People for Peace & Justice will meet Tuesday, Dec. 16, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 902 E. State St., Fremont.  A 6:30 pm potluck will be followed by a 7:30 presentation on Human Trafficking and Sisters in Shelter.

David and Barbara Shine of Fostoria are working with Sisters in Shelter, a group based in Seneca County whose mission is to educate the public about human trafficking and to support and advocate for its victims.  Sisters in Shelter has obtained a house which will  provide safe and hospitable housing for women who are victims of human sex or labor trafficking with the goal of empowering them to become self-sufficient and contributing members of society.

A free will offering will be taken to support the new shelter which will open in January.  Other ways to support the shelter include:  household items such as kitchen towels, dish cloths, zippered pillow cases, live plants, flat screen TV, DVD player, CD player, etc. or finances toward any one of these items.

During the potluck, we will be saying farewell to Keith and Joyce Koppenhofer, who are moving to Florida upon Keith’s retirement as St. Mark’s pastor at the end of this month.  Keith has been our host every month for ~5 years, making Fair Trade coffee for us each meeting and preparing the facility for our needs.  He and Joyce have faithfully supported our activities and discussions.   We wish them well in their retirement, but oh, how we will miss them!

PPJ’s new meeting venue and day starting in January:  First United Church of Christ, 1500 Tiffin Rd., Third Wednesday of the month.

Our peace vigilers joined with Maedell Leake and several members of the African-American community to hold a Ferguson Solidarity Vigil on the day before Thanksgiving.  A photo and short article were featured on the front page of the News-Messenger on Thanksgiving morning.  Read it here.

Rev. Elaine Bast, pastor of First UCC and a long time member of our group, will be our host.  Thanks, Elaine!  Our first meeting at the new location will be Jan. 21.