NEWSLETTER |

MAY 2005

If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, please send an e-mail to info@usservas.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. US SERVAS E-NEWSLETTER Issue 2 of 2005 1. GOODBYE, JON! 2. WELCOME, PATRICE! 3. US/CANADA CONFERENCE 4. EMAILS TO THE EDITOR 5. DATABASE HELP NEEDED 6. PRAYERS FOR PEACE 7. GIVE WINGS TO PEACE! -------------------------- 1. GOODBYE, JON! US Servas has bid a fond goodbye to Jon Moseley, Administrator of the New York office for two and half years: his last day at work was April 29. Jon is an extraordinary person, administrator and friend to Servas. His intelligence, patience and wisdom have supported each person who has come in contact with him. Jon has enabled US Servas to join the international host list system, thereby improving relations with our international Servas colleagues. He has provided support and sound advice to all Servas committees as US Servas moves to a more volunteer-based and technologically competent organization. While we are sorry to lose Jon, we knew the job would end when his wife completed law school. We wish them well in their new endeavors. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 2. WELCOME, PATRICE! Patrice Samara was chosen from among several well-qualified people who responded to the Servas ad on The Idealist web site: she has an extraordinary background. We are delighted to welcome her as Executive Director of US Servas. She has been on the job with Jon Moseley for a month, but as of May 1 she‚s on her own! Patrice has over twenty-five years hands-on experience as an Executive Director, CEO, and Senior Manager, including fourteen years with a variety of philanthropies and not-for-profit, domestic and international organizations. As a strategist and spokesperson, she has articulated the vision, raised the visibility and enhanced the reputation of several organizations in multiple sectors. While her resume shows specific experience in Servas‚ sphere of interest, what it does not show is her personal dedication to worldwide progress and well being in those areas: her references confirm that she is a committed humanitarian. To give you a sense of the broad scope of her background, here a few, relevant quotes from her cover letter and resume. Patrice * fully understands the importance of a well defined philanthropic mission; * served as Executive Director for a foundation with 60+ international partners, 40 United States partners, and over 100,000 participants fostering cultural understanding and education worldwide; * planned and executed nearly 100 not-for-profit fundraisers, events, programs and policy forums; * is trained in domestic and international protocol. And just to give a more rounded picture, in an earlier phase of Patrice‚s career, she was an Emmy award-winning film producer! Welcome, oh-many-faceted Patrice! She is looking forward to meeting all of you and will welcome hearing from you by at the US Servas office by phone 212-267-0252 or by email Patrice@usservas.org [Editor‚s Note: Patrice‚s photo appears in the mid-June issue of Open Doors.] ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 3. US/CANADA CONFERENCE Reduced Rates at Joint US/Canadian Conference Now Available through June 4! You probably know from previous publicity that the first conference jointly sponsored by US Servas and Servas Canada will occur this August at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. The conference will run from Friday evening, August 5 through Sunday afternoon, August 7, with optional activities before and after. The annual business meeting of U. S. Servas will occur on Sunday. The physical setting of the campus is spectacular and Vancouver is a great jumping-off point for further travel in the Pacific Northwest. The conference theme is „Servas - Making the Connection.‰ Activities will include: - A panel exploring what it means to „give hospitality‰ for people from significantly different cultural backgrounds, including issues surrounding having or being cross-cultural houseguests; - Speakers or panel to stimulate serious thought about the actual role of people-to-people travel in advancing peace goals; - Workshops or discussion groups on a variety of related topics, as well as practical Servas issues such as interviewing prospective Servas members; - Walking tours and other encounters with Vancouver‚s ethnic communities; - Presentations or performances that illuminate the youth perspective on these themes; and - Lots of time for making individual connections! Registration for participants from the US is being coordinated by former National Co-Chair Dan Rubin: email dancallie@comcast.net ; address 3043 Central Street SE, Olympia, WA 98501; phone (360) 352-2161. A registration form and further information is on the US Servas website ( ), or is also available from Dan by