Around Town

Watertown Group, Islamic Society of Boston Hosting Forum on Myths, Realities of Islam

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{The following information was provided by the World in Watertown}

World in Watertown, a local community organization, is partnering with the Islamic Society of Boston’s Cambridge mosque to host a forum on “Myths and Realities of Islam: Learning and Sharing.” The forum will include learning about Islamic practices from Imam Ismail Fenni, of the Cambridge mosque, as well as sharing and dialogue in small groups with both Muslim and non-Muslim participants. The forum will be held on Thursday, May 10 at the Watertown Public Library, 123 Main Street, Watertown from 6:30 – 8:45 pm in the Watertown Savings Bank Room. The forum will introduce non-Muslim participants to the “Five Pillars of Islam” (faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage), and will feature paintings by local Watertown artist Sheri Kennedy interpreting the Five Pillars from her Peace Corps experience in Niger. The forum will highlight the similarities and differences of Islamic practices in different societies, and will encourage non-Muslim participants to reflect on their own religious and spiritual practices.

Around Town

Watertown Group Hosts Presentation on Forced Removal of Native American Children

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The World in Watertown announced their upcoming event at First Parish Church on Dec. 7 about the history of White Supremacy and the impact on Native Americans in New England. The group sent out the following information:

Presentation on Origins of White Supremacy in New England: On Thursday, December 7, 2017, World in Watertown is hosting Dr. Mishy Lesser, Watertown resident and learning director of Upstander Project, for a talk entitled “Forced Removal of Native Children and the Origins of White Supremacy in New England.” The talk will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church St., Watertown. Dr. Lesser will screen Upstander Project’s short documentary, First Light, about the Maine Wabanaki Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission and what the commissioners learned from Wabanaki people who suffered loss of identity and trauma after being taken away by the state’s child welfare system.

Around Town

Watertown Group Hosting Program on Restorative Justice

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World in Watertown announced it will host a program on Restorative Justice. The group sent out the following information:

Please welcome Judge Jay Blitzman, First Justice of the Middlesex Division of the Mass. Juvenile Court, to the April 6, World in Watertown meeting, 7:15 p.m., at the First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church Street, Watertown. Judge Blitzman will lead what promises to be a lively discussion on restorative justice practices to help disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Judge Blitzman also teaches trial advocacy at Harvard Law School and juvenile law at Northeastern University School of Law.

Armenians

Public Invited to Presentation About Examining Armenian Photographs

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At it’s Thursday, Feb. 2 meeting, World in Watertown welcomes member Ruth Thomasian, President and Founder of Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives, to present an interactive program titled READING PHOTOGRAPHS: Armenians Through the Camera’s Eye. Using photo enlargements from Project SAVE Archives, Ruth will engage her audience in observing, questioning, and thinking critically about what they see in the photos. Topics will include multicultural and human issues as well as details of Armenian life in the homeland and Diaspora. World in Watertown invites the public to attend READING PHOTOGRAPHS at First Parish Church, 35 Church St.

Around Town

Watertown Groups Hold Event on Transgender Personal Stories and Experiences

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The World in Watertown and the Social Action Committee of First Parish of Watertown invite the public to a program on Transgender Identities, Thursday, December 1, 2016, 7-9 p.m. at First Parish, 35 Church Street, Watertown, the group announced. While we are seeing more representation of transgender experience in the news and media, many people still have a lot of questions.  A panel of speakers who identify as transgender or are parents of youth who identify as transgender will share their personal experiences and answer audience questions on how best to support and understand transgender people. This program is organized by Missy Mae Sturtevant, Director and Founder of the MaeBright Group, Boston.

Around Town

Hear About Center Housing Asylum Seekers at World in Watertown Meeting

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At the upcoming World in Watertown meeting, Nov. 3, the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, will be at the top of the agenda, the World in Watertown Group announced. Last summer Susan Klaw spent a week at the center, operated by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) for the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), to house families of asylum seekers. World in Watertown meets at First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church St. Check-in starts at 7:15 p.m. The business meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, call 617-926-7814.

Around Town

World in Watertown Hosts the Head of the Public Conversations Project

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World in Watertown hosts Public Conversations: Parisa Parsa, Executive Director of Public Conversations Project, will speak to the World in Watertown on Thursday, May 5 at 7:15 p.m. at First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church St., Watertown. Public Conversations fosters constructive conversation where there is conflict driven by differences in identity, beliefs, and values. They work locally, nationally, and globally to provide dialogue facilitation, training, consultation, and coaching, addressing the core of many of today’s most complex social problems where a breakdown in relationships leads to mistrust, gridlock, and fractured communities. The public is invited.

Around Town

Civil Rights Leader Who Works with Martin Luther King Coming to Town

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Dr. Bernard LaFayette, internationally known civil rights activist and close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will be addressing a public forum to be held at the Watertown Middle School, 68 Waverly Avenue, on Thursday, March 31, at 7 p.m. Dr. LaFayette will be discussing the history and current status of race relations in the U.S. The forum is free and open to all. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. LaFayette played a leading role in organizing the Selma Voting Rights Movement. He was a member of the Nashville Student Movement, and worked closely throughout the 1960s with groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the American Friends Service Committee. As an ordained minister and college professor, Dr. LaFayette has traveled the world teaching the Kingian Principles of Nonviolent Conflict Reconciliation, a curriculum that he co-authored based on Dr. King’s beliefs. Dr. LaFayette is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on nonviolent social change and conflict reconciliation.