JUBILEE OREGON EVENTS AND MEETINGS – FALL 2009

• September -Sign Up for Jubilee book group – Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women by Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.  Discussion begins in late September – time and location to be determined. 

• September 30 -7PM            Northwest Film Center Voices in Action film series.  UN Millennium Development Goals film.  Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Avenue.  www.nwfilm.org

• October 1, 6:30-8:30PM        Jubilee OR monthly meeting at Westminster Presbyterian Church, NE 16^th and Hancock Streets.  Update on Stand UP actions, Jubilee Act – Oregon Congressional delegation and November fundraiser plans.

• October 13, 7-9PM, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Annual Community Awards and Celebration Dinner, Jubilee Oregon is receiving the Vollum Humanitarian Award. The Hilton Hotel.  Call EMO at 503-221-1054 for dinner tickets. Cost: $60.

• October 17, 12:30-3PM                Stand Up and Take Action against Poverty event at Portland State University, Hoffman Hall.  Join Thomas Lauderdale, Chata Addy and Loveness Wesa for music and dance.  Listen to former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse talk about women’s empowerment and take action with more than 12 global organizations for global food security.  Suggested contribution:  $10 – proceeds benefit Mercy Corps and the Oregon Food Bank.

• November 5, 6:30-8:30PM            Jubilee OR monthly meeting –location to be determined.    

• Week of November 7, 2009 –  Jubilee OR/USA fundraiser – Learn to cook with master chef, Andrea Cano, recipes from Asia, Africa and Latin America.  Food and drink included.  $75 per person. Location to be determined. 

• December 1                World AIDS Day.  For information, check www.pagac.org about the 9 and ½ Minute Campaign!

• December 3- 4, 5-8PM – Ten Thousand Villages hosts its annual Jubilee holiday sale.  Shop for your friends and family and benefit Jubilee OR.

• www.jubileeoregon.wordpress.com  Annual Jubilee OR holiday party.  Join us as we celebrate the end of the year and dedicate ourselves to passing the Jubilee Act in 2010!

Jubilee Oregon Wins Big

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, a statewide association of Christian denominations congregations, ecumenical organizations and interfaith partners, just awarded Jubilee Oregon with the Vollum Ecumenical Humanitarian Award!

This award is presented in recognition of how an outstanding commitment to humanitarian responsibility has significantly enhanced ecumenical efforts in the state and quality of life for all.

Jubilee Oregon will be honored at the biggest Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon event of the year – the Annual Dinner and Community Celebration – on October 13, 2009 with with over 1400 faith communities invited. If you’re in the area, you should stop by. Enjoy the party – you deserve it!

by Annah Sidigu

Jubilee Oregon was pleased to receive Archbishop
Desmond Tutu at our monthly board meeting today. Archbishop Tutu, the
father of the Jubilee movement, stopped by on the way to his  scheduled
engagements to offer a few words of encouragement and reflection.

Archbishop Tutu’s remarks were hopeful and tempered with realism.
Emphatic in his belief that no one can win the war against terrorism, the
Archbishop also noted that, if we reduced our war expenditure, we could spend
more money on feeding the hungry across the world. This, he posited, is not
charity nor merely kindness—it is our responsibility if we are to be the
good stewards of the world that God has created for all of us.

It seems safe to say that everyone present was buoyed by the Archbishop’s
wisdom, humor and humility. Jubilee Oregon thanks Archbishop Tutu and his son,
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, and all of the Congressional staffers and
member congregation representatives who were present.

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Board members meeting with Sen Merkley’s staff in Portland…

The meeting begins….

Getting down to business…

Everybody wants a tee shirt…

Jubilee Oregon E-Newsletter

January 28, 2008

 ♥ What’s on Your Heart Campaign ♥

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Earlier this week Jubilee launched the What’s on Your Heart campaign. Join with thousand of others to urge the new administration not to close its heart to the needs of our impoverished sisters and brothers around the world.

We hope that Jubilee Congregations will participate by making paper hearts with messages for our new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner — just a phrase (for example “cancel Haiti’s debt” or “stop vulture funds” or just “drop the debt!”) is fine. Don’t forget to sign your heart with your contact information. Check www.jubileeusa.org for sample messages you can use.

