Social Justice

People marched in silence through the streets of Hagerstown on Good Friday, and stopped at seven designated sites along the way to pray for religious tolerance and racial harmony. The Rev. Ed Poling of the Hagerstown Church of the Brethren said the event was designed to bring awareness to social justice. "It's to help us remember that Christ's suffering is part of the world's suffering," Poling said. "It's to help us make the kind of world that God would want for us. " About 40 marchers participated, some taking turns carrying a wooden cross as Christ did through the streets of Jerusalem on the way to his crucifixion on Calvary Hill.

Today being Good Friday, several Christians from through-out the area are gathering in Hagerstown this afternoon to carry a wooden cross in the manner of Jesus Christ. And, in the manner of connecting the passion of Christ to the ongoing suffering in the world, the group will visit seven places that still speak to such problems, said the Rev. Rick Jewell. While still relatively new in town, Jewell was a natural to help organize today's Good Friday Walk for Social Justice in Hagerstown.

M&T Bank recently brought its total 2006 donations to Interfaith Housing Alliance to $20,000, covering various service regions shared by the bank and by Interfaith. This is the third year in a row that M&T Bank has committed this level of support to the production of affordable housing. "The continuing grants from M&T Bank demonstrate a deep understanding of our work and a clear effort to help bring social justice in housing to those who have been priced out of the market by the recent rapid escalation in housing prices," said Jim Upchurch, president of Interfaith Housing Alliance.

"Well, the National Weather Service is at it again. They were wrong about their long- range prediction of more then usual hurricanes this season, so guess what, El Nino was the reason. They can't stand to be wrong. " "I found a lady's wallet Wednesday morning at the yellow entrance at Robinwood. You can claim it at the pharmacy. " - Hagerstown "When the gas prices were up to $3 a gallon, everybody was criticizing the president for his role and the gas prices being that high.

"Well, the National Weather Service is at it again. They were wrong about their long- range prediction of more then usual hurricanes this season, so guess what, El Nino was the reason. They can't stand to be wrong. " "I found a lady's wallet Wednesday morning at the yellow entrance at Robinwood. You can claim it at the pharmacy. " - Hagerstown "When the gas prices were up to $3 a gallon, everybody was criticizing the president for his role and the gas prices being that high.

In today's edition of The Herald-Mail is Making A Difference, a special section profiling people who better the lives of others in the Tri-State area. Among those you can read about in this section are the following people: Verna Brown, coordinator for Washington County Emergency Management, who balances her efforts with time to volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County and served as acting chairwoman of the organization's Bowl for Kids' Sake Committee. Cheryl Flook, who has taken care of 21 foster children who have stayed at her home over the past six years.

CHAMBERBSURG, Pa. - A proponent of non-violence during the most violent century in the history of mankind, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. left behind "a message not just for today, but the next millennium," Robert Hewitt said Sunday. cont. from front page "He sought to strengthen the common bonds of our humanity," said Hewitt, a professor of social work at Shippensburg University. "Many people say he left us a dream, and a vision and a legacy to that end," he told the 200 people gathered at the St. Paul United Methodist Church for a memorial service honoring the late civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner.