The US Social Forum (USSF) is a movement building process. A space to come up with the peoples’ solutions to the economic and ecological crisis. The USSF is an important step in our struggle to build a powerful multi-racial, multi-sectoral, inter-generational, diverse, inclusive, internationalist movement that transforms this region and the world.

WSCF – North American Region

As a movement of students representing countries around the world World Social Forums are important spaces because they provide opportunities to engage, discern, and create new possibilities for another world, a world of justice, a world of peace, a world of solidarity, and a healthy planet.

Our participation will enhance our movement and give opportunities for others to join. This is not a conference but a space intentionally designed for those around the world to work together, network, and strengthen each other.

How do I participate?

To join the WSCF-NA delegation to the US Social Forum, simple send us an email with your name, email, and zip code to hierald (at) gmail.com (chair of the WSCF-NA Advocacy and Solidarity Working Group and mail us a check for $10.00 which will cover your registration fee. This will allow us to register you as a part of our WSCF-NA group to the forum.

You can also register to participate on the USSF's website- http://www.ussf2010.org/. The cost per person is on a sliding scale based on income.

While at the forum we will be developing spaces to come together and process as members of the WSCF-NA and discern our call and what we should be doing to join efforts of others who will also be participating at the forum.

* There will be a group of 15 students departing from Central PA and driving to Detroit, Michigan. If you are interested in attending and want to hop on our van and are along our route to Detroit, let us know and we will gladly pick you up! Cost per person is $45 to join the caravan round trip.

Contact Hierald at hierald (at) gmail.com. We will be departing at 8am on Monday, June 21st from Harrisburg.

Other logistics

Housing – Lots of solidarity housing is in the works for more informarion visit the following website:

http://talk.alliedmediaconference.org/message-boards/housing

There is also an option for sleeping in a tent if you wish to go this route and this is reserved for youth.

Informal Meetings – While at the US Social Forum we will be organizing informal meetings for those interested in the SCM-USA and how to get involved with the WSCF-NA and strengthen the movement. More info to come regarding space of meeting.

Where the Social Forum came from?

A global movement is rising. The USSF is our opportunity to prepare and meet it! The World Social Forum (WSF) has become an important symbol of global movement convergence and the development of alternatives to the dominant paradigm. Over the past nine years, the WSF has gathered the world’s workers, peasants, youth, women, and oppressed peoples to construct a counter-vision to the economic and political elites of the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos, Switzerland.

Information on schedule of events: http://www.ussf2010.org/scheduleataglance

The author of the winning essay will receive an award of $250 and funding to attend the 2010 NAAE conference in Montreal, PQ, CANADA, September 24-26, where he or she will be invited to present a précis of the essay. The Journal of Ecumenical Studies publishes winning essays of sufficient scholarly merit.

Visit www.naae.net for details.

For more information: Contact Erin Cox, Erin (at) 8thdaycenter.org, 312 641 5151 or Ashley Valchek, Ashley (at) 8thdaycenter.org or email wfpmagdelena (at) gmail.com.

The delegation will be a demonstration of a people-to-people foreign policy in support of self-determination and sustainable development. This delegation will serve as an example to our own government, which historically has supported policies that actively suppress grassroots movements for progressive social change in Central America. We hope that with this act of solidarity we can encourage the Obama administration that a change in our foreign policy towards the people of Central America into one of mutual respect and cooperation on equal terms is just and necessary. As part of our program we will request a meeting with the U.S. Embassy in Honduras to share and inform of the findings of our delegations.

More details at FaithConnectsUs news.

• Network with other young adults
• Discover particulars about a variety of different communions
• Encounter a rich multicultural environment
• Worship in an ecumenical setting
• Experience the church at work, living its unity in Jesus Christ
• Interact with national church leaders
• Discuss the history and future of ecumenism

The Stewards Program offers a unique opportunity for young adults, ages 18-30, to encounter one aspect of the ecumenical movement from the inside. Ecumenical formation involves learning ecumenical theology and sharing the excitement and joy of worship and fellowship with others in the ecumenical movement. NCC/CWS invites stewards to the General Assembly to serve in the background and to observe up close the deliberative work of ecumenism.

