The PBS series on Women War and Peace will air every Tuesday night at 10pm beginning October 11th through November 14th.

Houston is a hub for refugees who come with many battle stories. They have incredible resilience, a commitment to hard work and great love and appreciation for our city and our nation. For those who want to know if  they are here LEGALLY. The answer is yes. They have permission to work and study but many come after decades living in deplorable conditions with almost nothing and they have suffered so much, it is surprising they can still get up every day!

Link 2 Peace will not meet during November and December.  Starting in January a new link will be forged with Anglican Women’s Empowerment (AWE).  AWE is an organization of women with a broad diversity of backgrounds, interests and skills working for gender equity and social justice in the world and in our local community.  This link will provide exciting new materials for education, advocacy and action.

We look forward to your participation in 2012 as we engage with this new and vibrant resource to enhance the welfare of all women.

A FAITHANDREASON® Seminar featuring
Sr. Joan Chittister
November 11 & 12, 2011

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The D. L. Dykes, Jr. Foundation in partnership with St. James Episcopal Church, The Red Shoes, St. Joseph Spirituality Center, The Joe B. & Louise P. Cook Foundation, The Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana, First United Methodist Church, and others, present a FAITHANDREASON® seminar featuring Sr. Joan Chittister titled "God, The World, & The Gap Between ... telling the story a different way."

Exact location and seminar details will be announced soon.  Cost for the 2-day event is $65.00 and includes a boxed lunch on Saturday.  To register online CLICK HERE.  Or, for registration details please visit  www.faithandreason.org.

The Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others-even our enemies-is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings-even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.