The free community Thanksgiving Dinner at High Places Community Church and Grove Theater in Oak Ridge is Thursday.
This year’s program has been changed to allow people to maintain physical distances.
The Oak Ridge Community Thanksgiving Dinner is hosted by a grassroots group of people.
Dinner will be served by drive-up/walk-up from 12 to 1 p.m. Thursday at 123 Randolph Road in Grove Center.
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Fulin’s Asian Cuisine in Oak Ridge has closed.
The restaurant cited the pandemic in a Facebook post announcing its closing on Wednesday. That post and the restaurant’s page appear to have been removed since then, or they are no longer visible to the public.
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Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. June 11.
More than 1,000 people marched and protested in Oak Ridge last week, asking for equal treatment for black people.
They said the nation is obligated to fight systemic racism, racial inequality, and police brutality. They want to live without fear. They advocated for police reforms, accountability, and the use of de-escalation tactics.
Protesters hope to end 400 years of oppression that started with slavery in America in 1619 and continued after the Civil War with attacks on black people, lynchings, the Ku Klux Klan, segregation, discrimination, and racism. That oppression has been felt in Oak Ridge, and some young adults and teenagers said they have experienced or witnessed racism.
Protesters said they were angry, upset, and frustrated. They called the death of George Floyd while he was detained by police in Minneapolis last month a murder. They recalled the deaths of other black men and boys, some killed by police and others by citizens. They acknowledged that there are many good police officers, but they condemned police officers who they said hide behind their badges to do wicked deeds.
“Enough is enough,” protesters said. “We are done dying.”
Protesters met at Oak Ridge High School Tuesday afternoon, June 2, and marched to the Oak Ridge Civic Center. They carried signs and wore T-shirts that said “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe.” They chanted “No justice, no peace” and, led by organizer Trevor King, “Make racism illegal.” Silence is compliance, the protesters said, and silence in the face of evil is itself evil.
[Read more…]The final Community Unity Celebration event is today in Oak Ridge.
The World Day of Prayer Service is from 7-8:15 p.m. Friday, March 6, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 212 North Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.
It will have an interdenominational prayer service written by women of Zimbabwe, “Rise! Take Your Mat and Walk.”
Note: This press release was submitted by an advertiser or subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.
Local organizations and congregations are offering opportunities for residents of Oak Ridge and surrounding areas to get to know each other and build community, a press release said.
The Community Unity Celebration kicked off with the Human Rights Rally on Saturday, January 18, and it will end with the World Day of Prayer on Friday, March 6.
“Please join us as you can!” the press release said.
Here is a calendar of events:
[Read more…]Community Unity Celebration has events this week. During the celebration, local organizations and congregations are working together to offer opportunities for residents of Oak Ridge and surrounding areas to come together to get to know each other and build community, a press release said.
The Celebration kicked off with the Human Rights Rally on Saturday, January 18, and it will end with the World Day of Prayer on Friday, March 6.
“Please join us as you can!” the press release said.
Here is more information about the events:
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Grace Writers of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge is featuring its second annual writing contest in memory of two members: Carol Oen and Cleva Marrow, both Oak Ridge writers.
Carol Oen wrote poetry, freelance articles for magazines, and a senior romance novel, “Songs That Remember,” about Alzheimer’s and caregivers. She taught memoir writing for the Oak Ridge Institute of Continued Learning. Cleva Marrow freelanced for The Oak Ridger and The Knoxville News Sentinel.
The contest will consist of three awards:
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At the February meeting of Women’s Interfaith Dialogue, Gay Marie Logsdon will give a presentation about taking charge as a medical advocate.
The meeting will be held on Monday, February 3, at the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, 101 West Madison Lane, with an opening reception at 10:45 a.m. and program at 11 a.m., a press release said.
Logsdon’s presentation is based on her own experience as well as that of family and friends over more than 30 years, the press release said.
“The urgency to speak about medical advocacy grew out of months of in-patient and out-patient medical care, torrents of insurance claims, and gradual recovery following a head-on car wreck in 2016,” the press release said.
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The second Human Rights Rally in Oak Ridge will be held on Saturday, January 18, at 2 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The organizers of the “Human Rights Rally: How Can You Help?” event stated in a news release that the doors will be open at 1 p.m. for making signs for the march that will follow the 2 p.m. program of speakers and music.
Mark Flynn, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge, will serve as the moderator. Speakers will include Lissie Meza Beehan, Jake Morrill, Kesha Shipe Waters, and Rose Weaver. Topics will range from the rights of children and LGBTQ rights to the challenges for the immigrant community in Oak Ridge, a press release said.
Music will be provided by the Oak Valley Voice of Praise, the ORUUC Sorta Singers, and the First Presbyterian Church Choir.
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December is filled with twinkling lights, decorated trees, and lots of eggnog and presents. But some folks experience the holiday season as difficult for many reasons.
Sometimes called a “blue Christmas” gathering, First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge will hold its annual “service of memory and hope” for the public on Tuesday, December 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. The all-woman, ecumenical River of Grace Threshold Choir will provide special music designed to offer comfort through music to those at the threshold of life.
FPCOR member and social worker Elaine Wilson will speak on “memory.” Barbara McCord, a leader of the Baha’i community in Oak Ridge, will talk about “hope.” [Read more…]
The Community Education and Development group is hosting viewings and discussions of the PBS series, “The Dictator’s Playbook.”
You can join them from 3-5 p.m. Sunday, November 17, in the social hall of Oak Ridge Universal Unitarian Church, 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, to learn about Francisco Franco’s rise and fall, a press release said. This is the fifth of six sessions, with each session covering a dictator who arose to infamy in the 20th century, the press release said. A final discussion and reception will be held on Sunday, December 8.
[Read more…]As part of its Community Education and Development Ministry, the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will offer a series of viewings and discussions of the PBS series, “The Dictator’s Playbook.”
You can join them on Sunday afternoons from 3-5 p.m. from October 20 through November 24. A final discussion and reception will be held on Sunday, December 8, a press release said.
The group will meet in the Social Hall at ORUUC, which is at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Six moderator-led sessions will focus on the rise of a particular dictator who arose to infamy in the 20th century, the press release said: Kim II Sung (October 20), Saddam Hussein (October 27), Benito Mussolini (November 3), Manuel Noriega (November 10), Francisco Franco (November 17), and Idi Amin (November 24). The seventh session will be a discussion of common themes and lessons to be learned from the rise, rule, and fall of these modern dictators (December 8), the press release said.
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