Calendar of Events

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Monthly peace vigil: Second Thursday of every month from 4pm to 5pm at the south approach to the Hill to Hill Bridge, 3rd and Wyandotte Streets, Bethlehem 18015; contact Vince Stravino, 610-216-8103.

Monthly "Shut Down the Army Experience Center" vigil: Third Saturday of every month from 11:30am to 1pm at the corner of Woodhaven and Knights Roads outside the Franklin Mills Mall, Philadelphia 11080; contact Robert Daniels II, 610-691-8730.

Weekly peace vigil: Fridays from noon to 1pm at the Federal Courthouse, 5th and Hamilton Streets, Allentown, 18101; contact John Clint Fowler, 610-746-5013.

Weekly peace vigil: Saturdays from 10am to 11am at Center Square, Easton, 18042; contact Reggie Regrut, 908-859-5632.

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Friday February 5th, 2010, 7pm: Popcorn and Politics Film Series: "The Cove" (2009). Thrilling documentary follows the long path of redemption for former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, who brings together a team of diving specialists, electronics experts, and adrenaline junkies, to expose horrible crimes committed in a Japanese fishing village. A superior piece of filmmaking and activism directed by Louie Psihoyos. 92 minutes. Projected on the big screen at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Sunday February 7th, 2010, 7pm: LEPOCO Peace Singers rehearsal in the home of Bob Riggs. Call 610-691-8730 for directions and additional information.

Monday February 8th, 2010, 7pm: LEPOCO Action Meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem. Discuss current events, review the needs of various working groups, and plan Lehigh Valley activities for peace and justice. Call 610-691-8730 for more information.

Wednesday February 10th, 2010, 3:45pm: 2010 Peace Camp Planning Committee meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Thursday February 11th, 2010, 6pm: Nuclear Abolition Sisters meeting at the Olive Branch Restaurant (355 Broadway) in south Bethlehem.

Thursday February 11th, 2010, 7pm: Lehigh Valley Veterans for Peace meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Friday February 12th - Monday February 15th, 2010:: "Creating a Culture of Peace" basic training with Janet Chisholm at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center (2495 Fox Gap Road) in Bangor, Pennsylvania. Discover your own power for peacemaking during a spiritually-grounded interactive and skill-building weekend. Explore inner and outer peace, the nature of active nonviolence, how social change occurs, and how community forms to make change happen. Call 610-588-1793 or e-mail janetl@kirkridge.org to register.

Wednesday February 17th, 2010, 12pm - 1pm:: Inaugural Monthly Brown Bag Lunch Vigil Outside Congressman Dent's Office (701 West Broad Street) in Bethlehem. Gather to call for a reduction in wasteful and unnecessary military spending and that it be directed toward healthcare, jobs, and housing in America. Sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America. Visit www.lehighvalleyprogressiveeventsemail.blogspot.com or email tomulrich41@gmail.com for more info.

Sunday February 21st, 2010, 7pm: LEPOCO Peace Singers rehearsal in the home of Marcie Lightwood. Call 610-691-8730 for directions and additional information.

Tuesday February 23rd, 2010, 10am: LEPOCO Bike/Walkathon Planning Committee meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Tuesday February 23rd, 2010, 7pm: Americas Solidarity Group meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Thursday February 25th, 2010, 10am: Lehigh Valley Committee Against State Killing meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem. Ashlee Shelton of Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will update the group on information received at the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Conference held in St. Louis and also inform us about an upcoming lobbying day scheduled for March 16th.

Friday February 26th, 2010, 7pm: Potluck & Politics: "Split Estate" (2009) with Catherine Frankenberg, at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem. Catherine is Program Organizer for Clean Water Action and will be on hand to lead a discussion following the screening of "Split Estate". The film is an eye-opening examination of the consequences and conflicts that can arise between surface land owners, and those who extract the energy and minerals below. This documentary is of value to anyone wrestling with rational, sustainable energy policy while preserving the priceless elements of cultural heritage, private enterprise, and the precious health not only of people but the land itself. 76 minutes. Please bring some food to share for the potluck dinner at 7pm. Film begins around 7:30pm. Call LEPOCO at 610-691-8730 for more details.

