Ruth Ann Angus - Faith in Action: Peacebuilder, Nonviolence Advocate, and Environmentalist - 012
Release Date: 09/23/2021
Braver Angels - Connecting Across the Partisan Divide - 027
People of Faith for Justice
Civic engagement in the U.S. has been on the decline for many decades. Citizens are participating in public affairs too infrequently, too unequally, and in too few venues to develop and sustain a robust democracy. What’s more, effective engagement is being seriously hampered by a partisan divide between people that seems to be growing. Our podcast this month takes a look at how these divisions are affecting our relationships, and what we can possibly do about it. There are groups currently working to facilitate interactions between people despite their political disparity. The non-profit...
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Weaving Our Garment of Destiny - A Pilgrimage - 026
People of Faith for Justice
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere… hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear, only love can do that.” These words, written by Martin Luther King, beckon us to a search for truth and meaning in the quest for racial justice and human rights everywhere. Two of our guests today, Ken Hill and Gina Whitaker, spent three weeks traveling the U.S. Civil Rights Trail this past October through Mississippi and Alabama. Everywhere they went, everyone they met and all the...
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Climate Change - Global Challenges, Local Solutions - 025
People of Faith for Justice
Global climate change is on all our minds these days…or is it? Should it be? How can we ignore it? We live our lives, trying to maintain the status quo, but our status quo is leading to suffering and destruction. There is nothing that is in our lives that is not touched today by global climate change. The homes we build and live in, our transportation, the weather we experience every day, the clothes we wear, the trash we discard, the fuel that powers our heat, lights and automobiles, the food we choose to eat, how our cities, towns and buildings are designed…there is nothing that isn’t...
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How to Do Prison Time Successfully with Author Emanuel Bell - 024
People of Faith for Justice
None of us ever thinks that they, or anyone they know, will ever end up in jail or prison. But if life throws you a curveball and you find yourself, a family member, or friend incarcerated, wouldn't it be good to know all that awaits you behind those prison walls? During his 17 ½ years in prison, Emanuel Bell hit a lot of bumps in the road. It took him 14 years to understand how to successfully do prison time and stay out of trouble. Emanuel attended a creative writing class at Solano Prison, and learned how to successfully write a book; the result is the newly published How to Serve...
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2018 Paso High Grads - Still Dreaming Big - 023
People of Faith for Justice
We hope you were able to listen to last month’s conversation with Geoffrey Land, Social Studies teacher at Paso High, along with two of his current students who shared their process of becoming scholar activists, learning to speak out for justice and inclusion. We are excited this month to have Beatriz Lopez as our guest! Beatriz was also a student of Geof Land while at Paso Robles High School. In 2018 she participated in a community forum in which Beatriz and eight other undocumented students at PRHS came from the shadows to share their stories openly. Following the forum, Mr. Land...
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I Do It For the Kids - Geoffrey Land SLO County Teacher of the Year - 022
People of Faith for Justice
Our guests today are Geoffrey Land, a Social Studies teacher at Paso Robles High School who has just been named the SLO County Teacher of the Year, and two of his students, Israel Perez and Ana Lopez, both seniors at Paso High. A teacher and his students? What could be more ordinary, right? Not so…what makes this podcast special is the fact that Geoffrey Land is no ordinary teacher, and Ana and Israel are no ordinary high school seniors. Mr. Land has been busy teaching justice-making and activism at Paso Robles High School, and Israel and Ana have both been applying his lessons to real life...
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Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall - 2022 Woman of the Year - A Lifetime of Service - 021
People of Faith for Justice
Rev. Dr. Caroline Addington Hall, Rector of St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church in Los Osos, has been recognized this year by the office of Congressional Representative Salud Carbajal as an outstanding Women of the Year Award recipient. Caro has been our friend, colleague and partner in working for positive change in our Central Coast communities for decades. Rev. Hall has been described as tireless, fearless, and an incredible communicator. She is a published author, an advocate for the unhoused, for the LGBTQA+ community, for the environment, for social justice, for children, and for our furry...
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America’s Gun Problem - What Makes Us Different? - 020
People of Faith for Justice
There are too many guns in the United States of America! Four hundred million firearms are owned by civilians in America–400 million–more guns than the US population. Nationally, there are more than 45,000 deaths caused by guns every year; that’s nearly 125 Americans per day killed by firearms. As of this year, guns are now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1-19. As horrifying as these statistics are, they are only a small part of the story. The real stories are told by the victims, their families, friends, teachers and all who loved them. The loss, trauma, pain, fear,...
