We are happy to send our newsletter to anyone who wants it. We also realize that some people who once wanted our newsletter might later decide that they no longer want to receive it. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please notify us at 360-357-7224 or InterfaithWorks@comcast.net
(thank you to the Olympia FOR newsletter for modeling this wording!)
Please click on the link above -- the community calendar and bulletin board has its own web page on our site so we can update it between newsletters.
NEXT NEWSLETTER — APRIL
The deadline for the next newsletter is 12 noon on Tuesday, April 8. If you have ideas for articles, announcements, or other newsletter items, let us know or just email them to us at InterfaithWorks@comcast.net. Thank you!
Also, please let us know if you, someone else, a faith community or another organization would like to receive a copy of our monthly newsletter, either by U.S. mail or by email.
Wednesday March 26th, Olympia will host a special delegation of four Ugandan coffee farmers, members of the interfaith “Peace Kawomera” Cooperative made up of four hundred Christian, Muslim and Jewish family farmers in eastern Uganda. The public event will be held at Temple Beth Hatfiloh, downtown at 8th & Washington, at 7:30 pm.
The farmers will share the story of their unique interfaith cooperative, their vision of peace, music, and free samples of their organic, Fair Trade Mirembe Kawomera (“Delicious Peace”) coffee.
Interfaith groups in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and other communities are working to build a market for the coffee, establishing the consumer demand necessary to sustain production, and ensuring the growth and long-term success of the Cooperative.
Fair Trade is a strategy for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. It creates opportunities for producers who have been economically disadvantaged or marginalized by the conventional trading system. Fair Trade is committed to payment of a fair price, building the capacity and independence of producers, environmental protection, safe and healthy working conditions, gender equality and financial transparency.
"Delicious Peace" coffee links economic development with interfaith cooperation and peacemaking in a part of the world that has been ravaged by intertribal and inter-religious strife. Local faith communities are encouraged to advertise the event and to join in welcoming the Ugandan farmers to Olympia. For more information call 786-0843 or visit www.mirembekawomera.com
COME & CELEBRATE 35 YEARS
Are you a supporter of IW? Have you volunteered for one or more IW programs or events? Do you belong to an organization that is a member of IW? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you are invited to come and celebrate 35 years of Interfaith Works at our Annual Meeting of the membership! Although the primary reasons for holding this meeting are adopting the 2008-09 budget and electing directors & officers, we plan to have a really good time!
Everyone is welcome; please, consider attending this meeting! The Board of Directors will honor our individual members, and the leaders and membership of our member organizations. And special recognition will be given to the many volunteers who are the life-blood of Interfaith Works.
The business portion of this year’s meeting should be very short, leaving lots of time for socializing, snacking, and celebrating. There will be some inspiration, some entertainment and lots of door prizes.
Let’s have some fun on Tuesday, April 15 at The United Churches; 11th and Capitol Way. Visiting and light refreshments begin at 6:45; introductions and brief business at 7:15; celebration and entertainment at 7:45.
NEW WEBSITE EXPLAINS CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
by Wendy Wilson
Perhaps you have heard that Christian Scientists rely on prayer for healing, and wonder what that really means. Maybe you have other questions such as:
Is it true that Christian Scientists don’t take medicine?
Is Christian Science faith healing?
What is a Christian Science practitioner?
What are the Church’s views on abortion, cloning, and other hot-button issues?
A new website has just been launched by The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, MA to answer these questions and more. The site includes a collection of video clips in which people who are practicing Christian Science share their first-hand accounts of how their prayers have healed themselves and others.
Christianscience.com makes it easy for the public to get accurate information about Christian Science and will clear up some of the common misconceptions about it. The site will explain why Christian Scientists choose to rely on prayer for healing, that Christian Science is not Scientology, and that Christian Science is a Christian, Bible-based religion, not a cult. The site is part of a long-term plan to develop a family of Web sites. Interested individuals may want to return from time to time to explore further at www.christianscience.com
NEWS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD FREE MEDICAL CLINIC
The Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Free Medical Clinic (NFMC) have announced that the clinic will not move into the Olympia Union Gospel Mission (OUGM) space as previously planned. The Boards of the NFMC and the OUGM have determined that their missions are not congruent. So, the clinic will stay in its current location at Lacey Presbyterian Church. Board members say, “We are grateful for the generous offer from Lacey Presbyterian to continue housing the clinic, and we treasure that relationship.”
In addition to the decision to stay put, the board announces that Executive Director, Jane Jones and Board President, MaryAnne Lindeblad have resigned their positions. Jane and MaryAnne have been with the clinic since its inception, and will be sorely missed. However, they wish to reassure volunteers and supporters that the clinic is healthy and continues to function. NFMC’s superb staff and wonderful volunteers continue to provide services to the medically needy in our community.
