WCES Calendar

Here you will find information about upcoming WCES Events, WCES Task Force Meetings, and Other Events you may be interested in.

Our members are also active in the arts and other local cultural activities. For example, the Justice with Peace Task force launched a monthly film and forum series in February, 2006. This series continues for 10 months each year.

WCES also maintains an email newsletter listing all meetings and events. Messages are sent out approximately bimonthly. Email us your contact information to receive these regular updates.

WCES Events

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Forum and Film Series
Sponsored by the Justice with Peace Task Force of WCES
Coming up Next:
How to Build an Empire: U.S. Military Bases Around the World: Wednesday, May 21, 7:00 PM; St. John's United Methodist Church; 80 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown

The United States has built an empire - a fact that is rarely disputed by anyone on the left, right, or in the middle! U.S. military bases and installations (approximately 730) provide the foundation for and maintenance of this empire. But few Americans know just how large this network is, what it costs, or its impact on host countries.

Dr. Joseph Gerson, leading nuclear specialist and peace campaigner, is the Director of Programs of the American Friends Service Committee in New England and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. His newest book is Empire and the Bomb: How the United States Uses Nuclear Weapons to Dominate the World.

All of these UJP Forum and Film Series events are co-sponsored by the NE American Friends Service Committee, United for Justice with Peace, Arlington United for Justice with Peace, Lexington Justice with Peace Committee, Waltham Concerned Citizens, and Weston Dialogues for Peace and Justice.

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Not One More Death, Not One More Dollar!
Monthly Vigil to Protest a War Based on Lies

Third Saturday Every Month, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Watertown Square

Upcoming Vigils:

May 17, 2008

June 21, 2008

Come hold a sign, or simply stand with us to show the town and the world that Americans stand for peace. Our signs indicate the human and social costs (in real numbers) of the invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq. Contact WCES's Justice with Peace Task Force at 617-926-8560 with any questions or for more information.

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Mark your Calendar Now for
WCES' Annual Meeting and Potluck Dinner: Sunday, June 1, 5:30 to 8:30 pm; St. John's United Methodist Church, 80 Mt. Auburn St, Watertown

The guest speaker will be Watertown's own, Professor Bill Clark, who will address global environmental challenges to local communities. Keep an eye out for a mailing providing more details and including the WCES annual (and only once-a-year) donation appeal.

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WCES Task Force Meetings

Environmental Task Force: Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month.
Please contact Susan Falkoff (617-924-5723) for location, details and agenda items.
Justice with Peace Task Force: Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month.; St. Johns United Methodist Church, 80 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown
CURE (Chemical Use Reduction and Education) Task Force: Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month.; 22 Grenville Avenue, Watertown

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Other Events of Interest to WCES members

Book Reading and Presentation with Sandy Tolan: YMCA, 820 Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square, Cambridge; Tuesday, May 13 from 7:00 - 8:30 PM.

You are invited to join Sandy Tolan, author of The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East. Opening remarks by Hilary Rantisi, Kennedy School of Government and Sara Roy, Harvard University. Free and Open to the Public. Sponsored by the Cambridge Peace Commission 617-349-4694.

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"Stand Out" against war funding: Federal Building, Boston; Thursday, May 15 4:30 p.m.

Under the leadership of Military Families Speak Out, we will gather to call on Senators Kennedy and Kerry to support a filibuster against the war funding bill when it arrives at the Senate. MFSO are asking Senators Clinton and Obama to lead a filibuster and not stand down until their colleagues agree to vote against any bill that provides funding to continue the war rather than funding specifically for the swift and safe return of all troops from Iraq.

Please come and bring your signs.

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Invest in Watertown - Invest in WCH!: Springwell, 125 Walnut Street, Watertown; Thursday, May 15 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

You are invited to the 17th Annual Meeting of Watertown Community Housing. WCH is on track to reach $10 million of investment in Watertown over the past seven years! Learn how it happened and how you can help make more happen!

Childcare and light fare will be provided. Please RSVP to Robyn at 617-923-3505 x5.

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Ming-Chi Tsai and Ernest Goldman Benefit Concert: Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m.

The Merrimack Valley People for Peace presents renowned musicians Ming-Chi Tsai, violin and Ernest Goldman, piano in a benefit concert in Andover. Featuring the music of Handel, Mozart, and Franck. Suggested Donation: $15 to $25 and Benefactor - $50 and Peacemaker - $100. For tickets, please e-mail Bobbie Goldman or call 978-661-9009. The concert will be in the home of the violinist, so space is limited. Directions to the concert will be provided when your reservation is made.

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WCES members are invited on a special walk
with Leslie Turek, a guide at Garden in the Woods: Leslie will lead a special walk there; Thursday, May 22 at 5:30 PM.; There is a small garden admission charge.; Contact Leslie for more information.

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Keeping It Cool and Green!: How urban trees help reduce the local effects of global warming and how we can help them do their job.; Watertown Free Public Library; Thursday, May 22 at 7:00 PM.

Mark your calendar to come see and hear Eric Seaborn, Program Coordinator of the Urban and Community Forestry Program, Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation, present the latest science on the role of trees in improving urban air quality and managing stormwater runoff, and on the multiple ways trees help counteract the urban "heat island effect". (An example of heat island effect: on a ninety-degree day in July, imagine walking through Watertown's municipal parking lot. Now imagine walking in the dappled shade of trees along the Charles River.)

Eric will also discuss the best practices for planting, care and maintenance to improve the survivability and longevity of our hardworking urban trees.

This free presentation is part of Trees for Watertown's 2008 Annual Meeting, which starts at 6:30 pm. For more information, please contact Ruth Thomasian, President of Trees for Watertown, 617- 923-4542.

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Become a Volunteer Trainer for the Nonviolent Peaceforce!
June 6 to 8, in Newton

The Nonviolent Peaceforce is offering this weekend workshop for trainers in Nonviolent Conflict Intervention (NCI). It is low cost, offered on a sliding scale from $35 to $125, excluding meals.

Email Sherry Zitter of the Nonviolent Peaceforce for details

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Weekly Protest and Fast for Guantanamo Detainees: Fridays, 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.; in front of JFK Building, Government Center, Boston

Join local activists from a number of peace and civil rights organizations every Friday to raise our voices against the illegal, indefinite detention of hundreds of mostly Muslim men at Guantanamo Bay, and the many others around the world in similar U.S. detention centers.

Issues of torture, detention, and the war in Iraq are gaining more public scrutiny now. Lend your voice to the outcry against these outrages in this weekly protest that began in 2005, when activists from around the world, including Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa ('84) and Adolfo Perez Esquival of Argentina ('80) pledged to fast on Fridays in solidarity with the Guantanamo prisoners, and with all detainees whose human rights are being violated in the name of the United States of America.

For more information, email Susan McLucas.