The mission of the Global Studies Group (GSG) is to study current international events. Members identify critical areas of the world that they would like to learn about, and select readings for discussion.

We meet on the first Sunday of each month after the service. Newcomers and drop-ins are totally welcome. For information, please contact Bobbi Lammers-Campbell. Notes from previous meetings and events can be found HERE.


This group was formed after the events of September 11, by a group of church members who were interested in learning more about the root causes of the terrorist attacks. Over the years, the group has focused on different areas of the world, such as the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and has investigated political themes such as imperialism, terrorism and immigration.

We began by reading about the Middle East, books such as Good Muslim, Bad Muslim by Mahmood Mamdani. Additional books on the reading list are: The Fourth Estate by Gary Hart, Scott Ritter’s book, Iraq Confidential, about the search for weapons of mass destruction, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney, Philippe Sands’ book about international law, Lawless World, and currently we are reading Noam Chomsky’s book, Who Rules the World?

The group has occasionally become a task force, becoming involved in a variety of service activities. Most recently, we supported the Occupy movement. Our members have marched against war (in Chicago in 2003 and in New York last spring) and on behalf of immigration reform. We have written letters to government representatives. We provided moral support to a Chicago Muslim woman falsely accused of terrorism, by being present at her trial. A fundraiser was held to foster peace in the Middle East by rebuilding Palestinian homes. We have organized special collections for various catastrophic events, such as earthquakes in various parts of the world, genocide in Sudan, the tsunami in Thailand, and the hurricane in New Orleans. We have offered support to veterans of the Vietnam War, who were seeking a place to hold group meetings.