The Dpartment of Justice is hosting regional seminars of the protection of religious liberty.  The next one will be held on Wednesday, June 18, at the Suffolk University School of Law, 120 Tremont street, Room 295, from 1-4 pm. to register, e-mail your name, organizaiton if any, and phone number to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Click here for flyer and more details.

    Think new investments in children should be a political priority in the 2008 election? Then join Every Child Matters in New Hampshire in a non-partisan, nationwide event, "Step Up for Kids Day," on September 16, 2008. ECM's National office is working to organize an event on the capitol steps of all 50 states to draw public attention to issues affecting America's children such as poverty, health care, juvenile incarceration, early care and learning, child abuse, and after-school programs.

Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN USA) recently developed a brochure entitled “Senior Suicide: Understanding the Risk, Preventing the Tragedy.”  The brochure is available for personal printout by clicking here.  If your organization would like to order hard copies in sets of 25, click here.

We now have strong evidence that, the abuses perpetrated on detainees over the past 7 years were not simply the acts of "rogue" agents or low ranking soldiers, but were instead planned and approved of by top Administration officials - including the President himself, as well as Vice-President Dick Cheney.  ABC News and the Associated Press recently reported that the President's top national security advisors met in the White House, on numerous occasions and with the President's approval, to authorize interrogators to torture high-value detainees (by waterboarding them and subjecting them to sleep deprivation, among other abuses).  Unfortunately, these dramatic revelations have been largely ignored by the media and the public.

Please help inform the public about the fact that top Administration officials were directly involved in planning the torture of high-value detainees by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper expressing your deep concern about learning that your leaders participated in the torture planning meetings and your disappointment that the media and the public have not responded to the news about the meetings with the appropriate vigor and outrage.  

On September 11-12, 2008, Evangelicals for Human Rights, with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and Mercer University, will host a national summit on torture in Atlanta, GA, on the campus of Mercer University.  Featuring some of the nation's top thinkers and leaders in the anti-torture community, this conference is co-sponsored by an unprecedented group of organizations.
            
         Speakers and participants will also explore the path of return to  becoming, once again, a nation that leads the world in the protection of human rights.

Did you know there are 513,000 American children in foster care? These youth need stable, loving care until they can either safely reunite with their families or establish other lifelong relationships with a nurturing adult. 
May is National Foster Care Month. No matter how much time you have to give, you have the power to do something positive that will “Change a Lifetime” for a young person in foster care. We look to people of faith to help with foster care.  Training is provided to become licensed and those already licensed are most welcome as well.  For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it at Child and Family Services today.

It is not too late to participate-- ever -- in "raising" the consciousness of the faithful to consider the earth beneath their feet, the planet and the biosphere that has always served humankind as an icon of God's creative and encompassing love.  Hundreds of congregations used the National Council of Churches' free Earth Day Resources, and more will join the Friends' Service Committee  and 1Sky in carrying on the work: Mother's Day is coming, the weekend of May 9th - 11th. Join  or form a local group in sending Congress a message through your art and passion.
Call your legislator to speak in favor of renewable energy, and renewed effort to use less, waste less, recycle more.

  Click on the links above, and  on NHCCC's eco-justice resources (here), and these pulpit resources at Earthday Network.

Join the IFCO/Pastors for Peace 19th Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba - June/July 2008.
The US government says you can't go to Cuba and see things for yourself. IFCO says you should!
Their Friendshipment Caravans to Cuba call domestic and international attention to the cruel and immoral US economic blockade by delivering humanitarian aid to our sisters and brothers in Cuba.

Click here for flyer.

Nominations are being accepted for the Families in Transition Sixth Annual NH Award to End Homelessness. The Award recognizes an individual or group whose contributions have made a difference in assisting this population to overcome the challenges brought on by homelessness. The award underscores the belief that having a safe place to live is a basic human right; it honors those who share that belief and whose support to the cause of homelessness has changed people's lives. The nomination form outlines the submission criteria. All entries should be postmarked by Friday, May 16, 2008. Click here for nomination form.

June 19-22, 2008, Ecumenical Women's Gathering, sponsored by Church Women United, at the Community of Christ International Headquarters in Independence, Missouri.  Join us as we "Claim a New Vision Together." This celebration will include vibrant worship, noted speakers, small group communities, and motivating workshops. Contemporary issues will be addressed including peace and justice, diversity, racism, reconciliation, ecology, healthcare, family, theological perspectives, and outreach opportunities.
It is time for women to envision ways to work for needed changes in our country and to offer ministry. Come and be a part of this unique Gathering! Click here for website and registration.

Nashua Community College is in the early stages of creating a  Peace and Justice Studies concentration within the Liberal Arts Department.  As part of the program's inauguration, the department will offer a Peacebuilding Summer Institute July 14-25 (registration deadline July 1). This unique training program in conflict resolution and communication skills is now being used around the world in places like Rwanda, Australia, Korea, South Africa in schools, communities and prisons. Click here for flyer.

"Whether conduct is conscience-shocking turns in part on whether it is without any justification."

The Justice Department claimed there are no rules in a time of war. The President can do whatever he wants without having to answer to the Constitution, international law or even the basic moral standard shared across all religious and ethical traditions.   Justice Department lawyers can wrap it in 81 pages of legalese, but torture is still wrong.  Such reasoning is immoral, dangerous and unacceptable, and we as people of faith have an obligation to speak out against it. Bush's lawyers have given him some bad advice. He needs to hear another message.

Send President Bush a new memo from the faith community. Click here to sign a different "torture memo" to President Bush from the faith community. Tell him torture is always wrong, and always shocks the conscience, no matter what his lawyers say.

Come to Washington, D.C., from June 13 to 15 for an in-depth, practical training from Sojourners staff and organizers. Register today for an early-bird discount.
For more than a decade, Sojourners have held an annual mobilization around the time of Pentecost to lift up a vision of overcoming poverty to the nation.
In this pivotal election year, they're using the occasion to go deeper — offering real skills to take back to your local communities and congregations as advocates for social and economic justice. Sojourners staff and other experienced organizers will facilitate small group workshops and other discussions aimed at equipping you with the practical knowledge needed for working toward social change.

Click here to learn more and register for Pentecost 2008.

NRCAT is making June 2008 the month for “Banners Across America”! We are asking congregations of all sizes, from every state and all faiths, to join in a public witness against torture by displaying a banner outside their place of worship during Torture Awareness Month (June). Whether you lead a congregation or are a member of one, you can help.

Click here for complete information about the project and to place an order. 

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee took decisive action to protect our children from tobacco addiction and save lives by approving legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products. The need for this legislation couldn’t be clearer.  Tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans and costs the nation nearly $100 billion in health care bills each year. 

We need Senator Sununu to step up and declare his support for protecting kids from Big Tobacco by signing on as a co-sponsor to S. 625.  Click here to write him, and consider participating in the next meeting of Citizens Health Initiative Tobacco Workgroup, Friday May 2nd, 1-2:30 at the Community Health Institute in Bow.
For more information, call Laura Davie at NH Institute for Health Policy and Practice
4 Library Way, Hewitt Hall, Suite 202, Durham, NH 03824
Ph:(603) 862-3682 or email her: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.nhhealthpolicyinstitute.unh.edu