Please,  come join with us and plan for action(s) in 2009 at the Austin Center for Peace and Justice monthly November brunch!

On Saturday,  November 15, 2008,  we are inviting you to attend and to bring along a couple of your friends!

The brunch will be at Central Presbyterian Church at E. 8th and Brazos, at 10 AM until 12 noon.  We will have plenty of bagels and cream cheese and fruits and coffee and juices. Please, let us know if you are coming, so we can plan for enough eats!

This brunch/meeting will be a planning session for the calendar year 2009, for our community.  We need your valuable imput, ideas, suggestions, and passion. We hope that you will spend some time researching and projecting successful actions - to - come , to effect positive change in our City.  In these challenging times,  there is much work that needs to be done to improve the lives of every Austin citizen.  We need to gather together and brainstorm up some potential solutions. Please plan to attend! 

What a memorable night it was for the crowd gathered Thursday night at Huston-Tillotson University to celebrate Gandhi's birthday and to pay tribute to Don Bobb, who has kept non-violent resistance alive and vigorous in Austin and in Congo for over 50 years. The Austin Center for Peace and Justice hosted the dinner event, which featured speakers and music, including Gandhi's favorite song, other traditional Indian music, and "Be the Change", by local singer/songwriter, Kat Edmonson.

Mary Berwick, President of Church Women United, emceed the program, introducing speakers who shared moving testimonials, humorous anecdotes, and inspiring challenges. Jogi Bhagat, founder of Happy Living with Justice, spoke about how, as a young teen in India, he was inspired by Gandhi's autobiography, which he purchased with prize money from a school competition.  Jogi's daughter, Pragya Bhagat, a UT graduate and science teacher, steeped in Gandhian philosophy from childhood, said she didn't fully understand its meaning until, as a student at the University of Texas, she joined the Association for India's Development, which led her to a 6-month internship in Bhopal.

Thad Crouch, local faith-based activist and member of Veterans for Peace, ignited the audience with humor, pathos, and tales of Don Bobb as one of his heroes. Don Gardner, founder of the Peace Grove and co-founder of the former Austin Peace and Justice Coalition, traced the history of Don Bobb's activism and emphasized the importance of recognizing and honoring such leadership. Liz Yeats, founding member of ACPJ, spoke of Don's work in connecting, nurturing, and sustaining peacemakers.

Don’s role as pastor was remembered by fellow clergyman, Karl Gronberg, pastor of Gethsemane Lutheran Church, and by Laura McAfee, a member of Don’s (former) congregation at Hyde Park Presbyterian. They recalled Don as a master musician, mentioning the ease and joy with which he slid back and forth from pulpit to piano.  Gary Renfro, pastor of Corinth Missionary Baptist Church, created a powerful image of Don as a builder of bridges, establishing ties between CMBC and University Presbyterian, and between earthly and heavenly kingdoms.

To illustrate Don’s role as missionary, Randy Kerr-Wailing, documentary filmmaker, showed a sampling of images he captured on a recent trip to Congo with Don.

Jan Dawes, current Director of ACPJ, praised Don as a longtime developer of peacemakers, who could sit back and do some major laurel-resting. But such is not the case.  Stay tuned for his soon-to-be-released book and film!

Why save the date and celebrate? Because 60 years after his death, his message still reverberates!

A core principle of The Austin Center for Peace and Justice is Satyagraha, peaceful civil disobedience, as expressed in the words and actions of Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948).  This is a personal challenge for every peacemaker...and often a great struggle.  Gandhi gave his life to it and called it his "Experiment with Truth".  He urged his followers, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world".

So, every year, on his birthday, we pay greater attention to what Gandhi's "experiment with truth" teaches all of us...and we have a party!  Come join us for food, fun, and solidarity. Let us inspire each other to “be the change we wish to see”.

Thursday, October 2, 6:00 – 9:00 PM at Huston-Tillotson University, 900 Chicon St., Austin.

Tickets: $35 individual, $300 table of 10 

Tickets/Information: 799-5117 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

http://www.mkgandhi.org

GANDHI’S BIRTHDAY – OCTOBER 2

Thanks to All who made the house concert a rousing success!

To the practitioners who conducted the group session - The Therapy Sisters and Frank Meyer, exemplary peacemakers and accomplished (and fun!) musical performers.  If you missed the concert, missed getting CDs, or want to spread their therapy to others, check out their websites and enjoy their offerings.  thetherapysisters.com  and thangmaker.com

- Jennifer Long, who graciously hosted the crowd – on short notice, after it became necessary to change locations

- Vicky Aeschbacher, for postcard design, and her amazing paper crane artwork, “The Birds and the Beads”

- Doug Zachary, for his long-time activism, his fundraising skills, and his crowd-pleasing eloquence

- YOU, who showed up and made generous contributions, which are vital to the continuing work of the Austin Center for Peace and Justice. You continue to show up day after day, year after year moving through life creating peace by working for justice.  Thanks!!!