Dawn Plummer

Template:TOCnestleft Dawn Plummer

MST connection

Media Mobilizing Project October 26, 2011:

Today members of Media Mobilizing Project, Poverty Initiative and Juntos met with Janaina Stronzake, a member of the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) to hear about how our brothers and sisters in Brazil organized the largest social movement in our hemisphere. — with Tanya Jackson, Crystal Hall, Desi Burnette, Milena Velis, Bryan Mercer, Dawn Plummer, Mica Root, Christopher Willis, Erika Almiron Niz, Miguel Esteban Andrade, John Wessel-Mccoy, Meghna Chandra and Kristin Campbell.

Poverty Initiative/The takeover of St. Edward's Church

The takeover of St. Edward's Church had a history behind it according to Liz Theoharis an organizer from the Kensington Welfare Rights Union. In 1999 the KWRU helped to found the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign.

In May 2003 Liz Theoharis and Willie Baptist established the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary in New York City with Chris Caruso, Amy Gopp, Dawn Plummer and Alix Mariko Webb.

In 2006, working with Joe Strife and other faith-rooted organizers in the student group Empty the Shelters Theoharis recruited students from Villanova, University of Pennsylvania and other colleges. The student activity centered on a house called Jubilee which was part of the Life Center Association, a network of intentional community co-housing created by the Movement for a New Society - social justice movement led by among others Dale T. Irvin president of New York Theological Seminary.

With the help of this network which included William Sloane Coffin Baptist and Theoharis were able to institutionalize the work of ending poverty at Union Theological Seminary under the administration of president Joseph Hough.

Also inspired by the St. Edward's takeover some students from Eastern University including Shane Claiborne formed The Simple Way, which went on to "become a national leader in raising issues of poverty and justice in the Evangelical community and beyond."

Since that time the church has been the home of The Simple Way. Shane Claiborne and his wife Mary Jo were married there as were two other The Simple Way founders Michael Brix and Michelle Brix.

Shane Claiborne writes:

It was at St. Ed's that I was born again...again.

References

Template:Reflist