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…
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:
Additionally, the following organizations consider the Ecumenical Center their home:
A coalition of Northeast Wisconsin synagogues, churches, and other groups is hosting a very special free program. We have invited Amy-Jill Levine, professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, to be our “Scholar-in-Residence” May 14-16, 2010.
Why?
To encourage understanding and respect among the Jews and Christians in Northeastern Wisconsin through study of our common origins and through conversation and interaction.
About our speaker:
Amy-Jill Levine is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School, Graduate Department of Religion, and Program in Jewish Studies. Holding a B.A. from Smith College, an M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University, and several honorary doctorates, Professor Levine is an internationally renowned speaker and consultant on issues in Jewish-Christian relations. Along with numerous publications, including the award-winning The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus, Professor Levine has also done several taped series for the Teaching Company. She describes herself as a “Yankee Jewish Feminist who teaches New Testament in the buckle of the Bible belt.”
The Coalition Sponsoring the Scholar-in-Residence Weekend:
Come join us to support Freedom House. BYOD – Bring Your Own Donation (a nonperishable food item, gently used clothes, a couple of bucks, etc.) to get in.
In return, get tons of food (hamburgers, hot dogs, soda, veggie options…), outdoor games and great entertainment by Sara Zacek and Friends!
Let us know if you have any questions. Otherwise, come on over. Bring your friends, family, your dog, whoever. The event is open to the public!
Let’s party for a cause!
What are college students doing over Spring Break? Some are enjoying the warm weather of Orlando, FL, others are catching up on their homework, the third group is visiting family and friends “back home,” and then, a small group of UWGB students is…..RIGHT NOW, doing service in South Dakota.
The Ecumenical Center, a non-profit organization that serves the UWGB population, in collaboration with the University’s Office of Student Life, has sponsored a service immersion trip to the Pine Ridge reservation of the Lakota Native Americans in South Dakota. After a 15 hour ride, 12 students and a staff member arrived to Custer, SD this past Sunday, and for 6 days they will be contributing to this unique community while transforming the way they see and understand their own lives, consequently growing their leadership capacity.
The service trip has two main objectives according to Hung Nguyen, executive director of the Ecumenical Center. “One is to get people out of their comfort zone and learn a little bit about who they are and how they relate to the rest of the world,” he said, “The second reason is to give a selected few an opportunity to apply what they learn in their textbooks to day-to-day reality.”
Eager to learn from the Lakota people — about their life, culture, history and traditions, this group of volunteers will be working on renovating a home, splitting wood to provide fuel to heat people’s homes, and will be working with school kids.
According to Katie Kilsdonk, a junior business administration major and one of two trip leaders, this trip gives her an opportunity to “gain a better appreciation for the things I take for granted in my life.” Jenny Kuehl, another trip participant, joins in this feeling and adds her appreciation to the Ecumenical Center for providing an opportunity for students to learn about Native Americans.
“I think opportunities like this help an individual to grow into a better person, one who appreciates and values life and diversity of all people,” Kuehl said.
Since the Ecumenical Center is a nonprofit organization that operates independently from the University of Wisconsin system, students have worked hard to raise money for the supplies needed to do the various service projects while in South Dakota. They organized a bake sale, spaghetti dinner, and have written letters to their friends and family asking them to support their Spring Break endeavor.
“It is important that people support us and know what we are all about,” said Nguyen.
The trip is a partnership between the Ecumenical Center and the University’s Office of Student Life, “a great partnership,” according to Nguyen. “I think with any project, you have to have partners to pull it off,” he continued.
The Ecumenical Center hopes to continue to organize service trips in the future and is open to input. “Students should tell us where they want to go and what they want to do. We are always looking for input,” Nguyen concluded.
For more information, please visit: www.ecuwgb.org or contact Adi Redzic at 920.465.5133 or aredzic@ecuwgb.org.
On Sunday, February 28th, 2010 at 2:00 pm the Ecumenical Center will host a presentation that will show Afghanistan from a different, generally unknown viewpoint.
Remembering a Peaceful Afghanistan is a story about Steve Weerts who joined the Peace Corps at the age of 19, and worked at the Parwan Province, enhancing the lives of the local population. During that time he saw a peaceful country – an image rarely talked about in today’s mainstream media.
On his first trip to Afghanistan, Steve worked with the citizens there to help build civil projects. Under the project title “Food for Work,” wheat was distributed to a famished population. In return, citizens helped work on civic projects that built roads, bridges, dams, irrigation canals and schools.
The country had created such a strong impression on Steve that he returned in 1990 to assist Afghan refugees that were in Peshawar, Pakistan. He and his family, over the course of one year, assisted some of the 3 million Afghan refugees that were displaced as a result of the Soviet invasion.
Steve Weerts and his family worked with USAID Narcotics Awareness and Control to educate Afghan farmers on crops that could provide an economic equivalent to that of the poppy plant. This was in effort to reduce the poppy trade as well as educate about the dangers of Heroine and other narcotics.
Afghanistan had changed Steve Weerts life. He now is a Public Defender in Shawano, defending indigent people within the courtrooms. The country and the people of Afghanistan have touched Steve’s life, and as a way to give back, he will be giving a presentation on what peace was like before the Soviet invasion and what peace may look like in the years ahead.
For more information, contact Adi Redzic at 920.465.5133 or aredzic@ecuwgb.org.
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. — Taking part in a forty year tradition of the “simple supper” at the Ecumenical Center at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, the International Students will share many of their cultural dishes on November 2, 2009 Dinner for a Dollar event beginning at 5:00pm. The proceeds from the event will benefit the Freedom House in Green Bay.
The event began as a way for poor college students to dig into their near empty wallets while providing for those in need and sharing a meal together and engaging in a conversation at the Ecumenical Center. On the other hand, this event that once was solely sponsored by the Center, is now an outreach opportunity for various local organizations and groups that prepare the meal and then tell the attendees a little bit about the work they do or their backgrounds.
At the Ecumenical Center anything is possible… including just a dollar or a canned food item in exchange for a delicious meal from around the world.
The Freedom House in Green Bay reaches out to the community by serving those who are
homeless, helpless, and hopeless in the Greater Green Bay area. Many of their programs assist families spiritually, emotionally, socially, physically, financially, and intellectually.
With over one hundred students attending Dinner for a Dollar, their small contribution helps make a difference in the lives of over 835 families and over 1807 children that the Freedom House helps throughout any given year.
Freedom House was chosen as the non-profit organization for Dinner for a Dollar during the 2009-2010 academic year with December 7th , February 1st , March 1st , April 5th , and May 3rd dates remaining.
From one non-profit organization to another, different groups provide a meal for Dinner for a Dollar in order to keep the tradition alive while supporting another local nonprofit organization.
Join in an effort to support those in need by attending Dinner for a Dollar.
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.
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