas Abowd, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wayne State University, will deliver the Faith Zeadey Memorial Lecture on Globalization and Human Rights 7pm, Thursday, November 16th, Eager Auditorium, Sullivan Building, Worcester State College.

“From Beirut to Baghdad: Globalization & Human Rights in the Middle East and Beyond.”

“Professor Abowd is a long time scholar and activist on issues of peace and justice in the Middle East. He recently returned from a trip to the region and will share his experiences and analysis about the problems it faces the possibilities for change. He will also discuss the impact of the United States’ “War on terror” and its impact on these possibilities.”

Presented by the Worcester State College Sociology Dept., and Centers for the Study of Human Rights, Service Learning & Civic Engagement and Global Studies & Media Literacy. Co-sponsored by Saints Francis & Therese Catholic Worker.

Oct 30 vigil for Brad Will in Worcester

There’s a vigil Monday, October 30, at noon in front of Worcester’s City Hall to remember Brad Will, a US videojournalist associated with the Indymedia movement who was killed last week in Oaxaca. For more info about Brad, this BoingBoing post is as good a place to start as any. Speakers at the Worcester event will include local Indymedia activists who knew him.

Demo against cluster bombs at Textron

Rides are available from Worcester to a demonstration at Textron in Wilmington, MA, a manufacturer of cluster bombs.

If you would like a ride to this demonstration, please call the Catholic Worker at 508.753.3588.

We will be leaving Worcester at 10AM, and getting back into town around 2:30pm.

Cluster bombs are deliberately indiscriminate, designed to kill over the widest possible area. Even the newer designs leave behind unexploded bomblets, which can maim and kill for years after a war is over. Protest this horrendous weapon at its source, right here in Massachusetts.

Palestinian peace activist George Rishmawi

Confused about the Middle East? Want to learn more? Come hear

Voices for Peace in Palestine
A slideshow presentation by
Palestinian peace activist George Rishmawi.

Wednesday, October 4
7:00-9:00 pm
SS. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker
52 Mason St., Worcester

Discussion and refreshments to follow. For more information, call: 508
753-3588

George Rishmawi, of Beit Sahour, West Bank, has spent more than a decade promoting peace initiatives within the Occupied Territories. He is the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, an organization that links internationals with Palestinian and Israeli peace activists, and a board member of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement between People.

A Palestinian Christian, Rishmawi, 33, is also coordinator for Siraj, an organization of the Greek Orthodox Church that provides educational programs and meaningful pilgrimages in Palestine.