Two programs with the aim of increasing awareness and information on the situation in Darfur, Africa. The Sunday morning service was led by Matt Meyer, an experienced lay liturgist. Matt's Drumbeat for Darfur program was a chance for people to participate in hands-on rhythm-making while learning about our commitments to Darfur.

In the afternoon, the First Parish Fogg Committee sponsored a free Fogg Lecture featuring Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Elgadi, a Darfur refugee. Dr. Mohamed Elgadi is a survivor of torture in Sudan and is living in the United States under political asylum. Since coming to the US, he has worked to raise awareness about atrocities committed by the Sudanese government and the genocide in Darfur.

Dr. Elgadi earned his M.A. in Environmental Studies at the University of Khartoum and his Ph.D. in Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. A committed activist on the American national stage and in international circles, he is the co-founder of the Philadelphia-based Darfur Alert Coalition, a Sudanese-American group of grassroots activists working on issues related to Darfur. He is the founder and chair of Group Against Torture in Sudan (GATS), an advocacy group working among Sudanese refugees. He also serves on the advisory committee of Judgement on Genocide: International Citizens Tribunal for Sudan, a project that has created a forum for discussion of the genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Sudanese government led by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir

Click on any photo to enlarge. Photos courtesy of Sue Robinson.