Christmas Concert

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet invite you to an evening of delightful exploration of the true meaning of Christmas through music.

Tim Janis and the Choir of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Troy will present a concert on Monday, December 6th at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Provincial House Chapel in Latham.

Tim Janis is one of America ’s most accomplished and beloved young composers. With well over one million albums sold, numerous National Public TV Specials and 10 Billboard-Charting CD’s, Tim Janis creates what many in the media have called Music with a Mission, music projects which aim to advance important causes through music.

This event is free and open to the public. There will be an opportunity to make a donation to assist the ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

For a preview, we invite you to visit Tim Janis at his website, www.timjanis.com.

This event is possible through the generosity of Tim Janis and the John, Marie and Joseph Whelan Foundation

Work of Human Hands Schedule

The Commission on Peace and Justice is working with local churches to present the annual Work of Human Hands sale. All of the items being sold are “fairly traded,” which means that we participate in a system that not only aims to pay fair wages, but also creates long-term, direct trading relationships with farmers and artisans around the world based on dialogue, transparency, equity and respect. Fair trade is not about charity; it uses a fair system of exchange to empower producers to develop their own businesses and to foster sustainable development. We follow a set of internationally-accepted fair trade principles and practices that are designed to improve the livelihood of low-income people through alternative trade, including:

Commitment to fair pay for labor, equal opportunity for women, concern for the environment, respect for cultural identity, reasonable working conditions, and no child exploitation.

Here is the schedule for the rest of the year:

Nov. 27-29 Immaculate Conception, Glenville

Dec. 1-2 Pastoral Center

Dec. 4-5 St. Helen’s, Schenectady
St. John the Baptist, Valatie
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, Rotterdam
St. Joseph’s, Greenfield Center

Dec. 11-12 St. Vincent’s, Albany
Chapel & Cultural Center, Troy
St. Gabriel’s, Rotterdam

Dec. 18-19 St. Peter’s, Saratoga Springs

CRS Responds to Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

Catholic Relief Services reports:

A cholera outbreak in central Haiti has left 250 people dead and more than 3,000 ill. Haitian president Rene Preval confirmed the outbreak on Friday, October 22, after first reports of the illness and deaths were made in St. Marc in the southern Artibonite department, the center of the Cholera spate about 60-miles northwest of Port-au-Prince.

Health officials now fear the spread of the disease to the camps of Port-au-Prince, where more than one million displaced people still live. Poor sanitation and hygiene in the settlements make people there particularly vulnerable to the disease, which causes diarrhea and vomiting so severe that it can kill a person within hours. The Associated Press stated that five cholera patients have been reported in Haiti’s capital, but government officials said Sunday that all five apparently contracted cholera outside Port-au-Prince.

Catholic Relief Services mobilized a massive response just 1 day after the cholera outbreak was confirmed. CRS and partner staff went tent to tent in 12 camps in Port-au-Prince, distributing three bars of soap each to more than 10,000 families (more than 50,000 people) and reaching as many people through an information campaign (simple flyers in Creole) that promotes hand washing and personal hygiene.

CRS’ health team, with colleagues from the University of Maryland, has also been working to help 7 CRS supported hospitals around the country prepare to respond to a possible influx of cholera patients.

You can learn more here.

Work of Human Hands Schedule

The Commission on Peace and Justice is working with local churches to present the annual Work of Human Hands sale. All of the items being sold are “fairly traded,” which means that we participate in a system that not only aims to pay fair wages, but also creates long-term, direct trading relationships with farmers and artisans around the world based on dialogue, transparency, equity and respect. Fair trade is not about charity; it uses a fair system of exchange to empower producers to develop their own businesses and to foster sustainable development. We follow a set of internationally-accepted fair trade principles and practices that are designed to improve the livelihood of low-income people through alternative trade, including:

Commitment to fair pay for labor, equal opportunity for women, concern for the environment, respect for cultural identity, reasonable working conditions, and no child exploitation.

Here is the schedule for November 20-21:
St. Patrick’s, Ravena
Sacred Heart, Castleton-on-Hudson

For the rest of the year:

Nov. 27-29 Immaculate Conception, Glenville

Dec. 1-2 Pastoral Center

Dec. 4-5 St. Helen’s, Schenectady
St. John the Baptist, Valatie
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, Rotterdam
St. Joseph’s, Greenfield Center

Dec. 11-12 St. Vincent’s, Albany
Chapel & Cultural Center, Troy
St. Gabriel’s, Rotterdam

Dec. 18-19 St. Peter’s, Saratoga Springs

Presentation on Haiti

The Commission on Peace and Justice of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany is sponsoring a presentation on Post-Disaster Community Development in Haiti on Wednesday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Pastoral Center, 40 N. Main Avenue in Albany (between Western & Washington Avenues).

Christophe Rodrigue and Josue Andre of Haiti will be joined by Loretta Pyles, PhD (Univ. at Albany, SUNY).

The majority of Haitians are peasant farmers who receive none of the government services that we take for granted: no water, sanitation, electricity, roads or schools.

Those whose families cannot survive by farming alone migrate to the cities in search of jobs. One reason so many Haitians died in the January 12th earthquake was the overcrowding in Port-au-Prince.

Come, be inspired as two community organizers and an American colleague describe their work in Haiti’s rural regions to empower the population and improve their communities.

