Thrivent Builds Habitat for Humanity

I still need some volunteers!!


LTSP Build Day
Saturday, April 28, 2007
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.


There's still time to sign up to help.
Contact Terri by phone ext. 7313 or email

An Evening of Jazz and Coffee

COFFE HOUSE AT CHRIST ASCENSION

RAISING FUNDS FOR LUTHERAN SETTLEMENT HOUSE

When: Friday, April 27th
Time: 8pm to 10pm.
Where: Christ Ascension, 8300 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19118 (215) 247-4233

Holy Grounds Coffee House at Christ Ascension presents an evening of Jazz Music with the band, Standard Time. There will be homemade baked goods, gift baskets to be raffled off, and great coffee for all.

This event is sponsored by LSH, Grace Lutheran Wyndmoor, Trinity Germantown, and Christ Ascension Lutheran Church

For more information about Lutheran Settlement House, please call Suzette Belz at

215-426-8610 x 208 or visit us at http://www.lutheransettlement.org/

Workshops at 1st Presbyterian Church in Germantown

PUMI invites you to be inspired by and learn from one of the most respected urban ministers in the country

Tyrone Gordon

The Rev. Dr. Tyrone Gordon is a nationally known revival preacher and workshop leader and current pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Community Church in Dallas, Texas, which is a large multi-cultural urban congregation. He is the former pastor of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Wichita, KS, which stands as one of the fastest growing African American congregations in the United Methodist Church. Under his leadership, the congregation's membership grew from 350 in 1988 to more than 2,500 in 2002.


Friday – April 27 – 7:30 p.m.
“A Cross Shaped Church:
Reaching Up to God and Out to the Community”
(free will offering)

Saturday – April 28 – 10 until 3
Urban Ministry Workshop
(only cost is for lunch)
Call and let us know you are coming to the workshop!

ALL ARE WELCOME!!!

The First Presbyterian Church in Germantown
35 West Chelten Ave; Philadelphia, PA 19144
(215) 843-8811

Philadelphia’s Global Day for Darfur March and Rally

On April 29, 2007, the Darfur Alert Coalition will host Philadelphia’s Global Day for Darfur march and rally, designed to spread the word about our most recent social and legislative agenda and to reinvigorate the fight to put an end to the tragic events happening in Sudan’s Darfur region. Darfur Alert Coalition’s event is one of more than 200 events being held in conjunction with Save Darfur Coalition occurring around the world this April.

The goals of these events are clear: To demand the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to help protect civilians, and to embolden calls for harsher sanctions against the Sudanese government for its failure to comply with UN Security Council resolutions.

The situation in Darfur is dire. Four years of genocidal violence has left over 200,000 dead, 2.5 million innocent civilians displaced, and 4 million men, women, and children completely reliant on international aid for survival. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter.

LTSP is one of the co-sponsors and your presence at this rally is a powerful statement against the very real genocide there, of which we are sadly aware every day.

Some background: Previous Global Day for Darfur events attracted tens of thousands of supporters from around the world. In September 2006, 57 events took place in 41 countries on 6 continents focused on the need to get U.N. peacekeeping troops into Darfur. The second Global Day in December drew attention to the use of sexual violence against the women of Darfur.

To join our coalition or more about the April 29 event, please contact Lou Ann Merkle at (610) 832-7028, or lamerkle@comcast.net. Financial contributions can be made out to Darfur Alert Coalition. Thank you for your time, compassion, and consideration.

Lou Ann Merkle
Executive Director,
Darfur Alert Coalition
Darfur Alert Coalition P.O. Box 42036 Philadelphia, PA 19101 www.darfuralert.org 484-250-2795 lamerkle@comcast.net


ADVISORS
Honorable Allyson Schwartz
Congresswoman,
13th District, PA
Alan Butkowitz
Philadelphia City Controller
Honorable Jannie Blackwell
Philadelphia City
Councilwoman
Bishop Ernest C. Morris
Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ
Salih Mahmoud Osman, Esq.
Intern’l Human Rights Award
Recipient: ABA & HRW
Timothy Jenkins, Esquire
Pres., Unlimited Visions
Enid Adler, Esquire
Dr. Mohamed Elgadi
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Ali B. Ali Dinar
President
Fatima M. Haroun
Vice President
Jim Remsen
Vice President
Dr. Mahdi Ibn Ziyad
Secretary
Ibrahim Hamid
Treasurer
Jim Feldman, Esq.
DAC Attorney
Lou Ann Merkle
Executive Director
Suad Mansour
Darfur Projects Director
Burt Siegel
Communications Director
Tigani Abu Algasim
Volunteer Director
Rita Fitzgerald
Advocacy Director
Lisa Deeley
Badawi Osman
D A R F U R ALERT C O A L I T I O N
"WORKI NG FOR PEACE, JUSTI CE AND HEALI NG WI TH SURVI VORS OF GENOCI DE I N DARFUR. ”

Faith Perspectives on Poverty & the Philadelphia Mayoral Campaign

“The Least of These” – Forgotten in Philly?