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Earth Eternity - Healing Our Mistakes - 019
People of Faith for Justice
Our guests today are three friends from the Central Coast of CA who share a mission: to make the Earth a better place for all their descendants. Earth Day, Earth Month, Earth Year–why not an Earth Eternity? We know that nothing lasts for eternity; one day, scientists say, our Sun will fail us and leave everything in darkness and cold, long after life on planet Earth no longer exists. But what about now? How do we celebrate our Earth’s longevity, long after a day in April, a month in Spring or a year from now? Spend the next hour with our guests June Cochran, Kelly Fisher and Grace...
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Slava Ukraini - A Nation of Survivors - 018
People of Faith for Justice
Our guests today are three women from the Central Coast of CA who share their Ukrainian heritage and the pain, fear and anger they are experiencing during the current, ongoing Russian invasion of their country of origin. Our interview was remarkable. You will hear strong emotions expressed; some of the stories and concerns will be troubling. There is death, famine, war and struggle in Ukraine’s history. But there is beauty, art, joy, resolve and strength as well. RELEVANT LINKS (Permanent Makeup Artistry site) (Fine Art site) (Santa Ynez Valley Star) (by Oksana Yakushko) (by...
info_outlineThis month we had the special treat of speaking with local activist, Ruth Ann Angus, of Morro Bay, CA. Ruth Ann wears so many different hats within her work as a social justice activist, it was hard to know where to start with our interview. We decided to build our interview as Ruth Ann has built her own agenda for justice—with faith as her cornerstone, nonviolence as her inspiration and tenacity as her constant companion.
RELEVANT LINKS
The Nonviolent Cities Project - www.paceebene.org
This site has blogs, podcasts, videos and training programs for individuals and groups desiring to embrace nonviolent living and/or organize social justice actions.
Central Coast of California Nonviolent Cities and other nonviolent development information - www.yeswecanpeacebuilders.org
This site has blogs, videos, newsletters (SATYA) and training programs on how to develop and run a Nonviolent Cities Project, training and curriculum from the Human Rights Organization (www.humanrights.org and www.youthforhumanrights.org.), Talk Around the Table Discussion Groups, and six and 12 week nonviolent training workshops.
Spiritual nonviolence training and information - www.beatitudescenter.org
This site is headed by international peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee John Dear and offers online Zoom workshops and lectures on living a Christian Nonviolent life. Many prominent peace activists are guests on these programs. Beatitudes Center also offers four-day in-person Retreats/Workshops in April, May, September, and October at the Inn at Morro Bay.
The Morro Bay National Estuary Program - www.mbnep.org
Scroll to the bottom of the page at this site and click on Videos and view the award-winning short documentary film Of Marshes and Morros to learn about the grassroots movement that brought Morro Bay into the National Estuary Program of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Learn more about Ruth Ann Angus and her writing and photography - www.ruthannangus.com
MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST
Ruth Ann is the Director of the peace and nonviolence organization, Yes We Can Peacebuilders, in Morro Bay, CA and Administrative Consultant to Fr. John Dear, Executive Director of The Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus.
Ruth Ann has lived in Morro Bay for 35 years and coordinates the Pace e Bene Nonviolent Cities Project there with city officials, police, civic organizations, humanitarian organizations, and members of the community.
She is a longtime journalist, freelance writer and photographer who is published in many national, regional, and local newspapers, magazines, and online publications.
Ruth Ann is a 26-year board member of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program and sits on the special Education and Public Outreach Committee with that organization. She is a past board member of the local Audubon Society, and both a past board member and current consultant to People of Faith for Justice of San Luis Obispo, California.
Ruth Ann has a degree in marketing/merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and a business certificate from Pepperdine University. Ruth Ann became active in the California Democratic Party during the 1970’s and belonged to a grassroots political organization that worked to get progressive democrats elected. She wrote columns for local Democrat publications. She served in the 1976 presidential campaign for Governor Jerry Brown of California and was awarded an appointment as Special Assistant to the Governor on his 1978 state gubernatorial staff. She has worked in the Fashion industry in Los Angeles doing public relations writing and photography, and was a publicity writer and photographer during the 1960s-70s in the folk music industry in New York City. Ruth Ann spent 13 years at Union Bank of California in management and retired early as a Systems Analyst.
Ruth Ann was an activist during the 1960s and 70s participating in anti-war and civil rights protest marches and demonstrations in the northeastern and southern states.
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People of Faith for Justice is a 501 (c )(3) non-profit organization.
CREDITS
The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi
Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman