You are invited to join hundreds of students and community members who will gather at the Ecumenical Center on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010 at 5 pm to celebrate the beginning of a new academic year at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Live music, free food and outdoor games will bring the community together.

And while students meet new or reconnect with old friends, they will be joined in celebration by the UWGB Chancellor Thomas Harden, the UWGB faculty and staff and members of the local community.

The event is free and open to the public. Local professional band(s) will perform cover songs. And the media is invited to include this event in calendar announcements and report on it (before and after.)

This event is co-sponsored by the Ecumenical Center, a not-for-profit organization, and the UWGB Alumni Association.

Rain site will be inside the Ecumenical Center.

Camp Lloyd at the Ecumenical Center this week! Awesome. This camp has truly been transformational for so many kids and we love having them every June!

Read more about the camp here: http://www.uwgb.edu/camplloyd/

THE ECUMENICAL CENTER
At the University of Wisconsin­Green Bay

A BRIEF MID­-YEAR REPORT
May­-December 2009

Since May 15 to the end of December 2009, much activity took place at the Ecumenical
Center. This is a summary of some of the major accomplishments during these six months.

We have…

• Hosted over 250 activities, programs and meetings
• Engaged over 600 students and another 200 community members
• Re-engaged with over 850 friends of the Ecumenical Center
• Held a retreat with all of the Center’s stakeholders to better define various components of our mission, vision and brand
• De-cluttered the building and moved the furniture around in order to create a new lounge, 3 small study rooms, entrance lounge, a prayer area and a reflection space
• Engaged about 30 volunteers who helped us paint the exterior of the building
• Launched a new website that has brought over 800 unique visitors and 40,000 hits between August and December 2009 (www.ecuwgb.org)
• Developed an active social media presence with hundreds of people as our connections
• Launched an internal Goolge-based website to help us track all of our activities
• Begun developing a new, consistent and cohesive brand identity for the Center and produced a series of promotional materials to reflect the change and new energy, including:
  • New logo, business cards, letterhead, thank you cards;
  • Individual program promotional materials: posters, postcards, invitations;
  • The Ecumenical Center self-guided tour materials – to better introduce the space;
  • The Ecumenical Center Overview Packet
  • Published an 8 page, full color newsletter
  • Wrote new policies
  • Developed an employee handbook
  • Developed a Board of Directors Binder
  • Recruited new member to the Board of Directors
  • Secured a Protestant Chaplain for the academic year
  • Established a solid working relationship with the Catholic Campus Minister
  • Recruited a number of new interns and conducted staff retreat & trainings
  • Conducted a student survey that resulted in the unprecedented 400 responses—a significant increase from last year’s 63
  • Produced a short video/commercial that can be viewed at www.ecuwgb.org

In terms of programming, we have modified some old and launched a number of new programs and we have collaborated with dozens of organizations to host hundreds of others. Many of these programs take place weekly; some are held monthly and some are only a one-time program or held annually:

• Backyard Bash
• Food for Thought
• In the Path of the Buddha
• International Peace Day
• Make it So: Personal Values and the Star-Trek Universe
• International Student Potluck
• Midweek Moment of Prayer
• Catholic Mass
• Small Catholic Communities
• Bible Studies
• Dinner for a Dollar
• Faculty & Staff Ecumenical Dialouge Meeting
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) Pastors Meeting
• 350: Ringing in Change Rally on creation care
• Celebrating a New Day
• Tuesdays with Mauthe
• Trick ‘n’ Treat, from students to kids
• Unity Hospice Services
• Southeast Asian Student Union
• Traditional Oneida Social
• Finals Week Cookies and Cram
• Weddings took place at the Center
• Learning in Retirement

Additionally, the following organizations consider the Ecumenical Center their home:

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Interfaith Men
• Alpha Omega
• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IV)
• Ballroom Club
• Latter-day Saints Student Association
• Choir
• Lena Mennonites
• Christ Living Among Students (CLAS)
• Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
• College Crafters
• open office hours
• Dance Team
• Newman Catholic Student Community
• Eckankar
• Philosophy Forum
• Fox Valley Friends (Quakers)Resident Assistants
• Habitat for Humanity

Building on a tradition that began nearly forty years ago, Ecumenical Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and organizations from the community team up to prepare a meal for Dinner for a Dollar once a month.  St. Mark?s Lutheran Church in De Pere and Green Bay will sponsor the December 7 dinner beginning at 5:00 pm at the Ecumenical Center. A meal made with love will be served in exchange for a dollar or a nonperishable food item from attendees that will benefit the Freedom House in Green Bay.

