Nuclear Abolition

Dr. Lawrence S. Wittner will discuss The Necessity of Nuclear Abolition at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 35 Adams Place in Delmar. The program is sponsored by the parish chapter of Pax Christi.

Dr. Wittner is an award-winning American historian who has written extensively on peace movements and American foreign policy. He is the editor, or co-editor of four books and the author of seven other books and about 200 articles and book reviews. He also is a Steering Committee member of Upper Hudson Peace Action and serves on the National Board of Peace Action.

Work of Human Hands

The Diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice is now 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

No child exploitation

Here is the schedule of sales for the rest of the year:

Work of Human Hands 2009 Schedule

Oct. 17 & 18 -- St. Joseph’s Greenwich (open to the public)

Oct. 24 & 25 -- St. Clare’s, Colonie
St. Joseph’s, Schenectady

Oct 26 & 27 -- Pastoral Center

Oct. 31 & Nov. 1 -- Immaculate Conception, Glenville
Our Lady of Grace, Ballston Lake
St. Henry’s, Averill Park

Nov. 7 & 8 -- Our Lady of Fatima, Niskayuna
Holy Spirit, East Greenbush
Assumption/St. Paul, Mechanicville
St. Michael’s, Troy

Nov. 14 & 15 -- St. Edward’s, Clifton Park
St. Joseph’s, Scotia
St. Catherine of Siena, Albany
Our Lady of Fatima, Delanson

Nov. 21 & 22 -- St. Therese, Gansevoort
St. Clement’s, Saratoga Springs
Sacred Heart, Castleton

Dec. 5 & 6 -- St. Vincent de Paul, Albany
St. John the Baptist, Valatie
St. Matthew’s, Voorheesville

Dec. 10 & 11 -- Pastoral Center

Dec. 12 & 13 -- St. Thomas the Apostle, Delmar
St. John’s/St. Ann’s, Albany

Dec. 19 & 20 -- St. Peter’s, Saratoga Springs

Global economy imperils Earth, humanity

Last spring, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns invited Maryknoll missioners, affiliate groups and others to take part in a reflection process on the connections between our faith, ecology and the global economy. The thoughtful reflections from around the world have been crafted into a new statement entitled “Global economy imperils Earth, humanity,” which begins:

With nearly 100 years experience in joining our lives with communities and people throughout the world, Maryknoll missioners discovered something that others were able to realize only after seeing Earth photographs that astronauts took from space. We are one humanity interconnected with all matter on a tiny planet within a vast, expansive universe. We are challenged now to act quickly to rescue Earth and its inhabitants from destruction and extinction.

At the heart of the current global social and ecological crises is an economic system that tries to lock interconnected societies into unsustainable patterns of production, over-consumption and waste generation, all driven by the mandate to grow. To date this growth-driven economic model has proven to promote overgrowth in some areas while leaving vulnerable populations with no benefits of development.

Therefore, the Maryknoll community respectfully urges that:

You will have to go here to discover those recommendations.