Special postcards addressed to Treasury Secretary Geithner are also available. Or send a message electronically.

We will personally deliver all of your messages to the new Treasury Secretary soon after inauguration day on January 20th.

Happy Holidays – we look forward to receiving your hearts in the new year!

- Chris Laing

Our High School Kids are Amazing

As part of our Jubilee USA advocacy, we are participating in the “What’s in Your Heart” campaign. We, along with the many other Jubilee congregations across the country, are sending messages to the new Treasury Secretary about actions he should do to allow poor countries in the Global South to meet their needs for health care, education and economic improvement.

I visited Havurah High School and asked the students to send a message to the Treasury Secretary Designate a message. We have a group of great kids; we had about 30 kids send postcards or create Heart Messages. The messages were insightful, sensitive and demonstrated an understanding of the issues. Here are some excepts from these messages:

Give $$ to the poor who need it. Stop vulture funds and stop Haiti’s debt if you find the time. Anonymous

Don’t be a blanket that is wet. Reduce the debt! Reduce the debt! Ari Kogan

Please repay climate debt to the global south. The north has made the biggest contribution to global warming while the south suffers the highest cost. The Obama administration should provide grants rather than loans to poor countries to adapt to climate change. Anonymous

Many poor countries like Kenya and Bangladesh need debt relief to fight poverty and expand education and health care, but they are not eligible under the current program. Remember, even the USA needed debt relief from France when we started up. Amelia Wolf

- Bob Brown

Spotlight on Tira Nesset:

Jubilee Oregon’s Newest Board Member

Hello! My name is Tira Nesset, the newest member of the board for Jubilee Oregon.

My road to Jubilee started with a spiritual awakening. Despondent over the barrage of news reports of war, suffering and injustice in the world, I began to lament. I felt, as the psalmist cried – Where are you, God?

A woman of great spiritual discernment pointed out to me that the voice of God is alive and working through those whose hands are busy with the work of seeking justice.  GET UP AND GET BUSY!

I became active in the One Campaign, signing petitions and becoming educated in the issues surrounding extreme poverty.

At the 2007 Harambee event, The Day of the African Child, I picked up brochures on Jubilee Oregon.  I was hungry for a way to take what I had learned from my experience with the One Campaign and put it to work locally with other people on the same page.

The accomplishments of Jubilee Oregon in making the issues of odious debt and global poverty a priority for our state leadership is nothing short of tremendous. This is group of BUSY people! Busy with the work of justice and seeking peace. Busy making a big difference.

I was honored by the welcome I received upon joining this group and feel truly privileged to be elected to the board. There is always much to be done, and I look forward to being part of this exciting opportunity to make a difference.

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Jubilee Oregon Advocacy

Advocacy Actions

The Jubilee Oregon advocacy committee intends to arrange meetings with our new members of congress: Kurt Schrader and Jeff Merkley to get their support for both the Jubilee Act and the Vulture Fund Act. We have a meeting with the local aid from Senator Merkley’s office early in February.

David Carrier was able to meet with the legislative assistants at both offices in DC. From David: “Neither aid was very familiar with debt relief, so we explained the basics and answered questions, for the most part. I described the grassroots organizing we had done to bring attention to the matter. Our ‘ask’ was very simply that they sign on as cosponsors of the Jubilee Act. Then to our delight and surprise, Sen. Merkley came out to greet us and talk about the Jubilee Act. He was very familiar with the details of debt relief, the important of meeting the MDG’s, the necessity of rebuilding our image in the world, etc., and was very comfortable talking about it. He said something close to ‘I see no reason why I couldn’t support it, but will have to look into the details before I make any commitments.’”

Jubilee Act to Be Reintroduced

The main thrust for Jubilee Advocacy at the national level is the reintroduction and passage of the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending. In the House, we expect Maxine Waters to reintroduce the bill early in the session. It is hoped that what will be introduced will include the amendments as incorporated in the 2008 legislation, Haiti debt cancellation language and possibly vulture funds language. On the Senate side, we know that Senator Casey has agreed to introduce and support the bill. It will be important to get new legislators to cosponsor the bill.