College students have found that Dinner for a Dollar has allowed them to give back with the little that they have along with sharing a home-cooked meal with others, benefiting those in need at the Freedom House.

Without a place like the Freedom House in Green Bay, individuals of all ages would go to bed at night hungry, cold, and hopeless.  With the money profits collected at Dinner for a Dollar, the Freedom House can provide fifteen children with a pair of warm mittens and a hat or school supplies for ten children. Although their need is great, every little bit that is provided helps to give a fresh start and change the lives of children and families that have had a  rough patch in the road.

The Ecumenical Center has chosen the Freedom House to benefit from the profits of Dinner for a Dollar throughout the 2009-2010 academic year. The remaining dinners will take place on February 1st, March 1st, April 5th, and May 3rd and will be sponsored by the various organizations from the community.

Making a small impact in the community can make a large difference in the world.  By attending Dinner for a Dollar you can help keep the tradition of helping others alive.

For more information, please visit: www.ecuwgb.org or contact Adi Redzic at 920.465.5133 or aredzic@ecuwgb.org.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Rev. Richard Mauthe, one of the guiding spirits behind the Ecumenical Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, is returning for a series of conversations that begin Nov. 3.

Mauthe, an ordained Catholic priest, was Newman Center Chaplain at the Green Bay Extension of the University of Wisconsin when the UW-Green Bay became an independent campus. When area religious groups joined together to create the Ecumenical Center, Mauthe became its first executive director. Mauthe was at the Ecumenical Center for more than 30 years, before his reassignment to St. Louis Parish in Dykesville.

Formally retired, Mauthe serves as weekend assistant at Stella Maris Parish in Door County and as chaplain to the Sister of St. Francis of the Holy Cross. But he?s coming back to the Ecumenical Center for a series of dinner conversations that will remember the past, celebrate the present, and believe in the future.

Programs will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3, Dec. 1, February 2, March 2, April 6 and May 4. The programs are free and the public is welcome.

So organizers know how much food to prepare, they ask that attendees RSVP by calling the
Ecumenical Center at (920) 465-5133, or e-mail info@ecuwgb.org.

Please review the program page on the Ecumenical Center website providing detailed
information on the program, including themes for each of the 6 dinner conversations.

For more information, please visit: www.ecuwgb.org or contact Adi Redzic at 920.465.5133 or aredzic@ecuwgb.org.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – 350 is becoming something of a world phenomenon.

Former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore has endorsed the effort over 9 months ago. His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama has come out in favor of it, together with millions of people in 152 countries around the globe.

And this is not it.

Nicholas Stern–one of the most important climate economists in the world–has endorsed the effort, together with the Nobel Prize Winner, the UN?s chief climate scientist, India?s Rajendra Pachauri.

And the heart of New York City, the Times Square will showcase what activities took place on October 24, 2009. On the big screens in the center of Big Apple, thousands of photos will be shown to the world, expressing the commitment of millions.

And these photos may also showcase what people of Green Bay plan on doing on the 24th.
On October 24, 2009 at 6:30 pm, 350 people will ring 350 bells for 3 minutes and 50 seconds at the Ecumenical Center on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus.

Tell the story to the world beforehand, and then come join us on the 24th to call for action, together.

For more information, please visit: www.ecuwgb.org or contact Adi Redzic at 920.465.5133 or aredzic@ecuwgb.org.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On October 24, 2009 at exactly 6:30 pm, 350 students at the University
of Wisconsin-Green Bay will ring 350 bells for 3 minutes and 50 seconds. They will ring the bells and they will call for change. They will call YOU to action.

The Ecumenical Center at the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay announced this morning that they will be hosting this historic rally on October 24 at 6:30 pm.

“This is the last chance for action,” said Hung Nguyen, executive director of the Ecumenical Center.

The rally will coincide with over 2,528 other actions that will take place that day in 125 countries across the world. All activities have one purpose in mind: CALL FOR CHANGE.