Faith Perspectives on Poverty & the Philadelphia Mayoral Campaign
A Panel Discussion and Community Forum


Sunday, April 29, 2007, 3-5pm

Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square


Panelists

· Patricia DeCarlo, Norris Square Neighborhood Project
· Rachel Falkove, Interfaith Hospitality Network
· Isaac Miller, Church of the Advocate
· Will O’Brien, Project H.O.M.E.

· Moderator: Chris Satullo, Inquirer Editorial Page Editor



Presented by Sojourners/Call to Renewal
http://www.sojo.net/ Questions? Call 215.320.7325

Celebrating Dreams for the Future

The Samaritan Counseling Center

A Service and Reception Celebrating our Dreams for the Future

Sunday, April 29, 2007

5 p.m.

St. Paul's Church

22 E. Chestnut Hill Ave.

Phila., PA 19118

Questions or more info: (215) 247-6077

Making Peace

Making Peace in Afghanistan:
How You Can Help

A Conversation with Paco Michelson

Tuesday, April 17
12:15-1:15 p.m.

LTSP Refectory, Rooms A & B

Paul-Philip (Paco) Michelson has served with The Frontiers since 2005 in Korea, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He is also an affiliate of Christian Peacemaker Teams and has served with CPT in Palestine. Tom Fox briefly trained him, a year before Tom was killed in Iraq.

The Frontiers (http://www.thefrontiers.org/) was founded in Korea in 1993 to give help for rehabilitation, encouragement and hope for peace. The focus of their work is education focused on peace building and reconciliation, helping to unite people separated physically, mentally, and spiritually by war and violence. Additionally, their projects stress community living. They believe that living side by side with people in places torn apart by conflict is essential to both local restoration of peace and broader future establishment of peace.

Mt. Airy First Friday

Mt. Airy Scavenger Hunt - http://www.mtairyfirstfriday.com/mash_2007.php

Mt. Airy Scavenger Hunt Begins!

The Scavenger Hunt begins on First Friday April 6th, and ends on First Friday May 4th.

Join us this spring for the Third Annual Mt. Airy Scavenger Hunt!

You can win fabulous prizes, while having fun discovering Mt. Airy and supporting local businesses.

More than 30 businesses are participaing this year.

One lucky winner will be selected from all eligible entries to receive the Grand Prize Gift Basket valued at over $1,600! Eight additional prizes from individual businesses will be given away too!

How it works
First of all, get your Scavenger Hunt clue list (you can download it here, or pick it up at any participating business on or after April 6th). Then answer as many clues as you can! For each clue you answer correctly, you'll get a ticket good for one chance at the prize baskets. Don't worry— you have until 5pm on May 4th to solve clues. Go to each participating business to solve the clue and claim your prize entry ticket. Limit one entry per person at each business. There are 32 participating businesses, so you can enter up to 32 times! You must fill out the ticket stub completely with your name, phone number and/or email address in order for it to be valid. Please make sure we can read your writing, as illegible entries will be disqualified from winning. Deposit your filled-out ticket stubs in the Scavenger Hunt entry boxes located at each participating business before 5:00pm on May 6th. Keep the other portion of your ticket.

Prizes
Participating businesses in Mt. Airy have donated giftcards and merchandise for the prizes. You can see a complete list of prize basket contents below. The grand prize gift basket is on view at Rothe Florists. In addition to the grand prize gift basket, many participating businesses are giving away their own individual prizes. You must enter to win at these businesses in order to be eligible for their individual prizes. See the complete list for details.

Prize Drawing
Prize drawing takes place at the Sedgwick Theater at 7PM on May 4th. The winners will be selected from all valid tickets entered by May 4th at 5:00pm. Winners of individual businesses' prizes will be drawn first, then all the tickets will be combined into one pile from which the winner of the grand prize will be drawn. Winners need not be present in order to win. Absent winners will be contacted by phone or email. Incomplete or illegible ticket stubs are not eligible to win.

NIM Forums

Thursday, April 19, 7:00 pm
“ON MY SISTER’S SHOULDERS”
Film with discussion facilitated by Joan Sadoff, Producer

Second Baptist Church of Germantown, 6459 Germantown Avenue

This film tells the story of the role black women played in the southern civil rights movement in the 60’s. Their faith and character led to bravery in their actions and to the strong people they became. Understanding this historical context deepens understanding of American history and our black neighbors today.

This event will be a great opportunity for youth, parents and others to ask questions of the filmmaker.


Monday, April 30, 7:00 pm
ENCOUNTERS WITH ISLAM

Second Baptist Church of Germantown, 6459 Germantown Avenue

Presentations by Lora Berg, an American woman diplomat who served in Islamic countries, and Karim Chaibi, a man born in Tunisia who journeyed from fundamentalist to moderate Islam. Each of these presenters has a unique story to tell about how their experiences changed their understanding of Islam in the Middle-East. Their experiences can inform our understanding of the diversity within world Islam today.