Sunday February 28th, 2010, 7pm: LEPOCO Peace Singers rehearsal in the home of Ursula Wuerth. Call 610-691-8730 for directions and additional information.

Monday March 1st, 2010, 11am: LEPOCO Newsletter Planning Committee meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in Bethlehem.

Saturday March 6th, 2010, 5pm: LEPOCO Annual Dinner featuring Reverend Billy and Savitri D of the "Church of Life After Shopping" , at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity (321 Wyandotte Street) in Bethlehem. Bill Talen AKA Reverend Billy, performance artist, author, and activist, will give a talk titled "Lifting the Peace-a-lujah Voice!" for the Annual Dinner of LEPOCO.

In character as Reverend Billy, Talen acts as the spiritual leader of the Church of Life After Shopping, a radical performance community using theater, humor, and grassroots organizing to advance individuals and communities towards a more equitable future. They are dedicated to participatory democracy, ecological sustainability, the preservation of vibrant communities and local economies, and the return of free expression to public space. They pursue these goals through creative resistance to consumerism, militarism and the corporations who profit from these systems. In short, they work for peace and justice. After several years of writing and producing experimental theater in California, Bill Talen moved to New York City in 1994, where he became an artist in residence at St. Clement's Church. Taking inspiration from Andy Kaufman, Lenny Bruce, and Professor Elaine Pagels, Talen developed his street preacher persona in collaboration with Reverend Sidney Lanier. Soon, the Reverend Billy came to life on the sidewalks of Times Square. Opposing the corporate takeover and Disneyfication of the neighborhood, he set up his portable pulpit at the door of the Mouse, the Disney Store. Moral soap operas, also called "Retail Interventions" were staged inside the chain stores, principally Disney, the GAP, Nike, and Starbucks. The satirical preacher was soon accompanied by a choir, and began staging whole “Worships”, where unsuspecting shoppers were jolted with passionate sermons and songs decrying the sweatshop exploitative tactics of these corporate entities. Bill Talen is the author of two books "What Should I Do if Reverend Billy is in My Store?" and "What Would Jesus Buy?: Fabulous Prayers in the Face of the Shopocalypse", and is featured in the film "What Would Jesus Buy?" He has won the OBIE Award, The Dramalogue Award, The Historic Districts Council's “Preservation” Award (for leading demonstrations to save the Edgar Allan Poe House at 85 W 3rd Street, NYC), has been jailed over 50 times, and ran for mayor of New York City as the Green Party candidate in 2009.

The program will also feature the drawing for an Art Raffle, the election of LEPOCO's Steering Committee members and music by the LEPOCO Peace Singers. The Art Raffle includes prizes donated by Sommerville Pottery, Lee & Ellen Buck, Gene Mater, and Anna Reczek, all artists and craftspeople working in the Lehigh Valley area. Gift certificates were also donated by Sign of the Bear Natural Foods Store and the Civic Theatre of Allentown's 19th Street Theatre. Doors open at 5pm, for music and appetizers, with a festive vegetarian dinner being served at 5:30pm. The program should begin at 6:15pm. Program-only tickets $10 (limited income $5) can be purchased in advance or at the door. Tickets for the dinner and program are $25 regular and $10 for limited income and children. Reservations for the dinner must be made by Friday, February 26th, at the LEPOCO Peace Center, call 610-691-8730, e-mail lepoco@fast.net, or visit 313 West Fourth Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015.

Monday March 8th, 2010, 7pm: LEPOCO Action Meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem. Discuss current events, review the needs of various working groups, and plan Lehigh Valley activities for peace and justice. Call 610-691-8730 for more information.

Tuesday March 9th, 2010, 7pm: Lehigh Valley Peace Coalition meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Thursday March 11th, 2010, 7pm: Lehigh Valley Veterans for Peace meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Tuesday March 16th, 2010, 10am: Lobby Day against the Death Penalty in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Friday March 19th - Sunday March 21st, 2010: "The Politics of Jesus" with Reverend Dr. Obery Hendricks, Jr., at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center (2495 Fox Gap Road) in Bangor, Pennsylvania. Was Jesus political? If so, are we called to be political and what are the guidlines? Bring your convictions and your questions. We will reflect upon scripture, history and culture with one of the most innovative biblical scholars today. Call 610-588-1793 or e-mail janetl@kirkridge.org to register.

