The Roundup
Vol. 1, No. 6: August 2021
Welcome to the August 2021 edition of The Roundup!
We postponed Ntosake 2021, but we're still looking forward to Race and Power in November! We're also announcing the reinstatement of our Organizers of Color Table and celebrating our Board of Directors Chairman Rev. Dr. John Welch.
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National News
Ntosake 2021 postponed
Due to the increasing spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 and the high community spread in southern Illinois, Gamaliel has made the difficult decision to postpone Ntosake 2021 until further notice.
Please know we do not make this decision lightly. Our first priority is the safety of Gamaliel staff, leaders and organizers. While we do not know when we can next hold Ntosake, we look forward to the day we can be together again in person.
If you have already registered and paid your registration fee, you will be reimbursed. Please contact Regina Mahone at [email protected] if you have questions or concerns about your refund.
Please stay tuned for updates on Ntosake and other leadership training opportunities from Gamaliel.
Race and Power 2021 to be held in Baltimore, November 8-11
We're excited to announce Race and Power 2021: A Bridge Beyond Othering Toward the Beloved Community. We will gather November 8-11, 2021 at the Maritime Center in Baltimore, MD for panels, plenaries and training.
Registration opens September 1. Registration fees are $525/double room and $625/double room and include hotel accommodations, meals and admission to all events.
More information will be posted to raceandpower.org as it becomes available.
Organizers of Color Table returns
The Organizers of Color table is back! The table will be co-chaired by Gary Enrique Bradley-Lopez of Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2) and Tyshianna Bankhead of Faith Coalition for the Common Good. More information about meetings and biographies of the Chairs is forthcoming.
Entrenamiento Nacional de Liderazgo 6-9 ocubre y 13-16 octubre 2021
Diseñado especialmente para hispanoparlantes.
¡Para organizar la comunidad necesitamos líderes fuertes y con una visión clara! Asista a este entrenamiento para desarrollar su liderazgo y mejorar su habilidad de organizar en nuestras comunidades.
Identifique modos para vivir nuestros valores compartidos en la arena pública;
Aprenda las prácticas para desarrollar su liderazgo y así impactar su comunidad poderosamente;
Aprenda las herramientas, estrategias y los planes para desarrollar el Poder en su comunidad; y
¡Conozca y sea parte del Poder de la Red Nacional Gamaliel!
Rev. Dr. John Welch honored with Pittsburgh Circle of Courage Award
Gamaliel Board of Directors Chairman Rev. Dr. John Welch was honored with a 2021 Pittsburgh Circle of Courage Award on August 6.
According to the Circle of Courage committee, the award recognizes "people who have inspired courage in others and created good will in their community and the world. Awardees have also displayed faith and courage despite obstacles and have been part of an organization that has impacted the lives of others."
Please join Gamaliel in congratulating Rev. Dr. Welch!
For the Good of the Order
NOAH (Nashville, TN) is hiring a Community Organizer
NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope) is an anti-racist, faith-based coalition that is multiracial, multigenerational, and interfaith. NOAH is comprised of 62 congregations, community organizations, and labor unions that work to amplify the power of ordinary people.
NOAH is seeking an experienced Community Organizer, committed to the long-term growth and development of the organization and willing to grow with the organization. As an organization committed to justice and equity, we encourage applications from women and people of color.
Primary Responsibility: Serves as Community Organizer for NOAH in building power through expanding membership, increasing funding streams, building leadership, and determining local issues for action. Reports to and is supervised by Organizing Director.
Major requirements include:
Two years or more of relational community organizing experience required
Experience and knowledge working in African-American faith communities required
See the full job announcement at https://www.noahtn.org/org_job
JOB (San Diego, CA) sees 45+ participants at "Apple Pie & Rice and Beans" action
Justice Overcoming Boundaries (JOB) held an action to urge their local legislators to support Complete Inclusive Immigration Reform on July 22. More than 45 people turned out to present Congressman Darrell Issa's office to present him with an apple pie and rice and beans, hoping to send the message that "immigrants are as American as apple pie and rice and beans."
The action came after a string of similar actions taken by Gamaliel affiliates across the country July 2 and July 6.
JOB's action was covered by Univision and KPBS.
FCCG (Springfield, IL) to hold action in support of IL climate bill
Faith Coalition for the Common Good (FCCG) will hold an action at the Illinois State Fair on Governors' Day, August 18, in support of a bill that will help the state in its fight against climate change.
Illinois residents can find out more about the action and sign up to participate here.
Want your Gamaliel affiliate's news shared in the next Roundup? Send your updates to [email protected].
Closing Reflection
Activism as self-care
A reflection from Sr. Cheryl Liske, National Training Director
A couple weeks ago NPR aired an “On Being with Krista Tippett” episode that originally aired on Jan 24, 2019. The title was ‘Courage is the presence of fear, and going anyway,’ an interview with Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach.
The thing that struck me was when Krista Tippett quotes Doyle as relating the “babies in the river story.” “Hey," I thought. "That’s our stuff.” Babies floating down the river, good people working very hard to pull them out then, building a hospital for them and funding for social services, foster care for the unaccompanied minors (you get the picture). Doyle then relates to Tippett her own “compassion fatigue” in this all-too-real story.
Eventually, Doyle says she had to go up the river and find out what was going on. That’s when she described, “activism as self-care.” Then the interview moved on to other subjects.
“Wait!” I thought. “It’s not that simple.”
We don’t go up the river for information; we go up to confront the systems throwing babies into the river. Without the word and activity of confronting, we are simply voyeurs in the public arena.
It’s in confronting that we channel our compassion and anger into action. Confront. You know it means "with fronts facing." Like an abused partner, we confront abusers face to face for the sake of conversion, ours and theirs. We confront with a specific demand, a specific change in mind. But we never confront without a power analysis and allies we can trust. It’s the confronting that takes courage (the title of the podcast).
The other thing I remember about this podcast is this line: "Courage — it’s always got rage in it." Sounds good to me.
Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach
‘Courage is the presence of fear, and going anyway.’
Original air date January 24, 2019
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