This page includes information to help support Peace & Justice throughout our community and the world. The Committee for Peace & Justice will not meet during the summer months. The next meeting will be on September 8 at 4 PM in the Fireside Room.
100,000 for Peace: Join Protest to Prayer
Jewish Community Fee Clinic Needs Your Support
10 Ways to Help Voter Registration Middle East Current Issues
100,000 for Peace: Join Protest to Prayer
A new website has just been launched to support the UCC church wide campaign to gather 100,000 signatures before October 7 in support of the Collegium of Officers' Pastoral Letter on the Iraq War. After World Communion Sunday, the Rev. John H. Thomas, our general minister and president, will deliver the signatures, along with the pastoral letter, to leaders in Congress and members of the Bush Administration.
This is an unprecedented task. Gathering 100,000 names will be difficult. But we're relying on our collective energy -- and energetic connections – in order to make this happen.
Here are four specific ways you can help, at this time:
1) BE IN THE KNOW: Read the Pastoral Letter. A copy of the Pastoral Letter is printed in this newsletter. You may also check the new website: http://www.ucc.org/news/significant-speeches/a-pastoral-letter-on-the-iraq.html .
2) ADD YOUR NAME: Visit the new campaign site and sign the online petition: http://www.ucc.org/100kforpeace
3) BECOME A CAMPAIGN LEADER: Join the 'Action Team' – a dedicated group that will help promote this significant campaign over the next 7 weeks: http://ga3.org/campaign/100kactionteam
4) MULTIPLY THE MESSAGE: Quickly alert 10 colleagues, church members, friends or family members now: http://ga3.org/campaign/100kforpeace/forward
Copies of the Pastoral Letter and petition to add your signature will be available at the Community Church. Look for this and other important information in the Narthex at the Peace & Justice sign.
The world served by the Catholic Worker is the world of the vulnerable working poor whose incomes fall short of covering rent and basic needs like food and utilities. It is also the world of the mentally disabled. This is the “invisible” poverty that surrounds us here in Sonoma County.
The Catholic Worker is not related to the Catholic Church. It is a bustling nondenominational ministry staffed by dedicated volunteers. Their building is donated and their only consistent overhead is their phone bill, truck expenses and liability insurance. Although they interact with other agencies in the county, the Catholic Worker is entirely independent and self supporting – relying on donations from people like us.
What you can do to help:
Donate items from the current wish list:
Ø Regular large sized paper bags and plastic shopping bags
Ø 1 pound bags of beans and white rice
Ø Baby formula
Ø Powdered milk
Ø Canned soups
Ø Baby food
Ø Diapers
Ø Laundry soap
Ø Toothpaste
Ø Money (Checks – which are tax deductible – should be made out to Catholic Worker. Donations can be brought to church and given to Joanne Matson.)
The Catholic Worker’s Critical Needs Program is a vital safety net for many. Someone might receive:
Ø Rent assistance
Ø Money to pay a PG&E bill (or the Catholic Worker might call PG&E to request the delay of a shut off order while funds are being found)
Ø Shoe vouchers
Ø Gas vouchers or bus passes
Ø Budget counseling
Ø A check for the all-important ID (without which one cannot get a job or housing)
Ø Assistance paying for acutely needed medication not covered by medi-care
Ø Referrals (and help with the forms) to agencies with more long-term solutions
The Catholic Worker is also an aggressive food distribution center geared to giving fresh produce and nutritious food to a wide-ranging group of families in the county. Each family can receive food weekly. In addition to the 80 families served by on-site distribution, food bags are delivered each Friday to the Gold Coin Motel where many of the residents are low-income single mothers drawn there by the weekly rent (which ends up actually costing more for the month.) Food bags are also provided for the Rural Foods program, an outreach program serving families of field workers and day workers in Boyes Hot Springs, Fulton and Graton. Bags are also given to clients of Sonoma County Mental Health. Any surplus food after these donations are made is shared with the Santa Rosa’s homeless centers. Nothing is wasted.
Families going into their own housing from the homeless shelters can receive “start up kits” containing soap, towels, paper towels, TP, blankets, etc. There is also a supply of sleeping bags for the homeless.
The Community Recycling Center in Santa Rosa has a dual mission: keeping computers out of landfills and supplying computers to those who need them at little or no cost. Refurbished used computers are supplied to schools and non-profits. This year the special focus is to supply computers to foster children and disabled shut-in elders.
What Can You Do?
