December 4 "Poverty in North Carolina: Changing Faces, Swelling Ranks" Patrick Conway Professor of Economics UNC at Chapel Hill

Patrick Conway has been on UNC's faculty since 1983. During that time, he has taught courses in introductory economics, international economics, development economics and macroeconomics to undergraduates and graduates. He was awarded the William C. Friday Award in 2001 for excellence in teaching. . His research has focused on the the international aspects of trade and finance with developing countries. He is the author of three books and many journal articles, including "Crisis, Stabilization and Growth: Economic Adjustment in Transition Economies." His current research interests include the impact of IMF lending programs on developing-country welfare, the development of financial markets in transition economies, and the impact on US workers of US textiles and apparel imports.
Today is the first Sunday of the month, and our tradition is to bring foods for the IFC Food Pantry on this day. We urge contributors to fill grocery bags to overflow. Many in our community are in dire need because of lost jobs and restrictions on funding for social services. Whatever we can share will help to make their Christmas brighter and more comfortable. Items this organization needs this month can be seen at Priority Items. Please donate generously.
December 18 Randy Best, Ethical Leader We celebrate Winter Solstice in observation of the end of lengthening nights and the beginning of lengthening days. The winter solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's polar hemisphere is farthest away from the star that it orbits. Since the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, other terms are often used for the day on which it occurs, such as midwinter and the longest night or the first day of winter. The solstice itself may have been a special moment of the annual cycle of the year even during Neolithic times. Astronomical events, which during ancient times controlled the mating of animals, sowing of crops and metering of winter reserves between harvests, show how various cultural mythologies and traditions have arisen. This is attested by physical remains in the layouts of late Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites such as Stonehenge in Britain and Newgrange in Ireland. The winter solstice may have been immensely important because communities were not certain of living through the winter, and had to be prepared during the previous nine months. In temperate climates, the midwinter festival was the last feast celebration, before deep winter began. [www.Wikipedia.org]
December 11 Our discussion group will focus on issues and concerns raised by Platform Speaker Patrick Conway in his December 4th presentation about poverty in North Carolina. Everyone is welcome. It will be an interesting and lively discussion, and everyone is welcome. Please join us.
December 25

EHST	December 22 Our scheduled cook and serve for IFC will resume this Thursday from 4 to 7:15pm. Contact Amy Piersma to sign up. EHST members cook and serve meals at the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services' community kitchen once each month. The food is donated from the community and anyone who is hungry can eat. Our entire membership participates. On the fourth Thursday of each month, January through October in 2012, five to six members cook from 4-6pm, and several members serve from 6-7:15. It's great fun and a worthy endeavor! January 20 The Bellwether Book Club will usher in the New Year with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. Also being considered is The Cairo House by Samia Seragedin, a semi-autobiographical novel by an Egyptian-born instructor at Duke.
IFC Fund Raising	Christmas Nights Saturday, December 3, 6pm Kick-off your holiday shopping downtown and enjoy a free outdoor concert of holiday music performed by artists associated with the Gathering Church's album Christmas Nights. They will perform new takes on traditional Christmas songs, including "O Come O Come Emmanuel," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Oh Holy Night," "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," and "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem." The concert will be in the Memorial Garden at University Baptist Church; 100 S. Columbia Street. Attendees are asked to make a cash donation. New Year’s Eve Concert Saturday, December 31, 2011 Another concert benefiting IFC will be held in the sanctuary of United Church of Chapel Hill, located at 1321 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Chapel Hill. The Road Home Band will play a joyous mix of folk, bluegrass, and old time music beginning at 7 p.m. Attendees are asked to make a cash donation.
Holiday Celebrations	Twelve Days of Christmas, Chapel Hill. The Carolina Inn, (919) 933-2001. Chapel Hill Holiday Tree Lighting, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, (919) 967-9440. Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting, Hillsborough. Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce, (919) 732-8156. Christmas Crafts Show, Hillsborough. Daniel Boone Merchants Association, (919) 245-3330. Christmas Candlelight Tour, Hillsborough. Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce, (919) 732-8156. Holiday House Tour, Chapel Hill. Preservation Society of Chapel Hill, (919) 942-7818. Holiday Parade, Chapel Hill & Carrboro, Chapel Hill Jaycees, (919) 672-1820. 10 am-noon. Nutcracker on Ice, Hillsborough. Triangle Sportsplex, (919) 644-0339.