Vulture Funds

Maxine Waters will reintroduce the Vulture Funds legislation early in the session. There will be a grassroots effort to get sponsorship, something there wasn’t time for during the last legislative session.  But pay attention to the legislation that may be introduced by banks that support the vulture fund institutions: The Judgment Abating Foreign Accountability Act. There will be an effort from many groups to prevent this legislation from being introduced.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Jubilee Oregon Monthly Meetings

Join us for our monthly meetings – Sundays, February 8 and March 8, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, NE Hancock and 16th Street.  The location is close to bus lines and there is a parking lot.  Entrance on NE Hancock.  Topics include – Legislative visits with Oregon Congressional delegation re: Jubilee ACT and other actions.

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Jubilee Oregon Congregations Meeting

Monday, February 9, 2009

4:00-5:30PM

Holladay Park Plaza, corner of NE 16th and Multnomah St.

Ask for the Jubilee meeting when you sign in.

This meeting is open to all interested congregations whether you have formally declared yourself as a Jubilee congregation or not.  For agenda items, please email Chris Laing at chris.27@comcast.net.

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Town Hall on the Economic Crisis

Saturday January 31, 2009 at 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

First Unitarian Church

1011 SW 12th Ave.

Delicious food and reception to follow (Doors open at 12:30 pm.)
Donations welcome.
Please bring non-perishable food items for the Oregon Food Bank

While almost $2.5 trillion of our money was squandered on easy term loans to banks and investment houses, we lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008! One million jobs were lost just between Nov. 1st and Dec. 31st of 2008. With a good deal more suffering likely, we are in the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression.

* What are the root causes of the economic crisis?
* What should we fight for? What is a “recovery?”
* How do the millions of people who voted for change help make it happen?

Economists, labor leaders, and community leaders, experts in their fields, will share their perspectives on these questions. We will have workshops and conversations about winning back the right to organize, the role of the labor movement, the kind of health care reform we need, creating a green economy, staying united, building a thriving local sustainable economy, and more.

It’s time for a change. Don’t miss this event! Bring friends and family. Doors open at 12:30 pm. Be sure to get a seat.

Visit www.jwjpdx.org for more information.

Jubilee Oregon and AFSC are cosponsors of this event. Jubilee Oregon will do a panel presentation on the links between our domestic economic crisis and the global economic crisis.

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Havurah Shalom

Scholar-in-Residence

February 27 – March 1, 2009

Please save the dates for this special weekend when Professor Edward Kaplan of Brandeis University will be our Scholar-in-Residence

“Shabbat: Abraham Joshua Heschel and his Palace in Time”

Friday Evening Service, Discussion with Ed Kaplan, 8 p.m.

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“Heschel’s Guidance: Rules for the World of Jewish Political Engagement”

Sunday Morning Workshop with Ed Kaplan, 9 a.m.

Bagel Breakfast $10 for non-members, free for Havurah members

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All events will be held at Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18^th Avenue, Portland

To RSVP or for more information, call or email 503-248-4662 or info@havurahshalom.org.

Kaplan, who won the National Jewish Book Award for American Jewish Studies this past year, is a famous scholar of religious activists and thinkers, and perhaps best known as a biographer of the great American rabbi and theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Heschel had an original way of connecting Jewish tradition with the critical social and political issues of our day. Though he looked like an old-world rabbi with flowing white hair and beard, Heschel marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma and led protests with the Berrigan brothers against the War in Vietnam. He wrote extensively on every phase of Jewish thought and commented in print, on television, and in person on the importance of scientific research, the psychedelic culture, and the sham of institutional religion. He wasn’t afraid to make enemies among strict observers and in the midst of those who looked to accommodate the superficial trends of modernity. Those who learned at his feet regard him as opening a pathway to spiritual knowledge and self-awareness.

Heschel’s biographer Ed Kaplan will help us understand the internal forces that compelled Heschel to take his strict observance of Jewish teachings and practices into the street; and we know that he will spark that inquiry about our own relationships with past, present and future during the weekend.

- Bob Brown

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Ecumenical Advocacy Days

March 13-16, 2009 – Washington, DC

Check www.jubileeusa.org for information and registration.  Jubilee USA Network and Jubilee OR have scholarship funds available.  Deadline to apply – February 6, 2009.  This is an annual advocacy training event – Jubilee USA Network organizes the economic justice track.

