"Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that": Milwaukee UCC Pastor Keynote Speaker for 19th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

APPLETON, WIS. - Rev. Wanda J. Washington, the first African-American female member of the United Church of Christ to start a new church in Wisconsin, will deliver the keynote address at the 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Monday, Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel in downtown Appleton.

The celebration, presented by Lawrence University and Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, with the support of numerous organizations, individuals and churches throughout the Fox Valley, is free and open to the public. The Appleton Area School District is one of the sponsors. The Post-Crescent and WFRV-TV CBS 5 are media partners for the event.

The theme for this year's celebration - " Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that" - is drawn from King's 1963 book "Strength to Love," a collection of some of his classic sermons on social justice and non-violence.

"Those are more than just words Dr. King delivered, they resonate with me as the true essence of Dr. King and his life's work," said Kathy Flores, the chair of the MLK committee and the intercultural relations coordinator for the city of Appleton. "Dr. King may have died by an act of violence, but he lived by acts of love and light. We hope that Fox Valley residents will join us for the celebration to hear Rev. Washington's message of love conquering hate as we celebrate Dr. King's life and are reminded that his legacy lives on through us."

Pa Lee Moua, Lawrence University assistant dean of students for multicultural affairs, said King's message remains vitally relevant today.

"Although history reflects what has been done in the past, it's still very much a part of our future," said Moua. "Dr. King's mission has and will continue to shape our nation and the lives of our children for many generations to come. Individually, it is our responsibility to continue his legacy by serving our community and striving for equality and social justice for all. As a community we need to stand together, lead by example and inspire others to make a difference."

Washington spent 20 years as a special education teacher working with deaf and blind students in Glen Ellyn, Ill., before pursuing a master's of divinity degree. She will speak on the power of hope, the many positive changes King hoped would occur in the country and the importance of people remaining hopeful in the face of adversity.

After graduating from the Chicago Theological Seminary, Washington served as associate pastor at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for more than 10 years. In 2006, she moved to Wisconsin and started Grace United Church of Christ in Milwaukee. The church now serves more than 200 members.

The evening's celebration will include the annual presentation by Toward Community of the organization's Jane LaChapelle McCarty Unity in Diversity Award, which recognizes an area individual who has made great strides in bringing different people in the community together.

The celebration also will feature area students reading their winning essays which focus on King's theme of love triumphing over hate. Musical entertainment will be provided by the Menasha High School Marching Band and Lawrence University singer Sirgourney Tanner.

A sign language interpreter will be present for the program and a reception for all in attendance will be held following the event.

Foods of All Nations

Join us at the 12th annual Foods of All Nations, a program of the Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center

"Experience the World in the Fox Cities"
Saturday, September 19, 2009, 3:00-5:30 p.m.
Downtown Appleton (corner of Oneida and Washington Streets)

Taste authentic foods from many cultures. Enjoy the music and dance performances. Purchase gifts and interesting items in the multicultural auction.

Tickets:

• Adults (advance) $10, (at the event $12)
• Children 6-12 years $5
• 5 years and under - free.

Tickets available at the Multicultural Center (M-Th 1-4 p.m.), Harmony Cafe (M-W 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Th-Sat 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.-8 p.m.), Goodwill Community Center (M-F 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.).

Please share this information with others who may be interested. Thank you for supporting the Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center and its programs.

Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center
128 North Oneida Street
Appleton, WI 54911
(920) 882-4056 fax (920) 882-4060
Office hours: M-Th 1-4 p.m.
contact@foxcitiesmulticultural.org

Find us on Facebook and become a fan: Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center

Diverse book recommendations

Toward Community held our annual Celebrate Diversity picnic on Aug. 16, 2009. Attendees were asked to write down their favorite books. Though only a minority of folks participated, they came up with an interesting list that reveals diverse ages, backgrounds, and literary tastes. Thanks to TC chair Kamal Varma for compiling and sharing.

• Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
• What is the What - the Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng: a novel by Dave Eggers
• Blue Sweater: bridging the gap between rich and poor in an interconnected world by Jacqueline Novogratz
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
• Drums of War by Edward Marston
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
• Invisible Man by Herbert George Wells (and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is pretty good, too - TD)
  
• Song of Solomon by Tony Morrison
• Black like Me by John Howard Griffin
• Stuffed Starved by Raj Patel
• Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
• White Teacher by Vivian Gussin Paley

Toward Community Diversity Picnic August 2009

Toward Community Diversity Picnic:

Dear Members and Friends,

Toward Community: Unity in Diversity hosts its 17th Annual Diversity Picnic on Sunday, August 16th from, 12:00 to 3 p.m. at Sunset Park in Kimberly. It is free and open to public. Bring family and friends and join us in celebrating the Fox Valley's diversity.

Please bring a dish to pass and a lawn chair if you could. Also, share a name of a book that you've read and could recommend to others.

Toward Community will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, Hmong egg rolls and beverages.

Children's peformer Taku Ronsman with join us to play drums and lead activities for children and adults who are young at heart.

