"Not one sparrow is forgotten," goes the Shaker hymn, drawn from the Gospel of Luke. But with home foreclosures, unemployment, and long lines at food banks, many are feeling forgotten as they struggle to earn their daily bread. In these hard economic times, it is important to reflect on economic justice and our role in creating economic and spiritual abundance. How can we help care for each of God's sparrows?

The 110th Earl Lectures and Leadership Conference, Our Daily Bread: Faith, Work, and the Economy, will bring together religious and secular leaders to teach, preach, and strategize about issues of economic justice. We will seek to answer tough questions: How can an understanding of the economy help people of faith and goodwill advocate for change? What can we do together in difficult times to improve lives and empower futures?

Join this year's lecturers Robert Reich, UC Berkeley professor of public policy, Islamic scholar Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice; preachers Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, executive director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, and Bishop Yvette Flunder, founder and senior pastor of City of Refuge United Church of Christ; and other speakers, and workshop presenters, as we strive to live out the Gospel message to care for "the least of these."

Registration for the Earl Lectures and Leadership Conference allows participants to take advantage not only of the free keynote lectures but also of a full slate of workshops linking faith to economic justice and practice. This year's workshops are salient and critically useful. PSR has invited individuals and non-profits working in the field of economic justice to lead intensive trainings in one or two afternoons. Attendees at this year's workshops will spend more time and go more deeply into their topics of choice, and will walk away at the end of the day with specific tools and techniques to bring back to their communities. By emphasizing the real-life applications of their work, workshop leaders will leave participants with meaningful, productive tools they can immediately put into practice.

Conference & Events Costs

• Lectures Only
  Free. No registration necessary

• Full Earl Lectures & Leadership Conference, including workshops
  $150 full registration
  PSR/GTU students free, but registration in advance is required to attend

• One Day Only - Earl Lectures & Leadership Conference, including one workshop
  $75 
   

• Prospective Student Luncheon
  Free - Registration Required. (1/25, 1:00pm, details here)
   

• CLGS Luncheon (1/26, 1:00pm, details here)
  $20 general public
  $8 students with ID
   
• Alumni/ae Banquet (1/26, 6:00pm, details here)
  $25 general public
  $10 students with ID

• Denominational Lunches (1/27, 1:00pm, details here)
  $20 general public
  $8 students with ID
   

Free events generally do not require registration.

Please contact PSR with any further questions.

PSR announces 2010 Distinguished Alumni/ae

Since 1995, the PSR Alumni/ae Council has presented its annual Distinguished Alumni/ae Award to graduates who have provided outstanding service in their ministry or profession and shown distinguished leadership in faith communities on a local, regional, or national level. Winners for 2011, who will be honored on campus January 26 during the Earl Lectures, are:

George Aki, (MA 1940), Roberta Rominger (MDiv 1982), Fred Plumer, (MDiv 1984), John Vaughn (MDiv 1985)

Fred Plumer, (MDiv 1984) is the founding Pastor of Irvine UCC, in Irvine, California. In 1989 under his leadership the church agreed to host a Reconstructionist Synagogue. The congregations shared space, operating expenses, teaching forums, mission outreach projects, special services, and meals for more than 15 years.

In 2000, with the synagogue's approval, a Mosque joined this dynamic mix of religious traditions sharing space and ideas. Rev. Plumer has also been involved in the Open and Affirming movement for full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) members of the UCC. He was the executive producer of a video and workbook on the Open and Affirming process, "A Journey of Faith," which has been used in five countries and in thousands of churches in several denominations. Rev. Plumer currently serves as president of the board of The Center for Progressive Christianity.

He has led workshops, preached sermons, and published articles and on church development, building faith communities, and redefining the purpose of the enlightened Christian Church. 

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