Seminary of the Street

Christmas Eve
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Winter Solstice
Let's Liberate, Decolonize, and Re-Occupy Christmas Eve!
God (or Goddess, or Yahweh, or Allah, or the Force for Healing and Transformation in the Universe, or the best of our collective humanity) is doing a new thing at this time! We see it in nonviolent uprisings that are taking place all over the globe as people take a stand for our collective liberation from greed, violence, and exploitation.
 
At the heart of the miraculous new thing that is coming into being, we think, is a radical new community that has the potential to bring us together across the lines that divide us. In the U.S. the “99%” framework, even with its limitations, provides an umbrella under which the middle class family in foreclosure can meet up with the homeless veteran and the high school dropout barred from employment by a felony on her record, and they can work together in solidarity.
 
This is the context in which we will celebrate Christmas Eve. We will gather at two different times (7:30pm and 10pm)  and in two different locations (in a homeless encampment under the freeway at 29th and Telegraph and in Oscar Grant Plaza) to celebrate the birth of love among us, first with a flash mob potluck Christmas Eve dinner and then with a worship service and vigil. Here is the schedule, followed by a list of what we need.
 
7pm (if you can) meet at the Rainbow Grocery Outlet on 29th and Broadway to stage
7:30pm Arrive at 29th and Telegraph, set up tables, candles, food, and settle in to get to know our fellow Oaklanders. We’ll sing carols, get to know each other, and give away blankets, coats, and other warm things to those who need them. PLEASE NOTE: We would really like to see mixing between people who live under the freeway and those of us who don’t. Please come ready to reach out.
9:30ish Pack up and head to Oscar Grant Plaza
10pm Candlelight Christmas Eve service with the Decolonize/Occupy Oakland community
Needs:
  • participants who can bring a generous potluck dish with serving utensil to the 7:30 gathering. If you want to contribute food, but cannot join us for dinner, you can bring your dish to First Christian Church of Oakland, 111 Fairmount, anytime between 4 and 6:45pm, or to the Grocery Outlet parking lot between 7 and 7:15. Please remember that we may not have a way to keep hot food hot, and please mark anything you would like returned to you clearly with your name and phone number.
  • blankets, coats, and other warm things to give away
  • one or two volunteers to bring cider and cookies to Oscar Grant plaza at 10pm. We have some thermoses you can borrow to keep the cider hot.
  • singers to help lead carols at the 10pm service.
  • drummers for the 10pm service
  • wholehearted worshippers for the 10pm service!
 
Please let us know if you can help with these needs, or just come!

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Flash Mob Dinner, or TO RSVP, VOLUNTEER, AND/OR CONTRIBUTE FOOD, PLEASE CONTACT PAUL ARENSMEYER AT paularensmeyer@gmail.com or 503-703-5852. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND/OR TO VOLUNTEER FOR THE OCCUPY CHRISTMAS EVE EVENT, CONTACT NICHOLA TORBETT AT ntorbett@seminaryofthestreet.org or 510-225-8561