Stewards must arrive in New Orleans for orientation and a Pre-Assembly Event by Sunday, noon, November 7, and will depart New Orleans on Friday, November 12

All expenses, except personal expenses, will be covered by the General Assembly. The Stewards Program is made possible by special donations from communions and supporters of the NCC/CWS. These donations support expanded opportunities for young adults to takeleadership in future ecumenical endeavors. You could join with these sponsors by sending your check to: Young Adult Stewards Program, NCC, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115-0050.

Deadline for applications is September 10, 2010.

The priorities for this position will be working in partnership with the Executive Director, the Board of Directors, and the Student Leadership Board to accomplish the fundraising, programming, and strategic actions necessary for effective ministry in the following areas:

1. Development/Fundraising - development and leveraging of our existing database; cultivating relationships with community churches/clergy, non-profits, community leaders and alumni, etc.; developing practices of relating to our donors/alum etc.; Grant research and writing to underwrite our programs and staffing
2. Organizational/Institutional Sustainability - building systems of institutional memory for annual and periodic projects in order to improve impact and efficiency through evaluation and building on previous experiences
3. Programming - Developing new programs and improving existing programs aimed at cultivating opportunities for our constituents to explore thoughtful Christian faith
4. Relationships - Relating extraordinarily well to students, faculty, Board of Directors, and other staff to accomplish the goals of the organization

These responsibilities and the character of the staff work to support our mission of "promoting the thoughtful exploration of Christian faith" at Furman University and beyond.

Please visit our website is www.mcforum.org

Internships last for two to four months and interns commit to a certain number of hours per week. The minimum commitment is 20 hours per week; 32-40 hours per week is most common.

Interns become a full member of the SOA Watch staff during their internship. All staff responsibilities are expected of interns, such as participating in weekly staff meetings and sharing in the facilitation and note-taking of these meetings. By the same token, these interns are given the same decision-making power as a staff person. These interns have input into her/ his job description and work. In other words, an invitation to join SOA Watch in one of these three internship roles is an invitation to join the staff collective.

The internship program is generally very flexible and can be shaped for each person. An important part of the work environment is participating in the collective process and supporting each other in our work.

Visit the SOA Watch website for more information on the Communications Internship, Organizing Internship, and Fundraising Internship.

“The time is now to renew our creativity, imagination, and commitment to mission,” says Robert Ludwig, director of Loyola’s Institute of Pastoral Studies, which is planning the event. “We hope to create mission-oriented ministries that will implement the Gospel values through creative faith-based initiatives.”

The conference gives participants the vision and tools to become “ministry entrepreneurs,” Ludwig says, blending imagination, talent, and experience with faith in God and service to others.

Specifically, they will develop skills to propel them into positions of leadership at non-profits. They will learn how to recruit volunteers, write grants, and cultivate donors while hearing from founders of schools for the poor, hospice ministries, urban gardens, worker-rights organizations, and centers for spiritual care.

Guest lecturers during the first half of the conference, June 14–18, will include Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence, and Fr. Richard Rohr, who will take an in-depth look at social justice, community development, and environmental ministry.

The following week, June 21–25, will center around health care, pastoral care and counseling, education, and spiritual direction ministries. Speakers during this time will include John Allen, author of The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church; Sr. Patricia Talone from the Catholic Health Association; educator Marva Collins from Marva Collins Way; and Liz Budd Ellmann from Spiritual Directors International. “We are re-envisioning vocation for the 21st century in a very new and exciting way,” Ludwig says.

More information at ministryfuturesinstitute.org.

You know the kind of love that comes from serving side by side with someone who is nothing like you, cooking a meal for a homeless woman, negotiating how you share living space with people you don't even know. And maybe even confronting the challenges and triumphs life throws your way and then reconciling them with what you believe about God.

Certainly not a typical summer. And one you won't easily forget.

Change your Life. Change the World

In collaboration with the United Church of Christ, the Alliance of Baptists will launch the Summer Communities of Service program in the summer of 2010. The Summer Communities of Service program is a mission-learning opportunity that will place young adults, ages 19-30, in host congregations across the country. The young adults will live in intentional Christian community as they serve as volunteers four days a week in a hands-on capacity with a local ministry connected with a congregation, an existing domestic Alliance mission partner, or a community agency committed to social justice. Participants will receive a $1000 stipend, housing, health insurance, and a food/transportation allotment. Orientation will be June 2-4 in Raleigh, NC and dates of service at their host sites will be from June 5 to August 14.

For more information or an application please visit Summer Communities of Service.