email. Through June 4, the registration is $155 (US) for adults, with reduced prices for accompanied youth and children. (Don‚t worry if the form still says May 15.) After June 10 the adult registration fee will increase to $190. Registration includes the program and all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch (including a salmon barbecue and celebration on Saturday night). Some optional activities will have additional modest cost. Housing is separate, with a range of options on the UBC campus at special rates ranging from $25 Canadian (about $20 US) per night for a simple room with shared bath to suites capable of accommodating two couples or a family. Information on booking housing is on the US Servas website. Note that all accommodation prices are in Canadian dollars; US dollar conversion will occur as part of a credit card charge and currently are about 20% lower. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 4. EMAILS TO THE EDITOR Thanks to kind comments regarding the first issue of eUSServas in 2005. These were forwarded to me through the NY office, but you can contact me directly at phylliscole@baymoon.com if you wish. From Patricia Decker of Hudson, NY: „Really nice newsletter. Good thoughts. Thanks.‰ From Claudine Thomas of Kansas City, MO: „Thank you for doing this. Shalom!‰ Tom Leamon of Whately, MA writes of Servas as a peace-builder: „Many thanks for the Servas newsletter. Your editorial work is much appreciated. We enjoyed/valued receiving it. In regard to "peace-building activities", we are of the opinion that international visitations are per se peace-building in the exchange of views, lasting empathy and personal identity with fellow Servas‚ of other nationalities that occur in 99% of the exchanges. Any program urgency I might feel applies to maintaining and sustaining SERVAS basic international visitation practice. Thanks again.‰ ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 5. DATABASE HELP NEEDED Servas is well along in the process of developing a relational database. If you are adept at either Access (for the PC) or Filemaker (for the Mac) and might be interested in helping with this vital project on either a temporary or on-going basis, please contact Roy Fidler, Marketing Committee Chairman, for more information. He can be reached at royfidler@earthlink.net or 415-499-3171. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 6. PRAYERS FOR PEACE St Paul‚s Chapel, part of the Parish of Trinity Church (Episcopal) in the City of New York (www.trinitywallstreet.org < > ), was built in 1766 in a field „outside the city.‰ After the terrorist attack of 9/11/01, it served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers. The Chapel has published a brochure with prayers we want to share with Servas members. For those not of a religious bent, the prayers focus on values Servas adheres to strongly: peace, justice and reconciliation. Here‚s how the collection was created: „On October 27, 1986, spiritual leaders from each of the world‚s twelve major religions came together for the first time in history to share their most sacred prayers for the ŒDay of World Peace,‰ celebrated in Assisi, Italy, in commemoration of the United Nations International Year of Peace. We at St Paul‚s Chapel honor the call for mutual respect, compassion and reconciliation that these moving orations continue to represent. We also offer them as an invitation to people of faith from every tradition to join us, both through common prayer and private reflection, in proclaiming the dignity of every human being...‰ The Editor plans to publish the Prayers for Peace of the Baha‚i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jainist, Jewish, Muslim, North African, Native American, Shinto, Sikh and Zoroastrian faiths in other issues of both eUSServas and Open Doors, as space allows. The brochure starts with the Prayer of St. Francis, published below. The Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love Where there is injury ... pardon Where there is doubt ... faith Where there is despair ... hope Where there is darkness ... light Where there is sadness ... joy Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console To be understood as to understand To be loved as to love For it is in giving that we receive It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 7. HELP SERVAS FLY! Do you have extra frequent flyer miles that are not being used? Would you like any of your frequent flyer airline accounts to give wings to peace? Why not donate your miles or frequent flyer tickets to US Servas? Servas wants to support, as needed, staff and Board members to attend US and International Servas meetings; your tax-deductible frequent flyer miles/tickets will help Servas fly! Contact the NY office at 212-267-0252 or info@usservas.org

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