The Board members, Sally Coats, Donna Mack, Jenifer Morgan and Ted Steege, acknowledge these as difficult but predictable growing pains for a young agency. The Board is meeting regularly to address both short and long term opportunities to assure the continuance of the clinic as an important provider of medical services to the community. The recruiting process has begun to identify and hire a new Executive Director.
NFMC is grateful to the community for continued support during this time of transition, and look forward to continuing the relationships into the future.
SEATS & PARTITIONS AVAILABLE
Temple Beth Hatfiloh has approximately 150 fixed theater seats available for a reasonable donation. They are in good shape.
Temple Beth Hatfiloh also has about fifteen used 5’x5’ partitions available for donation to someone who will be able to use them. They are light blue in color. Measurement and quantity are approximate.
Please call Cathy Turner at 360-754-8519 or email tbh@bethhatfiloh.org for more information about either.
ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT OTHER FAITHS?
Are you curious to hear what a Buddhist has to say about Buddhism? Or what Bahá'í is all about? Would you like to hear about Muslim holy days from a Muslim? Perhaps your congregation, Sunday school class, youth group, or service organization would be interested too!
If you would like to invite a speaker from another faith community, just contact the staff of Interfaith Works and we’ll help you find a speaker. Contact the IW office by phone at (360) 357-7224 or email us at InterfaithWorks@comcast.net
BLINTZAPALOOZA RETURNS
Devotees of Temple Beth Hatfiloh’s Blintzapalooza will be pleased to know that it’s back! An annual celebration of Jewish food, and a fundraiser for worthy activities in the community, Blintzapalooza returns to Olympia on Sunday, March 30, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (book sales will begin at 9:30 a.m.) This year's beneficiaries will be the Farmers Market suppliers hurt by December flooding, the Thurston County Food Bank's Backpack Project, and Interfaith Works.
The event, eagerly anticipated by local lovers of books, blintzes, bagels and lox, was sorely missed last year when it was canceled because of construction and remodeling at the synagogue at 8th Avenue and Washington Street.
Blintz and bagel munching will be interrupted shortly after noon for a contest to select the best kugel baker in South Sound. (Kugel is a Jewish noodle salad and side dish.) So come support a good cause, buy lots of books and eat lots of good food. For more information, call the synagogue at 754-8519 or contact Jim Stevenson, 754-1507 or 725-1915.
EARTH HOUR
You can take a small step toward improving the environment and conserving energy by taking part in Earth Hour at 8:00 p.m. March 29. Earth Hour is a global event created to symbolize that each of us, working together, can make a positive impact on climate change--no matter who we are or where we live. Starting at 8 pm local time on March 29, 2008, individuals, communities and businesses around the world will turn off the lights in cities around the world for one hour. This simple act will not only heighten awareness of the impacts of climate change on our world, but also inspire individuals and businesses to take practical action to reduce their own carbon footprint.
Everyone around the world is encouraged to be involved and shut the lights off in their homes and businesses. Major participation is planned in 25 cities around the world, on six continents. Four Earth Hour flagship cities in the U.S.--Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco--are leading the way. Other participating U.S. cities include Denver, Miami and Charlotte. During that hour, you could replace old light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and commit to reducing energy consumption in the year ahead. If you want to learn more about Earth Hour, visit www.earthhour.org
CRIME VICTIMS ADVOCACY NETWORK
by Carolyn House-Higgins
The locally-based group ‘Community Voices’ recently released study findings that focused on reaching victims of crime. One clear result of the study was that victims of crime primarily turn for help to pastors or spiritual leaders as well as members of their faith communities. For that reason, we at the Crime Victim Advocacy Network (CVAN) are reaching out to you.
We are a community-based, not-for-profit agency serving Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties since May 2006. Our services are free and confidential, and interpreter services are available. Crime victims are not required to report to law enforcement to be eligible for assistance.
Advocacy is usually associated with services for victims of domestic violence and/or sexual abuse. However, we also provide services to victims of robbery, hate crimes, assault, residential burglary, DUI/DWI vehicular assault, identity theft, property crimes and to survivors of homicide victims.