Any questions, please contact-

Kamal Varma at 920-731-0834 or email kvarma27@gmail.com

Scott Peeples at 920-993-8905 or email mspeeples@tds.net

No RSVP necessary. Please come and join us to celebrate the rich diversity of the Fox Valley.

Martin Luther King Jr.: Student essay winners

The Post-Crescent has published the winning essays, which will be read at tonight's MLK service. Read them here.

Prayer

By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God's blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic "answers" we've preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be "fixed" anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln's reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy's ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King's dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters' childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we're asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Monday, Jan. 19

APPLETON, WIS. -- A diversity scholar who believes in the power of turning dreams into reality will be the keynote speaker at the Fox Cities annual celebration honoring the man whose own dreams changed the United States.

Bola Delano-Oriaran will examine the question of what is each person's purpose in the world at the 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Monday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrence University Memorial Chapel. The theme for this year's event is "Beyond Dr. King's Dream: Next Steps."

The celebration, co-sponsored by Lawrence University and Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, is free and open to the public. The Post-Crescent and WFRV-TV are media partners for the event.

Rev. Roger Bertschausen, who helped found the MLK celebration in 1992 and continues to serve in planning the annual event, calls Delano-Oriaran "someone who has made a real difference in the Fox Cities.

"I am excited to have Bola Delano-Oriaran keynoting this year's event," said Bertschausen, pastor at Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship church. "In her work with students as well as her work with our community, she has promoted and exemplified Dr. King's dream."

An assistant professor of education at St. Norbert College, Delano-Oriaran shares her message of understanding the richness and value of diversity in society in a high-energy presentation. Ever since she organized a fund-raiser for a disabled homeless man as a 13-year-old in her native Nigeria, Delano-Oriaran has advocated the importance of each person's role in building a better community and world.

Delano-Oriaran saw her own dream of a place where all people could gather to celebrate their individual identities and experiences realized with the creation of the Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center in 2004.

Her efforts on behalf of diversity issues and community change have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Rotary Club of Appleton Charles and Patricia Heeter Outstanding Community Leadership Award and the St. Norbert College Bishop Robert F. Morneau Community Service Award. In 2000, the Wisconsin State Human Relations Association presented her with an Outstanding Human Relations Educator Award.

Highlighting the celebration will be the presentation by Toward Community of the annual Jane LaChapelle McCarty Unity in Diversity Award to an area individual who has made great strides in bringing different people in the community together. Delano-Oriaran was a recipient herself of this award in 2004.

"This year's celebration occurs the eve before the inauguration of the first African-American president in U. S. history," said Kathy Flores, chair of the MLK committee and a member of Toward Community. "Not only is this an exciting time, it truly is a realization of Dr. King's dream. I am excited to come together with citizens of the Fox Cities to hear Bola Delano-Oriaran share her vision of how we as a people can move forward together into the future and into the next steps of Dr. King."

The MLK celebration also will include music performances by the Kaukauna High School Concert Choir and Lawrence sophomore Isake Smith. Area students will read their winning essays addressing the question "Beyond Dr. King's Dream: Next Steps" as part of the celebration.

"This celebration is truly another example of how a community, sharing similar yet different cultural values, can come together and pay tribute to a dream, dreamt by many," said Mohammed Bey, acting assistant dean for multicultural affairs at Lawrence. "It is has been inspiring to witness the level of participation from the community for this event."

A sign language interpreter will be present for the program and a reception for all in attendance will follow.

Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center Open House

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008
6:45 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.

Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center
128 North Oneida Street
Appleton, WI 54911

Highlights

• Honor Roll of Donors
• Honor Roll of Volunteers
• Meet our Upward Bound Program Family with Craig Baker
• Visit the American Indian Center with Lisa Hurst
• Enjoy delightful conversations with Harmony Café Staff & Shannon Kenevan
• Meet & Greet our member organizations
• Experience community dialogue with various individuals
• Refreshments….

For more information, please contact Aditee Shet.

Hmong New Year celebration

when: Saturday, November 29, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
where: Appleton East High School.

Stop over and watch some of the festivities. It’s a great event to drop in on and catch what you can. Stay for 30 minutes or the whole day ... you won't regret it.

For more information, contact Jennifer Gaines Bates, Refugee Youth Coordinator, Hmong-American Partnership Fox Valley, Inc. at jennygbates@hotmail.com

Holiday Party

Date: Tuesday, December 30

Time: 6-9 PM

Place: India Darbar Restaurant, 2333 W Wisconsin Ave, Appleton. We will have a private room.

Cost: $10 per person. Toward Community will pay $3 toward every meal so the cost for Toward Community members, including children and family members, will be $7 per person.

Scott Peeples and Tony Gonzalez will provide recorded music. You are all encouraged to bring a favorite reading or poem to share with the group.