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Save the Date!

Bishop Desmond Tutu will speak on May 4th at the University of Portland.  For more information, visit www.emoregon.org.  Jubilee OR is planning an event to welcome and thank Bishop Tutu for his leadership on debt cancellation.

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RELATED EVENTS

The PCC-sponsored African Film Festival begins February 6-March 7, 2009 at the Cascade campus. For more information, see www.africanfilmfestival.org.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Work to end global poverty and to promote global economic justice. Jubilee Oregon, a local chapter of a national and global network to cancel the debt of the world’s poorest countries, is seeking persons who are interested in global issues, to assign with various action campaigns.

Volunteers are needed to assist at educational and action events – staff information tables at public events, sign people up for Jubilee justice campaigns, and work on website updates and newsletters.  Email jubileeoregon@gmail.com with your name, contact information and a brief description of your skills and experience.  We look forward to working with you to achieve 100% debt cancellation without harmful economic conditions.

Jubilee Oregon E-Newsletter

Nov. 21, 2008

If you have an image of a predator circling, looking for prey, then your image of vulture funds is pretty accurate. “’Vulture fund’ is a name given to a company that seeks to make a profit by buying up ‘bad’ debt at a cheap price, then trying to recover the full amount, often by suing through the courts.” These funds are very secretive and are often organized in tax haven countries where there are little reporting requirements. These companies exist to make a lot of money to the detriment of the country whose debt they would like to own. The following example illustrates how this works in real life:

Zambia borrowed $15 million from Romania in 1979. In the 1990s, because of crushing poverty, Zambia was not able to pay toward their debt and became eligible for the process qualify for debt relief from the World Bank and the IMF. They began negotiations to clear their debt. In 1999, in swoops Donegal International (the vulture fund). Donegal bought the $30 million debt (the original debt plus accrued interest) for $3.3 million from Romania. Donegal then sued Zambia for $55M (the face value of the debt + compound interest + their fees and profits). They sued Zambia in the British courts where the laws favor creditors and not the debtors. The result of the court case was that Zambia had to pay Donegal $15.5 million.

Vulture Funds attack poor countries and are motivated by debt cancellation. Donegal bought the debt at a vastly reduced price at a time when it was clear that Zambia was so desperately poor and indebted that it had to have debt relief. In fact, Donegal used this fact to persuade Romania to sell it the debt. With debt relief comes an increase in funds for poor countries. This money should be used for the country’s benefit, but the vulture fund sees the country as having the ability to pay off the debt that they purchased since the other debt has been cancelled or reduced. In Zambia’s case, the benefit of debt cancellation was postponed since they had to pay Donegal $15.5 million.

Incredibly, and despite such unacceptable practices, vulture funds operate within the law. This points to the need to modify current law in order to prohibit such practices. In the last congressional session, Maxine Waters introduced legislation that would prohibit funds from suing in US courts for more than their purchase price. I expect that this legislation will be submitted in the next congressional session. If Waters’ legislation passes, vulture funds will not be able sue in the US courts.

Stay tuned! Jubilee USA Network will track the legislation’s progress. Look for ways that you can demonstrate your support for the Stop Vulture Funds legislation when asked.

References:

• Jubilee USA Network “Stop Vulture Culture” Campaign: http://www.jubileeusa.org/vulturefunds.html
• The wetpaint reference site on vulture funds: http://vulturefunds.wetpaint.com/
• Jubilee Debt Campaign (UK): http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/?lid=2893

For more on vulture funds, please visit us at www.jubileeoregon.wordpress.com

Jubilee Sabbath/ Sunday Observance Set for December 13/14

All Portland congregations of any faith tradition are invited to observe a Jubilee Sabbath through a service or through special events to teach the nature of envisioning and applying God’s gracious economic justice as a core faith practice. The link here, http://www.jubileeusa.org/get-active/take-action/fallaction.html, will lead you to abundant resources with which to plan and carry out events that will best fit your community.

With legislation active in Congress and nations rich and poor energized to establish a better system of international finance in the months ahead, now is the time to educate and to act.

