Raising awareness in Bay Ridge

Peace and Justice were on the agenda on Saturday, June 15, when the Peace Action Bay Ridge Interfaith Coalition, an affiliate of Peace Action New York State, held a Peace and Justice Fair at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, located at Bay Ridge Parkway and Fourth Avenue.

The groups that participated included Bread for the World, Architects and Engineers, Move to Amend No Drones/Nuclear Weapons/Nuclear Power, Mercy for Animals, Campaign Finance Reform, Coalition Against the Rockaway Pipeline, Food and Water Watch, Habitat for Humanity and Military Families Speak Out.

Vicki McFadyen organized this year’s Peace and Justice Fair. Reverend Robert Emerick, pastor of the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church, was the featured speaker with his topic discussion entitled, “The Economy-What Happened? Myths & Facts.”

When asked why something like this event needs to take place in the community, McFadyen responded, It’s important for people in Bay Ridge to learn about these causes because there was not much in the regular news media [about them].

Dave Doll and the No Fracking Band provided the entertainment between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the event was held. Refreshments were served; important information and statistics were relayed to the interested people; and all essentially had a good time.

McFadyen commented, “The peace and justice fair is a good opportunity for the various activist groups to get together and listen to what each other are doing.”

The Peace Action Bay Ridge Interfaith Coalition’s next event will take place on Saturday, June 29, between 3 and 4 p.m., to commemorate the Fourth of July. Members of the organization will be giving away 100 “Peace Is Patriotic” buttons on 86th Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues in front of Century 21.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.