RSVP:To Scott Peeples at peeplesscott@aasd.k12.wi.us or 993-8905

2009 Jane LaChapelle McCarty Unity in Diversity Award

PLEASE SUBMIT NOMINATIONS:

The 2009 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee is accepting nominations for the 2009 Jane LaChapelle McCarty Unity in Diversity Award. This honor will be awarded to an individual in our community who has made great strides in bringing different people in the community together in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The award will be announced at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on Monday, January 19, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lawrence University Memorial Chapel in Appleton. The keynote speaker is Dr. Bola Delano-Oriaran, Assistant Professor at St. Norbert College in De Pere and 2004 recipient of this award. You will be inspired as she presents Beyond Dr. King’s Dream: Next Steps.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRY:
Mail or email by Friday, January 2, 2009. Nomination must be one page.

Nominations are to be submitted to:
JLM Unity Award
Attention: Roger Bertschausen
PO BOX 1791 Appleton, WI 54912
or email fvuufmin@new.rr.com

Yearly Report of Toward Community 2008

Submitted on November 16th

Regular Executive committee and General meetings-

• January 15th M L K Celebration
• February 28th – General Membership Meeting
• June 17th - Executive Board Meeting
• Annual Diversity Picnic - July 20th
• August 16th - Booth at Farmer’s Market and General Membership Meeting
• November 20th – General Membership Meeting
• December – Holiday Party

Participation in Community Activities -

• Healthy Day- YMCA
• Meeting with Kaukauna School Superintendent
• Participating in Planning of Hmong Association Conference of 2009
• Participating in planning of Seed folks Project with area schools and Appleton Library
• Participated in Multicultural Center’s program - Foods of All Nations

Financial Support to Different Organizations -

• Donation to NEWCA (Northeast Wisconsin Chinese Association) $100
• Donation to FCRMC towards their loan payment - $500
• Donation to Harmony Café - $250

2009 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest Announced

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Young people who are inspired by Dr. King’s vision of a society free of racial prejudice are invited to enter the 2009 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest.

Essay contest winners will be invited to read their essays at the 18th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration to be held on Monday, January 19, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrence University Memorial Chapel on College Avenue in Appleton. Winners in four brackets will be awarded $25 from Toward Community: Unity in Diversity and $25 from IndUS of the Fox Valley.

Contest categories by grade are: 2nd and 3rd, 4th through 6th, 7th through 9th, and 10th through 12th. Submissions may be in essay or poetry form and should not exceed one page. Writers should relate their essays to the theme of this year’s community celebration, “Beyond Dr. King’s Dream: Next Steps.” Dr. King’s dream for our world was that all people would learn to live together in harmony. Student entries should attempt to describe the responsibility young people have in advancing Dr. King’s message of equality and harmony among people of all races and all backgrounds. A panel of judges will critique the essays. Originality will be a critical factor in the judging process.

The deadline to enter the contest is 4:30 p.m. Friday, December 5, 2008. A sheet separate from the essay should contain the writer’s name, address, telephone number, school, and grade. Do not write names on essays. Please do not use staples to attach name and essay sheets. Send entries to: Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, 128 N. Oneida St., Appleton, WI 54911. Call Gayle Hardt at (920) 954-7211 with questions or if you need to arrange for drop off of an essay before 4:30 p.m. on December 5th. Winners will be notified by phone.

The keynote speaker for the 2009 celebration is Dr. Bola Delano-Oriaran, Assistant Professor of Education, at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI. In addition, the Kaukauna High School Choir will perform.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration is an interfaith, multicultural event sponsored by Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, Lawrence University, and a number of area churches, religious organizations, businesses, and social service agencies. The King Celebration has been a unifying tradition in the Fox Valley since 1992. It is free and open to the public.

Deadline to enter is 4:30 p.m. Friday, December 5, 2008

Celebrate Diversity Picnic - Sunday, July 20

The annual Toward Community Celebrate Diversity Picnic will be held this Sunday, July 20, 12:30-3:30 at Schaefer Park, 610 S. Buchanan St in Appleton (several blocks south of College Ave.) This event is free and open to the public. T.C. will provide

• burgers
• hotdogs
• Hmong egg roles
• beverages.
  

Activities will include

• face painting
• pinatas
• music
• children's activities
• and FUN!

Bring a dish to pass and lawn chairs if you have them. Looking forward to seeing you all there. No RSVP necessary. Please join us for a celebration fo the rich diversity of the Valley!

- T.C. Executive Board

Celebrate International Children's Day

Casa Hispana is having a FREE event this Sunday June 1, 2008 at Telulah Park in Appleton from Noon until 4:00PM to Celebrate International Children's Day.

Feel free to pass this information to your friends a family. If you wish to volunteer, call Hispana 920 968-6880.

Mark your calendar: MLK service

The 18th Annual MLK Celebration will be held at the Lawrence University Chapel on Monday evening, January 19, 2009 -- theme & speaker to be announced

The service will feature children's essays, a choir presentation, and the singing of "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

Mark your calendar and watch for details!

Foods of All Nations - mark your calendar!

This year's Foods of All Nations, a multicultural feast and festival to benefit the Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center, will be held Saturday, August 23rd, 3:00-6:00 PM.

This event features food and entertainment from the numerous diverse cultures represented in the Fox Cities.

Watch for details!