Jubilee USA in Oregon is one of the most active local groups in the network with an interfaith group of 17 local congregations. Through the resources of Jubilee USA, we are connected to the worldwide Jubilee movement to cancel the immoral debt crushing many of the poorest peoples of the world.

Please contact us or the Washington, D.C. office for advice or to order material.

The Rev. Christopher Laing

Congregations Outreach Convener

Jubilee USA in Oregon

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November 30, 6-9PM  Jubilee Oregon Advocacy Committee meets at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church. Planning session to organize outreach to Oregon/SW Washington congressional delegation on Stop Vultures Act and reintroduction of Jubilee Act.  Contact Beth Poteet for information.  bethpoteet@gmail.com

World AIDS Day: Words and Rhythms for Life

Presented by the Portland Area Global AIDS Coalition and Africa AIDS Response

Monday, December 1, 2008

Tiffany Center

1410 SW Morrison St.

Free Action Fair from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Guest Speaker: Michael Kaplan, Executive Director of the Cascade AIDS Project

Benefit for Africa AIDS Response from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Speaker: Mayor Tom Potter

Light refreshments, entertainment with No-Host Bar

$25 tickets will be sold at the door and on AAR website at www.africaaidsresponse.org

To view invitation , please visit http://www.africaaidsresponse.org/_documents/World%20AIDS%20Day-Invitation.pdf

See also http://www.pagac.org/

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Jubilee Holiday Night at Ten Thousand Villages

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12

Join us from 4-8PM at Ten Thousand Villages located at 914 NW Everett, Portland, Oregon 97209. Tel: 503-231-8831.

What makes Fair Trade good? And what makes it work? Find out more and experience the pleasure of purchasing beautiful hand crafted gifts and toys –many of them made in countries that are heavily indebted. Jubilee Oregon, the local chapter of Jubilee USA network is committed to 100% debt cancellation without harmful conditions. 15% of net sales on this night will go to support the educational and advocacy work of Jubilee Oregon. See you Friday evening! Bring your friends and family!

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Sign Up Now!

A Witness for Peace Delegation to Mexico – Stories of Migration: Tracing the Journey from Oaxaca to the Northern Border

May 20-31, 2009

Join this delegation for a first-hand experience of migration starting in Oaxaca and ending at the US border town.

Contact Delegation Coordinator Beth Poteet for more information at wfpnw@witnessforpeace.org or 503.287.7847.

Have an event or announcement that you think would be of interest to the Jubilee community? Please email us at jubileeoregon@gmail.com.

To learn more about Jubilee Oregon, visit www.jubileeoregon.wordpress.com.

1. Most likely Senator Coburn will block the Jubilee Act yet Senator Casey has assured JubileeUSA that he will introduce it early in the next congressional session.
2. Is Jubilee USA energy better spent on Obama or Congress? The answer is not yet clear. We are exploring both avenues.
3. The Strategic Plan was accepted by most of the conference call participants.
4. Jubilee USA wants to resume speaking tours as well as send another delegation to global south countries. Which country would we want to learn about?
5. ‘What’s On Your Heart’ campaign (from Mathew 21)–will be sent to the new Treasury secretary one week after Obama’s inauguration. Check the Jubilee USA  website for templates.

HI – Jubilee Oregon will have its monthly meeting this Sunday, November 9 from 5-6:30PM at Havurah Shalom, NW 18th and Kearney Streets.  Please join us as we begin to think about how the new Obama administration will handle foreign policy and debt cancellation.  HOpe to see you!

Congrats to St. John’s Episcopal Church for their photo as they participate in the Jubilee USA Picture New Leadership campaign.  Your congregation or group can take a photo and send it to the national office to be posted on the national website as well as it will be sent to the new President of the USA!  Do it now!

Picture New Leadership for Global Development

The Stand Up and Act Against Poverty event at PSU on Friday, October 17th was great!  Congressman David Wu kicked off the afternoon with strong support for the Jubilee ACT-expanded debt cancellation and responsible lending, expansion of PEPFAR and the need to implement all the Millenium Development Goals in the next administration.  More than 300 students and performers participated in the event with speakers on each of the goals and dancing, singing, hip hop and poetry.  Thanks to Carrie Stiles and the PSU Model UN Club for organizing this event.