May, 6 2008 by Mireya.

You are either very brave or just plain crazy. What possessed you to come to Hollywood anyway? What was your journey like that brought you here? And how did you distinguish God’s calling for you? So you are here and now what? How? Why? Why now? Why the people that you are now meeting? Is there something significant about all these questions?

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Posted in Discipleship, Urban Missionaries, Leadership, Community, Fellowship, Process, LA Voice, Peace & Justice Committee, Church | 2 Comments »

April, 18 2008 by Mireya.

What an exciting journey it has been. Some have heard me say it often… I’m SO EXCITED to experience how I feel God is leading and teaching me to engage in the ministry of love - the work of restoration He is already doing in the world. Several members from the Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church and I have been involved in learning to live like Jesus in a way that is very different than either of us has experienced before (I think I can say that). What does that look like in our city and in our time? I’m still trying to figure that out. In the mean time I continue to participate in my city and community and step out in faith! LA Voice afforded me the opportunity to participate in my city in a different way. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Discipleship, Urban Missionaries, Leadership, Community, Peace & Justice Committee, Process, LA Voice, Church | 1 Comment »

April, 11 2008 by Valerie Hichez.

The past couple weeks have been rather busy for me. With the Armenian Genocide March through Hollywood on April 24th coming up, I have given more and more thought to genocide. I did write an extensive paper on the topic some years ago while still in school (which I have referenced in this blog), but writing about it is one thing; hearing people’s testimonies to it and contemplating in depth the current genocide happening right now in Darfur, Sudan is another. To me, genocide is the most atrocious human act that could ever be committed.
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Posted in Peace & Justice Committee, Blogroll | 1 Comment »

April, 8 2008 by Mireya.

Hope you are doing well! There is SO much going on in our church and in our community (esp. with our mural project taking off!) and the events coming up this weekend that we will POSTPONE our Peace & Justice/LA Voice committee meeting this Thursday, April 10th at 7 pm.

* * * Please continue reading for updates * * *

MURAL PROJECT:

Thank you to all who were able to attend this past Sunday’s mural concept presentation! I heard it was great.

A couple of us are taking a field trip if you’d like to join us. Part of our church’s community organizing will be around the future of murals in Los Angeles. So we want to make sure we are educated about the process and to ensure our voice is heard. Man One our muralist will be a presenter at the Getty Center:

The Arts in Los Angeles, 1997–2007 (panel discussion)
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium
Admission: Free; reservations required. Call (310) 440-7300 or go online

NEW TIMES FOR PEACE & JUSTICE/LA VOICE MEETINGS:

We would like to have our meetings on a day that you can actually attend! We appreciate your dedication and time so much and we don’t want to miss out on your talents for God’s service, so please bear with us as we figure this out. We really need your presence as we continue to work in the community, so… someone will be calling you or talking to you some more about this as will Joe Hari, our church’s organizer.

LA vs War

There is another cool exhibit - which you may want to invite others to attend. Man One is an a collaborative group exhibit starting Thursday thru Sunday this week.

Its LA vs War. Its a peace protest against the war in iraq.
LA vs. WAR
April 10-13 2008 - Downtown LA

LA vs WAR highlights the travesty of a senseless war now going into its 6th year, giving LA artists a platform to exercise their freedom of speech. Hundreds of artists representing our diverse communities unite in delivering a universal message of peace and understanding, and offering resistance and opposition to the US government’s war policies.

Posted in Upcoming Events, Peace & Justice Committee, LA Voice, Crossroads, Church | 1 Comment »

March, 26 2008 by Lennox.

Wednesday morning, March 4. We had to run to catch the train. Oddly exciting, running to catch a train. A quick walk from our downtown stop, we stood before the deserted 9am steps of Los Angeles City Hall.

Looking up at the impenetrable fortress from whence issue policies and city governance, my eyes lingered on the sign at the top of the stairs.

I was along for the ride, hanging out with my Pastor, to whom I sometimes refer as my friend Ryan. It’s good to be among friends. He said hello to Joe Hari, another friend, community organizer with LA Voice. We were here today to cooperate with Joe and his local division of PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing)

I saw Ryan add his signature to a list of those who give voice to the request for immediate attention to the Los Angeles Housing Crisis. Nothing new there. He’s always signing off on important matters of Peace and Justice.