For more information, please call Linda Brunn at 215-843-5600, Extension 127, or email lbrunn@nim-phila.org.

Interfaith Activities

4th INTERFAITH WALK for PEACE & RECONCILIATION
Sunday, June 3, 2007, 1 – 5 p.m.


Join us on this spiritual journey walking for peace in the streets of Philadelphia and peace everywhere.


11.45 p.m. Send off ceremony, 12 p.m. bus boarding at Al Aqsa: 1501 Germantown Ave.
1 p.m. Masjid Muhammad: 411 East Penn St. (Lot & Street Parking available)
2 p.m. St. Vincent's Church: 109 East Price St. (near Chelten Ave.)
3 p.m. Mennonite Church: 21 West Washington Lane (near Germantown Ave.)
4 p.m. Germantown Jewish Centre: 400 W. Ellet St. (near Lincoln Dr.)

During the Peace Walk, buses will drive people who are physically unable to walk. The buses also will shuttle people to their cars between Al-Aqsa Mosque, Masjid Muhammad and Germantown Jewish Centre before and after the walk.

PLEASE WEAR WHITE (OR AT LEAST WHITE SHIRTS), NO POLITICAL BANNERS

For more information, contact: 215-854-8038, www.interfaithpeacewalk.org

Changing Families

Healthy Families, Healthy Children: What Does It Take?

The third in a three-part series - Changing Families and the Challenge for Urban Ministry: From Surviving to Thriving

Saturday, April 14, 2007
9:00 am - 2:30 pm

At-Risk Children: What are the challenges for this generation and in what ways can communities of faith intervene to create a more hopeful future?

PLENARY SPEAKERS

MARCIA J. CARLSON
Associate Professor of Social Work and Sociology, Columbia University; Professional Interests: Family structure and parenting, Child and adolescent wellbeing, Social policy, Poverty and inequality, Father involvement; Current research: Family Structure, Parenting and Child Wellbeing

VICTORIA YANCEY
School District of Philadelphia, Community Relations and Faith Initiatives; district's liaison to families whose children die or are seriously injured; former therapist with degrees in education and counseling, spent more than 20 years in the school district as a counselor and assistant principal

Multicultural Conferences & Events

http://www.middlechurch.org/multicultural/index.htm

Multicultural Conferences & Events

Middle Collegiate Church Brings People Together:
Hosts Spring Event on Multi-cultural Ministry
The Power of Story: Developing Multiracial, Multicultural Congregations

Leadership Conference
New York City
April 29 – May 1, 2007

Candidate Forum on Education

Thursday, April 12
The mayoral candidates forum on education issues
Co-sponsored by Great Expectations and the Cross City Campaign

Rodeph Shalom Synagogue
615 N. Broad St.
from 7 to 9 p.m.

You do not have to register to attend.
Free, secure parking will be available for G.E. participants at The Inquirer’s garage at 15^th and Callowhill. That is a brisk but doable walk to the synagogue, which is also quite near the Spring Garden stop of the Broad Street subway.

Pennsylvania House Hearings on Crime, Violence & Guns

http://www.pathcoalition.org/
From the PATH Coalition:
The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee has announced a series of hearings that will be held across the Commonwealth “to get citizen input on issues and proposed legislation related to crime, violence and gun policies.”

These hearings provide an excellent forum for advocates to let legislators know that they support sensible gun laws aimed at cracking down on illegal gun trafficking. Among the proposals under consideration by the committee is HB 22, the one-handgun-per-month bill. This legislation would stop the bulk purchase of handguns, put gun traffickers out of business, dry up the supply of illegal handguns, and have no impact on sportsmen and other legal gun owners. Please consider attending the hearing closest to you.

The hearing schedule is as follows:


April 13 North Philadelphia Time 10:00 a.m. - Noon
Colorado Community Center
2243-51 North 20th Street

April 19 Allentown Time and Location TBA

April 20 Center City Philadelphia 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
City Hall

April 27 Harrisburg - Policy hearing

Thrivent Builds Habitat for Humanity

I still need some volunteers!!

LTSP Build Day
Saturday, April 28, 2007
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

There's still time to sign up to help.
Contact Terri by phone ext. 7313 or email

Good Friday Stations of the Cross

Chestnut Hill United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church of Germantown are holding their Second annual Stations of the Cross procession on Good Friday from one church to the other.

This moving service will begin at 4 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown, 6023 Germantown Avenue, and end between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. at the Chestnut Hill United Methodist Church, 8812 Germantown Avenue.

The service will involve walking much of this distance of 3.32 miles between the two churches (although one Station of the Cross will be on a SEPTA bus that will carry people 1/3 of the entire distance). The various Stations of the Cross along the way will mark places of suffering in our community. These will include the suffering of those in poverty; the suffering of those in the public school system; the victims of war; the suffering of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender persons; the victims of racism; the victims of crime; and those suffering because of the massive accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few.