Friday April 2nd, 2010, 7pm: Popcorn and Politics Film Series: "An Act of Conscience" (1997). How far are you willing to go to stand up for your deepest beliefs? For Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner of Colrain, Massachusetts, their life-long commitment to pacifism led them to risk losing their home. For fourteen years, they publicly refused to pay federal taxes as a protest against war and military spending. As a consequence, their home was seized by U.S. marshals and IRS agents. Narrated by actor Martin Sheen, this feature-length documentary chronicles the couple’s five-year struggle to nonviolently resist the seizure of their home, in which they are joined by hundreds of supporters from across the country, including Father Daniel Berrigan and Pete Seeger. Directed by Robbie Leppzer. 90 minutes. Projected on the big screen at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Thursday April 8th, 2010, 7pm: Lehigh Valley Veterans for Peace meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Friday April 9th - Sunday April 11th, 2010:: "Compassionate Listening" with Leah Green, at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center (2495 Fox Gap Road) in Bangor, Pennsylvania. Every spiritual master – from Eckhart Tolle to the Dalai Lama – recognizes listening as one of the most precious gifts we can give another human being, and sees compassion as necessary to human survival and evolution. In this training we learn how to reach through layers of defensiveness and reactivity to our essential core. From there, we can shift communication and relationships into heart-to-heart interaction, even in the heat of conflict. Call 610-588-1793 or e-mail janetl@kirkridge.org to register.

Monday April 12th, 2010, 7pm: LEPOCO Action Meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem. Discuss current events, review the needs of various working groups, and plan Lehigh Valley activities for peace and justice. Call 610-691-8730 for more information.

Friday April 30th - Sunday May 2nd, 2010:: "The Gospel According to John" with Father John Dear, at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center (2495 Fox Gap Road) in Bangor, Pennsylvania. Author, activist and Nobel prize nominee John Dear will offer a weekend of reflections based on the Gospel of John to help us on our life journey of peace in these difficult times of violence, war and global threat. His presentations will center on the theme of Life - that the God of Life has come into our world of death to lead us "to the fullness of life." If we dare follow the nonviolent Jesus, we must work to end the big business of death - war, greed, nuclear weapons, global warming and every form of violence. From the miracle at Cana to the raising of Lazarus to the resurrection of the peacemaking Jesus, the Gospel calls us to renounce every trace of violence, to non-cooperate with death, and so to live, as people of creative nonviolence, in "eternal life" here and now. The weekend retreat will include time for quiet prayer, small group and large group discussion, and renewing friendships for our journey to the God of life and peace. Call 610-588-1793 or e-mail janetl@kirkridge.org to register.

Monday May 10th, 2010, 7pm: LEPOCO Action Meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem. Discuss current events, review the needs of various working groups, and plan Lehigh Valley activities for peace and justice. Call 610-691-8730 for more information.

Wednesday May 12th - Sunday May 16th, 2010:: "Creating a Culture of Peace" training of trainers with Janet Chisholm, at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center (2495 Fox Gap Road) in Bangor, Pennsylvania. Learn how to offer this spiritually-grounded program to local groups. Increase facilitation skills and your ability to use interactive and mutual learning techniques that draw out the experience, knowledge and wisdom of every participant. Explore building a community of trust to take action. Practice presentations and receive constructive feedback. CCP facilitators are part of a nationally successful, interfaith, active nonviolence training program. If you are committed to nonviolence and creating a more just and peaceful world, enjoy facilitation and want to join others who are training in seminaries, congregations, schools, veterans’ and peace organizations, this training is for you. Call 610-588-1793 or e-mail janetl@kirkridge.org to register.

Thursday May 13th, 2010, 7pm: Lehigh Valley Veterans for Peace meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Thursday June 10th, 2010, 7pm: Lehigh Valley Veterans for Peace meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem.

Monday June 14th, 2010, 7pm: LEPOCO Action Meeting at the LEPOCO Peace Center (313 West 4th Street) in south Bethlehem. Discuss current events, review the needs of various working groups, and plan Lehigh Valley activities for peace and justice. Call 610-691-8730 for more information.