So far, I’d been on a train ride and exchanged greetings with friends. And, from the outside, from the bottom of a massive defensive line of concrete steps, I’d also seen the walls and doors of City Hall. I decided to take a look at the fountain. I’ve always liked water.

I also like fire. The next time I saw my friend Ryan, there was fire in his eyes and passion in his voice. There was conviction in the air. Over one hundred people had gathered on the steps. I had to look through the crowd to see him. The crowd cheered as Ryan urged the adoption of a Three-Point-Plan to address the crisis in which thousands of workers who support the economy of the city, are forced to live outside of it for lack of affordable housing within its boundaries.

As the moderator of the Housing LA Press Conference, Ryan introduced and shared the podium with many compelling speakers, several of whom followed his lead by acknowledging that the housing crisis is a moral issue, a call to action for people of faith.

We didn’t have to run to catch the train back. Nice and easy. Talking about music and family. About how great it is to live in Los Angeles. Talking about old neighborhoods and the last time either of us tried to solve a rubik’s cube. Me and my friend Ryan, taking the train home from City Hall.

Posted in Picture, Peace & Justice Committee, LA Voice, Church | 2 Comments »

February, 19 2008 by Valerie Hichez.

Alas, our long weekend together is over. None of us were certain about what to expect, yet the whole experience was enlightening. Last Friday, February 15^th, through Sunday evening, February 17^th, the Peace & Justice Committee of the Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church hosted the workshop, “Managing Our Conflicts Before a Watching World,” taught by The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law. Tim Pownall, the Associate Director of The Straus Institute, taught the workshop. Mr. Pownall is an alumnus of Pepperdine, and has traveled the world, mediating high-level disputes and facilitating negotiations in very challenging circumstances.

About twenty-two people attended the workshop, including Church members and non-Church members. Mr. Pownall taught us some valuable tools, beginning with recognizing how we initially approach conflict. Once we understood our own tendencies in the face of conflict, we were then challenged to think outside of that box and how we might develop ourselves to think in a way that is more skillful in conflict resolution. We all gained varying insights to our strengths and weaknesses. Mr. Pownall taught us the importance of cooperation in negotiation; he emphasized the need to be aware of our concentration on the ‘self’—winning as much as ‘I’ can in life, or doing the best for ‘me.’ He noted, however, that this competitive nature is sometimes vital to one’s own well-being and survival in the world and healthy negotiation. Whether a competitive or more cooperative tactic is needed in a given situation, depends on the very nature of a situation. Always playing a comptetitive card can ultimately be destructive to oneself and society, for it primarily concentrates on the preservation of self over greater society. And if we solely preserve our own welfare, where does that leave the rest of the society—how does that affect ‘community,’ and even more so, how can that ultimately destroy ‘community?’ On the flip side, always playing the cooperative card can be equally as detrimental, for it leaves little, if no, room for negotiation, and can enable the other side to take advantage of a situation, and perhaps not allow for the best possible outcome. The reality is, many negotiations call for a balance of both the competitive and cooperative cards. And this is also where love comes into the picture. I think all people, no matter if they are faith-based or not, are called into a necessary relationship with one another, that should be based on mutual respect and love for their neighbor. If we can always remember this, then no matter what conflict scenarios we find ourselves in, we have a powerful empathetic perspective that can only help us to understand the other’s perspective. But this does not mean we must become subservient or passive. Mr. Pownall impressed upon us that it is necessary to be wise and sharply discerning in the face of conflict, and sometimes this is challening for those who always want to cooperate. The whole process of resolving conflict and engaging in fruitful negotiation, in general, involves a delicate balance of respect coupled with informed awareness to make an educated and just decision, holding everything in solution. So, to be ultimately effective, we must be able to be both competitive and/or cooperative when the situation calls for it. This is not easy, of course, but can be learned over time. And what better way to keep perfecting oneself than to keep learning by way of approaching conflict with an aim to learn, not to run away, not to give in to every demand, nor to take up an automatically defensive stance.

