This Week at Gaia House

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We here at Gaia House wish to extend our most heartfelt thanks to all of the planners, supporters, cooks, cleaners, dishwashers, and miscellaneous volunteers extraordinaire for helping us show our community a truly delicious meal and great night. And of course, thanks to all of you wonderful people for coming and sharing it all with us.

As we all go our separate ways for the season, let us keep this feeling of Thanksgiving in our hearts. The yogis say that begging is good for the soul, and it is because of the grateful mindset it engenders. When we focus on something, it dictates our actions. A grateful mindset causes us to act out of love and generosity. These actions in turn generate more gratefulness, as they reveal even more to be thankful for! Not to mention, if we are truly grateful for everything, it becomes increasingly harder to be unhappy!

Whether you are going home for the holidays or you already are home, have a warm, safe, and truly happy Thanksgiving.

SPOTLIGHT ON INTERVEG Many of you got to sample the fine vegetarian cooking at our Thanksgiving celebration, but did you know we have a vegetarian/vegan potluck every Thursday night? The Interveg Vegetarian Potluck & Forum is open to all, whether you're a level five vegan or just curious. Interveg will not be meeting this Thursday because of Thansgiving, but if you're looking for something to do, you can always help out the Newman Center with their Thanksgiving celebration. See below for more info.

The Interveg dinners starts at 6:00 PM but you can arrive ahead of time to help cook or use our kitchen to prepare your own favorite dish. Each dinner is followed by the Forum at 7:30 PM, which features special guests, films, and discussions about modern day vegetarian/vegan living. Here's what we have lined up for December:

3rd - Wil Bullock - You Are What You Eat: Growing Urban Food and Community 25 min. video and discussion (2005 Bioneers). Wil spreads his message of making better food choices and agricultural sustainability through his R&B music. Thanks to Southern Sustainability.

10th - Get to know Josh Bucheit from our local farmers market this week. Why does Josh choose to sell grass-fed beef instead of grain-fed beef? Find out tonight!

17th - Chef Bill Conner provides a delicious holiday meal during InterVeg and talks about his love of cooking with his vegetarian wife, as well as cooking for a large number of students at the SIUC cafeterias

For more information, email Julie.

THEOLOGY ON TAP is still meeting over the break, Tuesday Nov 24, 5:00 PM at the Underground Pub & Grill. Come discuss the progressive Christian take on the meaning of the Holidays.

THIS FRIDAY'S RICE & SPICE will be a Native American style dinner, including chicken, fry bread, and squash soup. The dinner is, as always, free and open to the public. Cooking starts at 6:00 PM.

SUNYATA BUDDHIST CENTER will not be holding morning meditation during the weeks of Thanksgiving (Nov 24 & 26) or Christmas (Dec 22 & 24).

NEW COLLAGE GROUP Gaia House - Interfaith Center is happy to welcome the Collage For The Soul. The first meeting is Thursday, Dec 3, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, with monthly meetings to follow. All are welcome to join in self-expression and self-discovery through creative collage! Just bring your own scissors and magazines. Email for more information.

Community Events

A MEETING TO DISCUSS PRIVATIZING CARBONDALE'S WATER will be held TODAY, Tuesday Nov 24, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM in the back room of the Longbranch Coffee House.

A City of Carbondale memo explains the sale would earn the city an estimated one-time payment of $42-million. The proceeds would definitely help fill the gaps in a two-year projected $5 million budget shortfall. However, some fear selling the city's water could result in a permanent increase in monthly bills in exchange for a short-term fix to the city's financial crisis.

THE NEWMAN CATHOLIC STUDENT CENTER'S 41st Annual Thanksgiving Meal is this Thursday, Nov 26, from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM. The meal is free and all are welcome. The center is located at 715 S. Washington, between the railroad tracks and the rec center. For more information, call (618) 529-3311. Volunteers are still needed Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 9:00 AM, and Thursday starting at 5:30 AM.

THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT is coming to SIUC Dec 1-4, and volunteers are needed to stand with the quilt and read from the Book of Names. Multiple time slots are still available. To sign up, contact Jennie Gentoli

ALTERNATIVE GIFT FAIR Sunday, Dec 6, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship. This holiday charity event provides shoppers an opportunity to choose holiday gifts that help make the world a better place. Fairly traded items will be sold to benefit people in developing countries, along with options to give donations in the name of a loved one to over a dozen local, national and international charities and organizations. Live music and children's craft activities add to the festive atmosphere. For more information call 618-549-7193.

Our Global Community

BUY NOTHING DAY is an informal day of protest against consumerism observed by millions of people worldwide. This day was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by the Canadian Adbusters magazine. This year it will be held on Friday, Nov 27, 2009. It's not too complicated, just don't buy anything! Adbusters states that it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste."

AN IMPORTANT THANKSGIVING WEEK NOTE FROM RABBI MICHAEL LERNER

If you are feeling as upset about the possibiity of escalating US military involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and continuing U.S., military involvement in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as most of your neighbors (overwhelming majorities of Americans oppose that escalation), please take a moment now to let your elected officials know that.

We've made it easy for you to do so. We've constructed a letter you can send that will go directly to your Congressperson and your Senators, and a second message that will go to President Obama. In each case, you have the option of making any changes in the letter you wish, or even changing it totally (the more personal it is to you, the more effective it is--so you also might consider sending a snail mail hard copy to these elected officials).

If you'd like more information about the issue, I'd like to urge you to read William Polk's article at www.tikkun.org explaining the various options being considered by the President and why the best one is for the U.S. to get out of Afghanistan. You might also read Fred Branfman's article about unintended consequences in Pakistan and former New York Times correspondent Christopher Hedges' article about the Folly of the Afghan War.

To take the next step and make it possible for us to send your letter, we'll need you to fill in your address and the other information asked by our automated email service, so please follow their directions, and within a few hours your elected representatives will be getting your communication. Though they may not read each one, their aides give them the gist of your thinking and this often has a big impact, because while many of their constituents have strong opinions, very few take the time to communicate them!

Now, please click here to go to the next step--the letter that will be sent automatically to your Congressional leaders after you've made your personal changes to it. Afterwards, come back to this page and click here to go through the process to send your letter to President Obama (click here).

Thanks for taking the time to do this. And have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Love and blessings,

Michael

Rabbi Michael Lerner

THIS JUST IN FROM ELSIE SPECK At 8 am on Monday, Nov. 30, there is a proceeding in Judge Murphy's federal courtroom in Benton. It involves two former inmates of Tamms Super Max prison and Eddie Rodriquez, a current prisoner there. Come to support these men and hear about their experience at Tamms. Please call 618-559-5765 for more information and to arrange for car-pooling.