To reach someone for conversation, call 866-745-7609, ext. 204 or email summercommunities (at) allianceofbaptists.org.

Multi-faith and multicultural contexts have become the evident marks of our time all over the world. People of different faiths, cultures and races live side by side and struggle together with the many challenges. Faced with these new realities, churches and many other faith communities have started to reflect afresh on Christian identity as an identity in relation to others and to the whole of creation. To respond to such challenges, Bossey is offering annually a one-month-long programme entitled Building an Interfaith Community.

Goal of the Course

The goal of this course is to learn about each other and to challenge and overcome stereotypes. While fully respecting and affirming each particular faith identity, the overall question to be explored is: What can we, as people of faith, do to respond and to overcome the pressing challenges of our time and build together a mutually accountable society based on respect and cooperation?

The Structure of the Programme

1. Spiritual exposure and sharing: Every day will begin with devotion and meditation, for which each faith group will organize its own "sacred" space and taking turns, each will lead morning devotions in the presence of the others.
2. Study of the sacred scriptures: selected texts related to the theme of the course from the sacred scriptures of each faith community will be studied in turn.
3. Lectures, panels and workshops: formal lectures will be given by specialists from Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities. Further reflections will be done through plenary discussions, through panels, group discussions and workshops with the particular participation of the students.

The Ecumenical Institute will be sensitive to special food requirements and will offer adequate spaces for prayer according to the needs of each of the participating faith communities. Intentional efforts will be made to help all students feel at home, comfortable and safe. For the whole period, they will be accompanied by an appointed animator/facilitator knowledgeable and well experienced in inter-religious dialogues and encounters.

Participants

About 30 participants, aged 25-35, from Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities from different parts of the world are expected to participate. For one month, the students will live together within the Bossey community.

This course is co-organised by the Ecumenical Institute, the WCC Programme on Inter-religious Dialogue and Cooperation, the Inter-knowing Foundation (Muslim) and the Racines et Sources Foundation (Jewish). 

Cost:

• administrative fees 350
• student allowance 100
• contribution to tuition 950
• study visits 200
• health insurance 100
• board & lodging & city tax 1'600

TOTAL 3'300

In certain cases the travel expenses can also be provided

Application form to seminars and courses (pdf)

The Internship Programme at the WCC United Nations Liaison Office provides an ideal opportunity for young ecumenists to gain real-world work experience relevant to their academic and career goals in connection with the work of the churches at the international arena of the United Nations.

The WCC UNLO intern will have the opportunity to gain intimate knowledge of some of the current focal areas and most pressing global issues being addressed by the churches. Additionally, the intern will be exposed to an ecumenical network of church leaders and representatives working on these issues.

Application deadline is April 30, 2010.

Download the attached job description for details and instructions for applying.

For more information visit academyofpreachers.net.

For more information visit academyofpreachers.net/2010camps.

To apply, download the call for submissions and essay submission form

 IFYC's  Summer Internship Program is a leadership intensive with 8-10 undergraduates from across the country committed to interfaith work on their campus. Interns will study the theory and history behind the interfaith youth movement while engaging in service learning and skill-building workshops as they gain valuable hands-on job experience. Interns will have the opportunity to work on various projects from curriculum design to fundraising techniques as they work in one of IFYC's departments. They will receive training, do meaningful work as a valued staff member, receive mentorship, and build powerful relationships with their exceptional fellow interns.

 Visit ifyc.org to apply and for more information. Applications are due March 15, 2010.

 Contact Amber at amber (at) ifyc.org or 312-573-8937 with questions.

When: August 11-12, 2010 (staff and students)
August 12-14, 2010 (joined by communicators) 

Where: Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile,
540 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611

Cost:  Includes 3 nights lodging, 3 meals and program:
Quad: $305*
Double:  $410*
Single: $620 *
Commuter:  $200

More information about registration to follow.  Questions can be directed to the Lutheran Student Movement vice president at

lsmvicepresident (at) gmail.com

Vanessa Martinez, a Hunger Justice Leader from Santa Ana, CA, shares her passion and commitment in this short video.

Watch it and then apply at www.bread.org/bealeader to become a Hunger Justice Leader—or pass it on to someone who should.

The application deadline is March 12, so don’t wait. Apply now.

Apply to be a 2010-2011 Fellow: ifyc.org/fellows

Application Deadline: Monday, March 15th, 2