Work of Human Hands

The Commission on Peace and Justice is working with local churches to present the annual Work of Human Hands sale. All of the items being sold are “fairly traded,” which means that we participate in a system that not only aims to pay fair wages, but also creates long-term, direct trading relationships with farmers and artisans around the world based on dialogue, transparency, equity and respect. Fair trade is not about charity; it uses a fair system of exchange to empower producers to develop their own businesses and to foster sustainable development. We follow a set of internationally-accepted fair trade principles and practices that are designed to improve the livelihood of low-income people through alternative trade, including:

Commitment to fair pay for labor, equal opportunity for women, concern for the environment, respect for cultural identity, reasonable working conditions, and no child exploitation.

Here is the schedule for November 13-14:

Our Lady of Grace, Ballston Lake
St. Joseph’s, Scotia
Assumption/St. Paul’s, Mechanicville

Tax Myths

In the most recent issue of Commonweal magazine, Charles Morris writes:

Recently, when speaking to a number of businessmen, I came to realize how convinced they were that America is a high-tax country, which just happens not to be so. But, then, almost everything that everyone, liberals and conservatives alike, thinks about taxes is not so. Here are a few of the standard myths.

Myth 1: Americans Pay High Taxes Each year, the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), a research group sponsored by the thirty leading industrial countries, publishes an analysis of comparative tax burdens—taxes actually paid as a percent of the Gross Domestic Product. They include all taxes—sales, income, property, whatever, imposed by all levels of government. And they count actual tax revenues—in other words, they measure what governments do, not what they say.

The most recent data are for 2007. And guess what? The United States, as usual, ranked twenty-seventh out of the thirty, trailed only by Korea, Turkey, and Mexico. The total American tax burden is about 28 percent of GDP; the OECD median is about 36 percent; and the highest, in Denmark, is 48 percent.

To learn the other myths, and the facts, go here.

Voter Turn-out

Celeste Katz of The Daily News reports here that in this week’s election, “the statewide voter turnout was about 39%, based on the unofficial results for the governor’s race: 4.1 million, based on the April registration total of 10.6 million voters. It was even lower in the city: Just 30% of its 4.1 million voters showed up.”

This is in line with a recent commentary by Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group here:

Why is it that just when New Yorkers get interested in elections, they often find out it's too late to register and vote? With everything else going on in their lives, voters are most likely to "tune in" to candidates' campaigns within weeks - not months - of Election Day.

However, New York requires that voters register at least 25 days before an election. In 2008 election, the Presidential debates had not ended by New York's registration deadline. This year the only governor's debate was on October 18th - 10 days after the voter registration deadline. So, just as some citizens become interested in an election and may wish to vote, they are prohibited from doing so due to New York's voter registration deadline.

Historically, New York has had one of the worst voter turnouts of any state in the nation. In the recent 2008presidential election, a paltry 50.8% of the voting age population turned out at the polls - one of the worst state turnouts. This turnout stands in stark contrast to the rest of the country. The national average voter turnout was 56.9% .

New York's voter registration deadline is not the only reason why its participation rate is so dismal, but it's a factor. According to a recent analysis, states with shorter registration deadlines tend to have higher voter turnouts than states with longer ones. And states that allow voters to register and then vote on Election Day tend to have the highest voter turnouts. In the 2008 election, states that allowed Election Day Registration (EDR) averaged 7% higher turnout than states without EDR.

This is an issue that deserves further study.

Soldier's Heart

Wednesday, November 3, 2010, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
405 Washington Ave. Albany

Soldier's Heart is pleased to introduce our honored guests from Vietnam. This is a special opportunity for former adversaries to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness. The dialog is open to all, but especially Vietnam veterans and their families. It is our hope that, through respectful and openhearted dialog, veterans from both sides of the conflict can achieve the kind of understanding and healing that they do on our annual Healing Journeys to Vietnam.

Since most Vietnam War veterans will not have the opportunity to go back to Vietnam, this event offers them a unique occasion for meaningful personal dialog, one that could change how they view the war and themselves forever.

Our Guests:

Tran Dinh Song was an ARVN (southern) air force veteran allied to US for 7 1/2 years, then spent 2 1/2 years in re-education camps after the war. He is an international cultural liaison, travel guide, former high school teacher. He is fluent in English, and has a MA in American Studies. He can speak on his personal experiences during the war, and everything about Viet Nam from history, culture, Buddhism, war and post-war histories and experiences from all points of view, reconciliation. He also talks about comparisons and contrasts between Vietnamese and American cultures. Mr. Song will serve as translator for our other guests.

Tam Tien is a Viet Cong veteran of many years, was severely wounded and left for dead, and has an amazing story of survival, rebirth and healing. He is a farmer and tourist host in the Mekong Delta. Before the war he was an elementary school teacher. He hates war but joined the VC after Americans bombed his school to cinders. He enjoys talking about the war from the Vietnamese perspective, international healing and reconciliation, Vietnamese agriculture and rural traditions.

Prof. Nguyen Minh Thai is a poet, journalist and chair of Communications and Journalism Dept, Univ. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hanoi. She lived in Hanoi during the war with the U.S. and lost several family members to the bombings there. She is a leading poet, culture critic, and educator in Viet Nam as well as an expert on Vietnamese literature and culture in all aspects.

Please R.S.V.P. to 274-0501