Congregational Church of West Medford Sends 16 Volunteers to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Embarks on Learning Journey
Massachusetts Volunteers to Build a Home for a Native Family, Gain Hands-On Understanding of Native American Experience
Online, April 12, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The Congregational Church of West Medford (CCWM) is thrilled to announce that in August 2012 it will send sixteen volunteers to the Pine Ridge, South Dakota Oglala Lakota Sioux Reservation for one week to build a mud home for a family living on the reservation. The trip is being planned in cooperation with the Maple Street Congregational Church in Danvers and coordinated through RE-MEMBER, an independent, non-profit organization on the Reservation.
CCWM is embracing this mission trip as a learning journey and will be offering a series of six educational events that explore the Native American experience from both a cultural and historical perspective. The first event will be held on April 22 and will feature a lecture by Henry Red Cloud, a respected Lakota elder and a fifth-generation descendent of Red Cloud, the Oglala Sioux Chief who negotiated the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. Henry Red Cloud will attend the 10am worship service at CCWM, then after a community pot luck lunch (11:30am) will speak about his vision of the future of his people and provide insights into Housing and Renewable Energy on the Reservation. The lecture will begin at 12:00pm and is open to the public.
Events in the series are as follows:
• Sunday April 22nd, 12pm: Talk and Q/A with Henry Red Cloud (pot luck lunch to precede the event at 11:30 - all are welcome)
• Friday May 11th, 7pm: Movie screening. Childcare (including Native American-related activities) will be available for young children.
• Tuesday May 15th, 7pm: Discussion of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown (Chapters 1, 11, 12, 18 and 19).
• Friday June 8th, 7pm: Movie screening. Childcare (including Native American-related activities) will be available for young children.
• Tuesday June 19th, 7pm: Discussion of "On the Rez" by Ian Frazier.
• Tuesday July 17th, 7pm: Discussion of "Neither Wolf Nor Dog" by Kent Nerburn.
All events will take place at the church and the public is invited to attend.
"As a faith community, the mission for each of us is simple yet profound. We pray, we learn, and we do - seeking to boldly enact the Prayer, Mind, and Deeds of Jesus," said Reverend Steven Savides, Minister at CCWM. "This trip is the manifestation of our community's desire to do good in the world and advocate for social justice. I am excited to embark on this learning journey and invite others in Medford and the surrounding communities to join us!"
To learn more about CCWM's Pine Ridge Reservation Mission Trip or the upcoming series of events, please visit our blog at http://www.medfordchurch.org/missiontrip/ or call the church office at 781-395-3360.
About Henry Red Cloud
Henry Red Cloud, owner of Lakota Solar Enterprises and creator of the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center, has spent more than 10 years establishing partnerships, building businesses that create jobs and working to provide affordable housing and renewable energy systems for people in the country's poorest communities. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Innovative Idea Champion award in 2009, the 2010 Nuclear-Free Future Award (NFFA) and the 2010 Interstate Renewable Energy Council Annual Innovations Award for the Clean Energy American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Projects category. Learn more about Henry Red Cloud at LakotaSolarEnterprises.com.