For more information, please contact Carolyn House-Higgins or Gary Fleming using the helpline: 1-866-711-2826, or at www.cvan11.org
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION
We thank the priceless volunteers who have made possible our events of the past few months:
World Sacred Music Festival
Brent & Susan Apt
Catherine Artzt
Elizabeth Bachman
Nicholas Barnes
Aaron Binderup
Shannon Blood
Nathan Blood
Antony Czar
Rod Davis
Leslie & Frank Edwards-Hill
Sr. Monika Ellis
Jim Erlandson
Terri Grubic
Barbara Gibson
Duncan Greene
Billy Harris
Betty Hauser
George Hinkel
Janice Holz
Jean Holz
Jeanne Kirkpatrick
Terry Kirkpatrick
Lydia Beth Leimbach
julie Ling
Pat Lisoskie
Richard Lopez
Billie Mazzei
Carol McKinley
Doug Pape
Paul Pennell
Pat Perry
Lynn Ruth
Dan Ryan
Jake Sanders
Kathryn Schroeder
Luther Smith
Scott Stevens
Janet & Mike Tanaka
Nancy Torres
Renuka Vallarapu
Yvonne Wilhelmsen
Wendy Wilson
Stacy Winokur
Dave Wulf
Rich & Melissa Young
Earth Stewardship Committee
Mimi Maloney
Carol McKinley
Leslie Romer
Marijke van Roojen
Newsletter Folding
Kathy Carlson
Pat Collins
Robin Corwin
Rosemary Frady
Rupert Grove
Jean & Bob Holz
Brent Rabe
Doree Schuna
DONOR RECOGNITION
Many thanks to those who have donated to Interfaith Works and our programs so far in 2008:
Community for Interfaith Celebration
Community of Christ
Bahá'ís of Thurston County East
First Church of Christ, Scientist
First United Methodist Church
Friends Meeting of Olympia
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
Lacey Presbyterian Church
Nancy C. Nelson & Associates, Inc.
Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation
Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Presbytery of Olympia
St. Ephrem Orthodox Mission
St. Michael Parish
Unity Church of Olympia
Laura Abernathy
Fred & Mary Jane Adair
Barbara Baldwin
Shannon Beigert
B. Jean Black
Kathryn Blocher
John & Sally Blonien
Shannon Blood
Jim Cammack
Susan Campbell
Patricia Collins
Robert Cook
Dee Dick
Leslie Edwards-Hill
Kathy Erlandson
Rosemary Frady
Kathy Friedt
Jim Fulton
Barbara Gibson
Jeanne Gordner
Kris Graap
Hilari Hauptman
Peg Henry
Ronald Hertel
George & Mary Jo Hinkel
Dick & Ramona Hinkle
Marguerite Holcomb
Kip Johnson
Cornelia Kirkpatrick
Patrick & Marilyn LaViollette
Raven Lidman
Clain E. Lust
William Lynch
Nancy Mackin
J. Paul Malmberg
Tom & Elsa McLain
Phil & Lois Parker
Pamela Parsons
Pat Perry
Karlynn & Andrew Rayment
Si Sarton
Lynn Ruth Slater
Luther Smith
Laura L. Smith
Lyall Smith
R. Peggy Smith
Dickie Stentz
Larry & Earlyse Swift
Vonnie Tallon
Janet Tanaka
Marijke van Roojen
Wim & Rae Verhoef
Scott Whitney
Leah Wilson
Dave & Dolly Yates
IS IW IMPORTANT TO YOU?
There are a number of ways that you can support the ongoing work of Interfaith Works. Which one is right for you?
Volunteer with IW. You could be on a committee, work at an event, help out with the web site or with office work. See our Volunteer page online or call the office for ideas.
Start using GoodSearch as your online search engine and GoodShop as the starting point for your online shopping. Every search earns one cent for IW, and IW will get some money for each of your online purchases. Visit www.goodsearch.com or call the IW office for help setting it up.
Pledge to make a monthly contribution of $5 or $10 or more. IW will send you envelopes for mailing your contributions.
Basic Preparation Course For Nurses
Dates: April 22, 23, 24 and May 21, 22
Time: 8 A.M.- 5 P.M.
Place: Providence St. Peters Hospital, Olympia
Contact: Pacific Lutheran University at 253-535-7863 or Mary Lou Spence at 360-556-0491 for more information.
KARMA CAFÉ
Karma Café is an open forum developed specifically for those who would like to discuss their thoughts on various aspects of life as seen through a Buddhist/Taoist perspective. This round-table discussion will be casually structured to allow everyone to present personal points-of-view in an open and non-judgmental environment. Karma Café meets from 6 to 8 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Mud Bay Coffee Meeting Room (1600 Cooper Point Rd, West Olympia). For more information, call 867-9316 or e-mail Korodo@msn.com.
In honor of our life givers and nurturers, create a sacred image of the Great Mother using wax, silk and dyes. Art experience not needed. Julia will lead an exercise to help access your own sacred images of the goddess.