If humanity is to successfully progress, we must constantly evaluate our decisions and actions in life, continuously noting our motivations for our actions, and whether or not our decisions are going to help or hurt the greater majority of those with whom we share community. This is very important, because even though we think we may be ‘getting ahead’ in life by making a decision that is better for ourselves in the immediate future, ultimately we may be increasing the divide between ourselves and the ‘other’—our world neighbors and those we are called into some type of relationship with on a daily basis.

The workshop included simulation exercises, as different conflict scenarios were presented to us. The conflict-resolution skills that we learned are applicable to a variety of situations in life. While it was a crash course for many of us who attended the workshop, I believe that we all came away with some very valuable information. I look forward to my next negotiation to use these newly acquired skills! I have realized that every opportunity I am presented with in life that involves conflict is an opportunity to push myself into a slightly uncomfortable position, but with the end goal of building a bridge over the divide that can separate myself from others. Thank you to all who attended and stay posted for more upcoming Peace & Justice Committee events!–Valerie Hichez, Peace & Justice Committee

Photos by Leslie Foster

Posted in Picture, Peace & Justice Committee, Process, Church | 2 Comments »

February, 18 2008 by Alburn.

IMG_2304, originally uploaded by alburn.binkley.

This weekend’s Straus Conflict Training is over. It turned out to be really informative and a lot of fun.

On a “techier” note, welcome to Lennox on writing for the blog. Keep watching for a post from our Peace and Justice Coordinator, Valerie! This year WeAreHollywood is looking forward to an active blog community here at Hollywood.

Posted in Picture, Peace & Justice Committee, Church | No Comments »

January, 21 2008 by Alburn.

Here is the promo for the upcoming conflict/resolution training. We’ll bring you more details as they become available.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=78VsFQXwXOY

Posted in Upcoming Events, Peace & Justice Committee, Media Ministry, Video, Church | No Comments »

October, 12 2007 by Alburn.

This past Sunday Lucy, Mireya and I had the pleasure of attending a workshop on
“Sabbath Economics.”

“Sabbath Economics?” You say. No, this wasn’t a workshop on what
circumstances Sabbath-keepers are allowed to spend money on Saturdays. The
workshop focused on how a conscience Christian can invest their money in ways
that help their neighbors. Chad Meyers, the presenter, used an analogy of two
banks:

The first bank is the traditional bank that we’re all familiar with. In
this bank you take your “beans” and deposit them. The bank takes your
beans and turns them into a commodity to be traded in the open market.
They might trade your beans for other beans, for oil, for coffee, anything they
want so long as it results in the maximum profit for them and interest for you.

The second bank takes your beans and gives them to the other farmers in your
community to plant with. When the farmers produce their own beans they
give back to the bank along with a little interest. This bank is more
interested in the community well being rather than getting you the most
percentage back on interest.

These analogies are, of course, very simplistic. The three of us who
attended the workshop also received 2 books about the topic and we’ll be reading
them and incorporating the best parts into the tithe appeals and hopefully other
financial workshops throughout the coming year.

Now, a long list of links that would helpful to anyone considering socially
conscientious investing.

Bartimaeus Coopertive, Chad’s ministry
bcm-net.org

UFE raises awareness that concentrated wealth and power undermine the economy,
corrupt democracy, deepen the racial divide, and tear communities apart.
www.faireconomy.org

More info on Sabbath Economics
www.sabbatheconomics.org

More info on Socially Responsible Investing
sristudies.org

Inter-faith Center on Corporate Responsibility
www.iccr.org

Oiko Credit provides micro-financing to third world entrepreneurs.
www.oikocredit.org

More info on community investing
communityinvest.org

More info on community investing
opportunityfinance.net

More info on socially responsible finances
socialfunds.com

Fair-trade coffee, tea, chocolate
equalexchange.com

A socially responsible faith based bank in Chicago.
sbk.com
Socially responsible investing
calvert.com

Posted in Tithe & Finances, Peace & Justice Committee, Process, Church | 1 Comment »