1) Canaan Fair Trade shop: This program is dedicated to artisan quality products based in Jenin, Palestine. The company sources its agricultural food products from a network of 49 cooperatives organized in the Palestine Fair Trade Association with the membership of over 1,700 farm families. Canaan products are certified fair trade, USDA organic, and are found at specialty and organic shops across the U.S. and Europe. Canaan’s olives and olive oil are highly prized and appreciated for the impact they have on the producers’ communities. Proceeds go to support the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation.
2) A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year C. This collection of scripture reflections written by Maryknoll missioners covers the readings for each Sunday and holy day from the first Sunday in Advent (Dec. 2, 2012) until the Feast of Christ the King (Nov. 24, 2013) for the C cycle of the liturgical year. Missioners share their reflections based on their experiences in Nepal, Guatemala, Tanzania, Oaxaca, to name only a few of the places where Maryknollers have served. Edited by Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns’ staffers Judy Coode and Kathy McNeely. Available from Orbis website, www.orbisbooks.org; 160 pages, $20.
3) Friends Across Borders immersion experiences: Friends Across Borders, a project of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, has several immersion trips planned: 1) Cambodia, February 15–March 1, 2013 and 2) São Paulo, Brazil, March 9-21, 2013. Both trips will include site visits to Maryknoll ministries, daily reflections on the work of the Maryknoll community and contemporary issues, and opportunities to visit cultural and historic sites. Trips to Bolivia, Tanzania and Kenya are also being planned for 2013. For more information, visit www.friendsacrossborders.org or call 914-762-6364, ext. 207.
4) New list of cleared Guantanamo prisoners: The "Close Guantanamo" campaign has published the names and details of the latest list of Guantanamo prisoners who have been cleared by the Obama administration. This list was released in September by the Justice Department, and includes the names of 55 of the 86 men who have been cleared for freedom President Obama’s Guantánamo Review Task Force. Read the update and the details on each man here.
5) 350.org: This global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis promotes online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions which are led from the bottom up by thousands of volunteer organizers in over 188 countries. The number 350 means climate safety: To preserve our planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 392 parts per million to below 350 ppm. 350.org works hard to organize in a new way—everywhere at once, using online tools to facilitate strategic offline action. It wants to be a laboratory for the best ways to strengthen the climate movement and catalyze transformation around the world. Learn more and find organizing and informational resources here.