Peace on Earth Decorated Lamp Post
Our Peace on Earth dove tree is up! Please take a look – on the corner of Main and South (in front of the old Post Office building). It’s a work of many artists and we should be proud. Thanks to Mark VanDeWege and Dennis Crawley for the installation and to everyone for the beautiful doves of peace.
VOTE for our tree for a People’s Choice Award! $200 prize. VOTE HERE! Hometown Holiday | Main St Light Pole Decorating | Chelsea Michigan | chelseamich.com One vote per device per day through the end of December.
Sponsor a Peace Dove
There is still time to paint a dove or sponsor a pre-painted one!! Suggested donation is $10 (more would be appreciated but not necessary). Email us to get started! This is an important part of OWOF’s fund-raising for the year. owofchelsea@gmail.com
DBEI Proposal on the School Board Agenda
Monday, Dec 13 @ 6.30pm
The proposal to support the Diversity, Belonging, Equity and Inclusion policy will be discussed at the regular meeting of the Board. The proposal was originally discussed last meeting and required additions and clarifications and should be voted on at this meeting. Public comment is close to the beginning and at the end of the meeting. This is a significant proposal that needs community support. A copy of the DBEI Overall Structure and Goal document is here. The meeting link will be posted here.
It is not often that we have two very important meetings on the same evening. Please pick the issue that you feel strongest about and plan to offer support! Don’t let indecision keep you from doing anything!
Policing Task Force on City Council Agenda
Monday, Dec 13 @ 7pm
After a work session to review the Bobcat audit of the Chelsea Police Department and a discussion of how to move forward, City Council (including newly-elected Mayor Pacheco and re-elected council member Ianelli, and new council members Ruddock and Mehuron) agreed to direct staff to put together preliminary language regarding a Task Force to develop a plan for the City to address the issues raised in the audit. This item to discuss how to establish the Task Force is on the council agenda Monday night. Please show your support as Council begins the task of police reform. This has been a long time coming.
Link for the meeting and the full agenda is here.
Public comment is close to the beginning of the meeting.
Articles on Restorative Justice
Our Restorative Justice Action Group is working with The Sun Times News to print articles they have written explaining Restorative Justice, how it works, how it is used locally, and better ways to handle conflict and harm. The Sun Times News has published the first three in the series and there are three more ready for publication. They are expected to appear one per month. Even though these are explanatory essays, The Sun Times, due to pushback after the first article, is publishing them as opinions. Please read the articles and be informed! When used properly, RJ is an important alternative to punitive prison sentences and it is being used in Washtenaw County courts. Here are the links to the 2nd and 3rd articles.
Martin Luther King Jr Day in Chelsea
Plans are underway for a series of events for MLKJr. Day! It will be a week of activities! Chelsea District Library, the Human Rights Commission, OWOF and the First United Methodist Church will all sponsor activities.
OWOF will have a Day of Service/Social Action for youth and families on Jan 17 – MLK Jr. Day itself – since the schools are not in session that day. We’re excited for our plans! During January, we will be soliciting donations of school and art supplies for refugee families. On Jan 17, we will have different activity stations to create articles and art to welcome the families as they begin their new lives here. Stay tuned for more details. We can use more volunteers. Please join our planning meeting on Monday, Dec 13 at noon.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89406376311?pwd=OFV2cFNpa1BHQVIzNG5Wd0pmQzFYdz09
Or email us if you would like to be part of the team but can’t make the meeting. owofchelsea@gmail.com
Civility Month Take-Aways
November was Civility Month in Chelsea. We were pleased with the publicity, public comment and participation. Obviously, civility needs to be a constant goal and uses specific skills that require practice. There were excellent materials from the Library program and from our CLARA workshop that will be available shortly. We hope to offer ongoing workshops in civil dialogue and courageous conversations.
Note: One World One Family believes in having those difficult conversations and addressing issues that are important to creating a just and loving society. One of the hallmarks of civility is to address the issue, not the individual. We do not believe in personal, disrespectful or mocking attacks on individuals. Anger and passion do not exclude civility.
Happy Holidays however you celebrate the season and Peace on Earth to all!!
HOW TO GET CONNECTED TO THE WORK OF OWOF
Currently, all OWOF Board of Director meetings and Action Group meetings are held via zoom and open to the public. The next Board meeting is Tuesday, September 21 at 10:00 am. OWOF attempts to send out an enewsletter a few times per month and you can also follow/like the OWOF Facebook page to stay up to date with meeting and program details. Email owofchelsea@gmail.com for more information or to be added to the email list.
