Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal

On Friday, September 14^th, the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal celebrated our 3^rd Annual Partners & Friends Luncheon.

We celebrated our partners and friends, introducing ourselves and our work, connecting and reconnecting as a community committed to nurturing and sustaining life and justice in the Greater New Orleans area. We are grateful for all who were able to join us, including our partners from People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, Common Ground Health Clinic, and Green Light New Orleans.

We honored the work of Quo Vadis Breaux, director of the Center even before it was officially founded 5 years ago, and Maggie Matlak, whose 3 years of service at the Center left an indelible mark of hospitality on countless volunteers and partners. We welcomed Deanna Vandiver, the new Executive Director of the Center, and Keisha Willis, the new Volunteer Coordinator. We gave great thanks and praise to Amina Dada, Hospitalitarian and Chef Extraordinaire, whose black beans and rice and oven baked crispy chicken showcased a small sample of her culinary gifts. We lifted up the commitment of the CELSJR Board, all of whom provide generous support for the luncheon and for the Center.

We offered gratitude for the gift of community, for the creative power of turning toward each other as we strive together to build the world we dream of living in. We continue to give thanks for all who walk with us in solidarity and partnership. Thank you, dear ones!

What better time to transition leadership than in the midst of a hurricane?!?!? Life is never boring in New Orleans!

The Center is pleased to welcome Deanna Vandiver as our new Executive Director and Keisha Willis as our new VISTA Volunteer Coordinator.  We already miss Maggie Matlak very much and are incredibly grateful that the beloved Quo Vadis Breaux is remaining with the Center in an advisory capacity this fall.

The calls for assistance from our partners are coming in and we would love to have volunteers to join in the work that beacons.  The Center has many openings this fall, especially late September and October.  If you have been feeling a call to service, please give us a call - the power is back on and we are ready to host you!

(Note: We are also grateful for the Center's new mural, courtesy of artist Leslie Runnels)!

Thank you for believing that New Orleans is too important a city to be lost. Thank you for investing your thoughts, time, energy and money to help the city recover from an unimaginable disaster. Thank you for supporting the work of the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal (CELSJR). The Center has operated for the past four years because of your faith and willingness to invest in the hope of an equitable recovery for all.

I cannot fully express how meaningful the past five and a half years have been for me. My time doing this work, initially through the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and later through CELSJR, have been fantastic years of hard work and discovery as we realized repeatedly how magnificent the human journey can be when we reach out to each other in solidarity. Thank all of you for this incredible opportunity to work toward the holistic recovery of my home, New Orleans.

My last day as Executive Director will be August 31, 2012. I will continue in an advisory capacity until October 31^st, to facilitate as smooth a transition as possible.

Deanna Vandiver will be replacing me as Executive Director. Deanna is a rising UU minister who will be ordained by the three local UU congregations in November. She is dynamic, impassioned and an incredibly gifted preacher. I am confident that she will navigate the waters of the next leg of the Center’s journey with surety and spirited direction.

Please continue your support of the Center. Deanna will have two AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers working with her and a wonderful chef, Amina Da Da in the kitchen. They will be happy to host your volunteer group and provide the warm hospitality, complete with an educational curriculum and meaningful work, that the Center has become known for over the past several years.

I look forward to seeing and hearing from you in the future—I will still be in New Orleans.

In community,

Quo Vadis G. Breaux

Thank you for your interest in the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal.  We're excited about your interest in the holistic rebuilding of New Orleans.