Keep Making Peace agenda, Saturday, April 16, 2016, includes focus on Water Justice for Flint.
Peter Plum, coordinator of The Crossroad District Water Crisis Response, will present a workshop, “Flint Water Crisis, Embracing Community,” on Saturday, April 16 as part of Keep Making Peace. The event is from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at University United Methodist Church, 1120 S. Harrison, East Lansing.
Born and raised in Flint, Pete’s knowledge of the city helps him lead the United Methodist Churches to serve as water resource centers. His PowerPoint and presentation of water filtration systems will show how churches across Michigan and the United Methodist Committee on Relief are supporting this crucial ministry. An offering for Flint will be received at the concluding worship service.
Award-winning newspaper columnist Rochelle Riley will deliver the keynote, “Mass Incarceration: Locked In, Locked Up, Locked Out.” Too many Americans are locked into poverty, locked up in failing correctional prisons, and then locked out of jobs and families. Her column appears in the Detroit Free Press.
The Ambassadors and Rev. Faith Fowler of Detroit Cass United Methodist Church will add inspiring testimony, singing, and a call to action to conclude the day.
Early Bird Registration by April 1 is $20 per person or $40 per carload of three or more persons. Registration by April 8 is $25 per person or $50 per carload. Students are free but need to register. A vegetarian lasagna lunch is provided.
Participants will select two of the four workshops at registration:
- Ending Mass Incarceration and the Resulting Family Destruction led by Allison Colberg, Elisheva Johnson, and Christine Lewis of Michigan United, Kalamazoo,
- Bridges Out of Poverty presented by Mary Gladstone-Highland, United Methodist Church and Community Worker at Clarkston UMC
- Flint Water Crisis, Embracing Community with Pete Plum
- Conversation with Rochelle Riley
An additional event is a Friday night, April 15 free soup supper and screening of, “Breaking Down the Box.” The documentary is about the devastating effects of long-term solitary confinement on individuals and families. Supper is at 6:00 p.m. followed by the 41-minute film at 7:30 p.m. with a discussion concluding at 9:00 p.m.
Rooms for Friday night may still be available at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center of MSU. Call 517-432-3086 with group code 1604WESLEY for a standard double room of $105. Accommodations within walking distance are at the East Lansing Howard Johnson’s Hotel, 555-351-5500.
Keep Making Peace is sponsored by the United Methodist Women of the West Michigan and Detroit Conferences, the MSU Wesley Foundation, the Lansing Shalom Center, West Michigan’s Board of Church and Society, and Detroit’s Board of Justice, Advocacy, and Equity.
Last Updated on January 12, 2023