November 20, 2009 Bishop Breidenthal joins Dean Diamond in a Moral Voice Letter to the President 

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President,

On this 64th anniversary of the opening of the Nuremberg Trials, when the Allies brought to justice the war criminals responsible for World War II and the Holocaust, we are reminded that one of the world's worst perpetrators of genocide remains free.
 
More than eight months ago, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court for "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity," involving "intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing, and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their property."
 
President Bashir has recently visited numerous Arab and African countries, including major recipients of U.S. aid such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, yet no action has been taken to arrest him.
 
As members of the clergy, we believe the United States and the entire Free World have a moral responsibility to capture and prosecute President Bashir.  This step would help end the Darfur genocide and deter future would-be perpetrators of genocide.
 
Mr. President, the Nuremberg Trials showed us the way.  Let us heed that example and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the Butcher of Darfur faces his own Nuremberg tribunal.

Cordially,
 
The Very Reverend James A. Diamond, Dean
Christ Church Cathedral
Cincinnati, OH

The Right Reverend Thomas E. Breidenthal, Bishop
Diocese of Southern Ohio
 
Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg
Founding President, Jewish Life Network
Former Chairman, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
 
The Reverend (Dr.) Wallace Charles Smith, Pastor
Shiloh Baptist Church
Washington, DC
 
Rabbi Shirley Idelson
Dean, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion
New York, NY
 
Rabbi Lewis H. Kamrass, Senior Rabbi
Isaac M. Wise Temple
Cincinnati OH

plus more than 200 and more clergy signatories... see here.
 

11/04/2009 Christ Church Cathedral organizing interfaith petition

Diocese of Southern Ohio

by The Very Rev. James A. Diamond

Eight months have passed since the International Criminal Court indicted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his role in the Darfur genocide, yet not one government has taken action to bring him to justice. Recalling Martin Luther King’s legacy, it is time for a strong voice of ‘religious morality’ to protest this injustice.

Darfur Solar Cookers at the Association for the Study of African American Life & History September 30 - October 4

Solar cooker fundraisers for Darfur women and children were sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral’s ecumenical coalition on human rights at the 94th annual convention of the Association for the Study of African American Life & History. The solar cookers, themselves curious contraptions of cardboard overlaid with aluminum foil, attracted quite a level of attention. Most were already familiar with the story of the starving Sudan child and the waiting vulture display, photographed by Pulitzer winner Kevin Carter. Therefore, conversations on the intermingling of moral ethics and commerce naturally arose. What ethical dilemmas were inherent to Carter’s photograph? What accountability lay with whom? And for scholars of African descent, what academic erudition or wisdom should be developed to confront atrocity habit in Africa , the ancestral continent. What moral responses would ‘African’ in African-America compel? The 94th Convention on black scholarship occurred September 30 - October 4, 2009 , at the Netherland Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati . Founded in Chicago in 1915 by Carter G. Woodson, the convention annually draws over 1,000 participants.
We are grateful for the video photographs donated by Cincinnati photographer-scholar Renard Zellars, M.Ed. - www.ibd.photostockplus.com.

13 September 2009

Darfur Sunday Project Kickoff: Interfaith Liturgy and Symposium at Christ Church Cathedral

8:00 a.m.  and
10:00 a.m.
 Rabbi Abie Ingber, a Xavier University Cincinnati theology professor, is the featured preacher.  The founding director for the Office of Interfaith Community Engagement, Rabbi Ingber will share photographs taken during his recent visit to Darfur.  Today’s liturgy will be read in Hebrew; Arabic; Bantu; Chinese; and English.  Mary Hagner chairs the Kickoff.  Tom Kent chairs Mission and Outreach Committee; Beverly Jones chairs Reconciliation & Social Justice; Ron Turner chairs Christian Formation Committee. Julieta Simms chairs the solar cooker fundraiser campaigns. Dianne Ebbs chairs the “Helping Hands” Ecumenical Coalition Recruitment subcommittee.

9:00 a.m.  Informal discussion.  3rd Floor Forum Room.
“Darfur:  A Conversation with the Rabbi.”
Dr. Prince Brown and Elizabeth Brown, Esq., will facilitate this discussion on Darfur; and Canon Joanna Leiserson will lead succeeding Sunday 9:00 a.m. Study Guide discussions “Where Mercy Fails: Darfur’s Struggle to Survive”. 

Christ Church Cathedral Helps Forge Ecumenical Coalition Hosts Darfur Sunday September 13

Cincinnati, OH - Ever since the 1973 discovery of oil in Darfur, Sudan government has engaged in what former Secretary of State Colin Powell has determined to be genocide against Darfuri people. To combat the atrocities, Christ Church Cathedral, in partnership with Jewish World Watch, based in Encino, California, formed an ecumenical coalition on human rights.  The Underground Railroad & Freedom Center, Xavier University’s  Brueggeman Center, Amnesty International, Bridges for a Just Community, Xavier University's Center for Engaged Learning, Isaac M. Wise Temple, Cincinnati Islamic Community Center, Social Action of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Rockdale Baptist, St. James AME Zion, Interfaith Hospitality Network and others have already added their support to the coalition. And local offices of Alpha Kappa Alpha; Delta Sigma Theta; The Links, Inc.; the National Organization of Women; Women of the Word and other women's groups have sent out information about the effort in their recent newsletters.    Read more…

Darfur Coalition at Black Family Reunion - A Report

The Christ Church Cathedral coalition to fight genocide in Darfur and elsewhere will have a solar cooker fund raiser booth at Cincinnati's Black Family Reunion at Sawyer Point this weekend, Friday through Sunday, August 14-16. The Black Family Reunion has been a city tradition for the past twenty years. Read the report on children of the Black Family Reunion and their advocacy for Darfur kids.

Christ Church Cathedral joins Xavier University's James and Delrose Eigel Center for Community-Engaged Learning

Children of Hope: An Intimate Look at the Darfur Refugees
- Rabbi Abie Ingber

Rabbi Abie Ingber spent 10 days in Chad visiting with Darfurian refugees in three camps: Gaga, Bredjing and Treguine. Ingber’s personal story of his Holocaust-refugee parents combines with the stories of the people he met on this journey to shine a new light on the genocide in Darfur. In addition to his own photographs, Ingber placed digital cameras in the hands of five refugees and asked them to document life through their own eyes. The results provide unique perspectives on the refugees’ world. Ingber is the founding director for the Office of Interfaith Community Engagement at Xavier. He also teaches in Xavier’s Department of Theology and at Hebrew Union College.

Free and open to the public.
For more information please call 513-745-3922.
April 28, 7:00 p.m.
The James and Caroline Duff Banquet Room
Cintas Center Xavier University Cincinnati

Solar Cooker Fundraiser (click here)

In 2006, Christ Church Cathedral partnered with Jewish World Watch in a Solar Cooker fundraiser, resulting in a project total of over $7,000. This newest campaign is chaired by Julieta Simms. Click here to see JWW video l on solar cooker use by the women of Iridimi Camp in Chad and CCC Tower article.

Donate Online! (click here)

Buy Solar Cookers (click here)

$30 will purchase 2 solar cookers per family; 2 pots; 2 potholders; year’s supply plastic bags; training.

Mail Checks

Payable to: Jewish World Watch – CCC Ecumenical Coalition. MAIL TO: Jewish World Watch; 17514 Ventura Blvd. Suite 206 Encino, CA 91316

More later…

Contributions to Christ Church Cathedral or Jewish World Watch, tax-exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, are deductible for computing income and estate taxes. The JWW Audit Report may be viewed here.