The initiative was inspired by the 350.org, an international non-profit that is organizing people, all across the globe, to send a powerful message to the United Nations.

After NASA?s James Hansen and his climate team produced a number of studies last year, they discovered that “if we let the amount of carbon in the atmosphere top 350 parts per million, we can?t have a planet ?similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted.?”

The bad news: “we have already passed that number – we are at 390 parts per million, which is why the arctic is melting, why drought is spreading across the planet, why people are already dying from diseases like dengue fever and malaria occurring in places where they?ve never been seen before.”

October 24 is the International Day of Climate Action and it comes six weeks before the crucial United Nations meetings on climate change take place in Copenhagen. 350.org will deliver photographs from all events that took place across the world that day to that meeting, effectively sending a visual message that the world is united behind this cause.

After ringing of the bells, students and community members that participate in the rally will have an opportunity to learn from various community organizations on how they can lower their footprint. Ecumenical Center expects a number of local environmental organizations to set up booths inside the Center and educate on what one can do to help.

October 24 will be a joyful, powerful day that will unite the world.

For more information, please visit: www.ecuwgb.org or contact Adi Redzic at 920.465.5133 or aredzic@ecuwgb.org.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Thursday, September 3 will mark the beginning of a new academic year for students, faculty and staff at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. To celebrate this new beginning, the Ecumenical Center and the UWGB Alumni Association will partner to host a campus-wide picnic.

The picnic – or – Backyard Bash will bring together the members of the university community for free food, live music, yard games, the Ecumenical Center open house, and great conversations.

This annual event is expected to draw hundreds, and it will feature some of the area?s most promising musicians, including Mike Casey and Z-man?s Acoustic Show.

The event, which is open to the entire university community, is scheduled to start at 5:30 pm, with formal program to begin at 6 pm in the backyard of the Ecumenical Center. The rain site will be inside the Center.

For more information, please visit: www.ecuwgb.org or contact Adi Redzic at 920.465.5133 or aredzic@ecuwgb.org.

Green Bay, Wis., June 15, 2009 – On Monday, June 22, Camp Lloyd, a weeklong day camp for grieving children ages 7 to 14 who are grieving the loss of loved ones, will return for its fourth year. Partnering with The Ecumenical Center, this year’s camp is offered Monday through Friday, June 22-26, and it will include some big changes from prior camps, said camp founder and director Prof. Illene Noppe.

“Instead of a half-day program, we’ve moved to a full-day program, giving the campers more time to make friends, have fun and remember that it’s OK to be a kid, even after a loss,” Noppe said. “The extra time allows us to provide more opportunities for healing for the campers.”

Camp days start at 8:30 a.m. and last until 5:45 p.m. Prior years had campers participating only in the afternoons, Noppe said.

New activities this year include a session with therapy dogs from Compassionate Canines out of Kaukauna and a planned trip to Bay Beach Amusement Park. Other popular activities that have been a part of camp include daily healing circles, the creation of memory boxes for lost loved ones, arts and crafts, singing songs and playing music, tie-dying shirts, kickball, broomball, swimming, basketball with the Phoenix men’s team, hiking, parachute games and more.

Camp Lloyd provides a safe and fun environment for children to learn they’re not alone in dealing with grief. It gives campers time to explore their own experiences of grief, realize their feelings are normal and find support from one another.

The Camp Lloyd staff includes 15 UW-Green Bay student counselors who form special bonds with the campers. Prof. Deirdre Radosevich, a child clinical psychologist, and Gail Trimberger, a lecturer at UW-Green Bay and licensed clinical social worker, will run the group grief support
for the campers.

“We’re excited and ready to meet and work with our new kids,” Noppe said. “We want to give them a wonderful week that will hopefully help them learn how to cope and learn that it’s OK to find joy in life again.”

Camp Lloyd started as a dream of Noppe, a professor of Human Development at UW-Green Bay. She was motivated by the experience of her husband Lloyd, who lost his father at a very young age. Illene believes that had a camp like this existed for Lloyd, he would have benefited greatly from knowing that other children were coping with similar situations and emotions.

The cost per camper is $35 for the week. The rate is $50 for the week if a family has more than one child attending. Grant funding is available for families with extenuating circumstances.