Donate:The Community Recycling Center (CRC) will take any computer at no charge to you. The Computer can be of any age, any condition, working or not. The CRC will take laptops, computer parts, monitors, TV’s, software, flat panels, speakers, cell phones, electronics and much more. Drop off times are Tuesday through Friday, 9am to 4pm and Saturdays from 10am to 2 pm.
Shop: CRC also holds Saturday fundraisers where you can find newer/used computers, closeouts and clearance items, parts, accessories and computer related treasures at bargain prices.
Directions: The Computer Recycling Center is located at 3227 Santa Rosa Avenue in Santa Rosa. Take US 101 to the Hearn Avenue exit and turn right (south) onto Santa Rosa Avenue for one mile. Turn right just past the new building for the RCU Auto Services. Once you are in the driveway, CRC is the first building on the right. If you have questions, give them a call at (707) 570-1600 or visit them on the web at www.crc.org.
Jewish Community Free Clinic Needs Your Support
The Jewish Community Free Clinic in Cotati serves as a safety net for many of the county’s uninsured poor. The clinic sees patients who have become ill and have no where else to turn for help. At the clinic the immediate needs of the patient are met while the staff works to get the patients connected with a provider. There is no charge for these services, all done on a donation basis. The clinic offers services of people of all faiths and volunteers are greatly appreciated.
What can you do to help?
Volunteer – the clinic relies heavily on volunteers from doctors and nurse practitioners to data entry, mailers, website help, fundraising and janitorial help. The clinic will be moving this spring and volunteers are needed for the move. There are also Saturday volunteer opportunities for those who may not be available during the week.
Donate – in addition to money, the clinic would also appreciate donations from this current wish list:
- New or like-new books and toys. Each child that is seen is given a book or toy before they leave.
- A small microwave in good working order
- 1-2 cordless phones
- Laptop PC computers
- Copy Machine
- Gift certificates to Office Depot
- Bookshelves
- Medical supplies
- Storage cabinets with locks for medication storage
- Air filter
The clinic is located at 421 east Cotati Avenue, Cotati 94931. Their phone number is (707) 585-7780. Give them a call and get involved today!
10 Ways for YOU to Help Address Poverty in Sonoma County
Here are 10 ideas for things YOU can do to address poverty right here in Sonoma County, brought to you by the Committee for Peace & Justice:
1. Donate to the Food Pantry (serving Sebastopol) or the Redwood Empire Food Bank. Cash donations (or food) can be brought to the church office.
2. Provide blankets or towels for the Family Shelter at 465 A Street in Santa Rosa.
3. Buy County Bus Passes and give to Karin in the church office. They are handed out to persons needing a ride to Santa Rosa or other areas and have no other means of transportation.
4. Hire workers from Graton Day Labor Center. Call 829-1864 to hire workers for a couple of hours, a day or longer.
5. Bring usable building supplies to Habitat for Humanity's Re-Store at 24 10th Street near the corner of Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa. Call (707) 568-3228 for store hours and more information on donating supplies.
6. Donate computers, monitors and printers to the Computer Recycling Center at 3227 Santa Rosa Avenue, in Santa Rosa for reuse in schools. Visit www.crc.org for directions, hours of operation and more information.
7. Volunteer at a local school to work with language-challenged children. Call any school office for more information.
8. Make infant layettes for local health clinics headquartered at the Southwest Community Clinic, 751 Lombardi Court in Santa Rosa.
9. Help a family with their utility bill through Santa Rosa Catholic Worker Utility Fund. Call (707) 575-8342 for more information.
10. Educate yourself on issues of economic justice in Sonoma County. Visit http://www.neweconomynorthbay.org/links.php for a list of local organizations working towards local solutions.
Information About Current Issues
Peace & Justice invites you to visit www.ucctakeaction.org/action where you can read up-to-the-minute alerts on national and state issues and voice your concern about important matters of peace and justice. This site is your one-stop advocacy center for contacting federal and state officials, corporate executives, opinion makers and media outlets. Visit www.ucctakeaction.org/action and take action today!
The Peace & Justice Committee will have a table set up in the courtyard after church once a month between now and November with everything you need to become a registered voter. Look for the table in the courtyard if you need to register or would like some help with the paperwork. For your convenience, voter registration packets are also available in the church office.
Do You Know Someone Serving in the Middle East?
We would like to encourage the congregation to write to people stationed in the Middle East to boost their spirits. If you know someone who would enjoy receiving cards, notes or “care packages”, please put their name and address in the Peace & Justice mailbox in the church office. Thanks!
Committee for Peace & Justice.
Visit the UCC web page for more ways to help promote peace at www.uccTakeAction.org