| |
|
|
|
Justice
Jottings
June 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sharing the Good News
South Jersey Hope
South Jersey Hope, the faith-based, interdenominational community
organizing group that Fr. Ted Cassidy has been helping develop, met
recently at Christ Gospel Church in Whitesboro, NJ. 86 people gathered to
inaugurate the official acceptance in Cape May County NJ of the
"211" telephone help number. This is a 24-7 free service that
offers information and help for needs like affordable housing, financial,
emergency and disaster assistance, and many others. South Jersey
Hope started almost five years ago with help from a grant from the
Marianist Sharing Fund. At the June 1 meeting, plans were
made to contact all who have been involved to discern the next social
justice project the group will tackle.
South
Jersey Hope Sponsoring Committee leaders
(Fr. Ted Cassidy is standing second from the left)
|
|
Racial and Immigrant Justice
Rally for Immigration Reform in Philadelphia
Pati
Krasensky, co-chair of the Racial and Immigrant Justice Team, attended a
rally recently for comprehensive immigration reform. Here are her
reflections: "On
May 26th the Reform Immigration for America coalition organized a rally
at Independence Park in Philadelphia. About 100 people attended on what
was the hottest day of the year so far. I was supposed to be taking the
day off and sitting on a beach in Cape May....but very glad I decided to
attend the rally instead. I was especially moved by a young woman I met who
spoke in favor of the Dream Act. She came to the US from Bolivia with her
parents when she was 8 months old. She has no memory of or connection to
her parent's homeland. She graduated near the top of her high school
class and is about to get a BA in political science from Temple
University (paying the higher international rate rather than the resident
rate). She is hoping to continue to law school and wants to be an
immigration lawyer. However she is undocumented and knows she faces
deportation at any time. This is a young woman of courage, who shared her
story as Homeland Security officers looked on."
Learn more about the
Dream Act
Take Action
Upset about Arizona's Anti-Immigration Law?
If so, you may want to join the "Isaiah 58
National Solidarity Vigil and Fast for Arizona" sponsored by the
Interfaith Immigration Coalition.
|
|
Adele Social Justice Project
Thank you, Laura!
The Adele Social Justice Project (ASJP) extends our heartfelt thanks to
Laura Libertore who has been a vital part of the creation and development
of the project over the past five years. Laura was hired as the
part time Project Coordinator in 2005 to work with initial Marianist
Social Justice Collaborative members and young adults to form a Core Team
to make Adele's dream and passion for justice a reality in our day and
time. Laura's depth of experience helped weave the vision of all
involved and adapted it to locales by coordinating five immersion
weekends in addition to a myriad of other tasks. Most importantly,
Laura provided significant insight, creativity, a listening ear and an
attention to detail that helped nurture the dream and form the project
into the successful model that we have today. We are very
grateful for Laura's willingness to "Say Yes" five years ago to
a small seedling of an idea that has blossomed into a vibrant young adult
ministry. She has truly lived out Adele's spirit of service:
"one plants, another waters, God alone gives the increase." We
extend our heartfelt gratitude and prayers to Laura in her continued
social justice ministry and free-lance work.
Happy Adele Days!
Reports on Adele's birthday celebrations have come in from
as far as Mombasa, Kenya! Keep celebrating through the month of June.
Need ideas for a prayer service? Get some ideas from the ASJP resources
already available to ASJP workshop alumni, such as the small group
reflection used by the Ruach community of Chapel Hill, NC posted on
the Adele Day page.
Join in the celebrations
on Facebook
Find us in Hawaii!
If you're attending the Lay Continental Assembly in July, check out what
ASJP will be bringing:
ASJP - Finding
Our Voice as Advocates
Get a taste of what the Adele Social Justice Project (ASJP) is all
about as we explore how to be "voices with the voiceless." Take
part in a prayer and reflection session typical of an ASJP young adult
immersion weekend and, through service, join your voice with Mary and
Adele to advocate for the "voiceless" in our
communities.
To Whom Much is Given...Being
Good Stewards Explore this topic with us through prayer
and reflection typical of an ASJP young adult immersion weekend. In the
spirit of stewardship, participate in a round-table discussion about the
ways we, as Marianist Family members, can foster and encourage zeal for
the mission, passion for social justice, and hunger for building
community carried by so many young adults.
|
|
GLBT Initiative
|
|
|
Langston Hughes
|
When
I Think of...
Housing discrimination,
I remember:
J. Edgar Hoover and
Gertrude Stein and Liberace.
When I think of "don't ask don't tell", I remember:
Alexander the Great and
Kate Millett and Baron von Steuben.
When I think of the famous, I remember:
Billie Jean King
and Tom Dooley and Langston Hughes.
When I think of denial of sexual anti-discrimination laws, I remember:
Roberta Achtenberg and Greg Louganis and Ralph
Waldo Emerson and Amy Lowell and Leonard Bernstein and Bessie Smith and
Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci and....and.... and.... and....
and....the list seems endless.
Do I think too much...or do we think far too little?
-Jim
Vorndran, SM
|
Actions for Advocates
Say NO to Torture
Join the Physicians for Human Rights in demanding an investigation into
evidence of illegal CIA experimentation on detainees. Sign their petition.
|
|
Ecology and the Environment
MEEC to Host Midwest Native Plant Conference
The
Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) & Bergamo Center will
host the 2010 Midwest Native Plant Conference, "Connecting People
with Nature" from August 6 - 8th. Learn about the value
of native plants in conserving resources and visit the beautiful site of
the 100-acre Mount St. John nature preserve that MEEC stewards. Register early!
Prayer for Gulf Oil Crisis
Creator God, you have given us the great and gracious gift of the natural
world to be our home. Forgive us for the lack of respect we have
shown this gift, for our greed and our turning from the common
good. We ask that you help us to respond to the tragedy in the Gulf
as concerned citizens, as people of faith who want to cherish your
Creation, and as brothers and sisters to those whose livelihoods are
being destroyed as the waters of the Gulf are being
contaminated. May this tragedy be a call to us that we can no
longer ignore, and may we be renewed in our efforts to promote the common
good and to respect the Integrity of Creation.
Posted on Center of Concern's
Education for Justice
|
|
Death Penalty
Honoring Her "Love of Life and All People"
Sometimes, the family members of murder victims can give the most
eloquent testimony against the death penalty. Such was the case in
a recent trial for the murder of a popular college student. Her
family accepted a life-without-parole plea agreement, saying in court
that "it honors Eve's love of life and all people." Read
more, including an excerpt from a Charlotte News &
Observer editorial, on the Issue Team's Web site.
California's
Unofficial Moratorium to Continue
California, one of the states targeted by the Issue Team, has been under
a de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty for several years.
Based on recent developments, the moratorium will continue, because
regulations proposed by the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation in response to a federal judge have been disapproved.
Read more on the Issue Team's Web page, including a report in the Silicon Valley Mercury
News that Governor Schwarzenegger is being asked to abolish the death
sentence.
Reminder:
Annual Fast & Vigil "Starvin' for Justice"
This year's Vigil
will be held (as in years past) from June 28th to July 2nd, 2010 on the
sidewalk in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Once again the
Marianist Social Justice Collaborative will be a sponsor. Please
keep the Vigil in your prayers.
Want
to Join the Issue Team?
The Death Penalty Issue Team is seeking new members, especially from
California and Missouri. Interested...or know someone who might be?
Please contact Sr. Grace Walle, FMI, Issue Team Chair or Jim Vogt,
MSJC Director.
|
|
A Thought to
Ponder
Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the
dawn is still dark.
- Rabindranath Tagore
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|