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July 5, 2011
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Harvest for the Kingdom: Receiving God's Seeds
One message from the readings for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time is clear: God is sowing seeds of justice, peace, and care for creation abundantly, here and now. We can choose to participate in the harvest.
God intends fruitfulness: "my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it" (Is 55:11). The Psalmist recounts the myriad ways God prepares the land and nourishes it; Psalm 65 praises God for the results: "You have crowned the year with your bounty, / and your paths overflow with a rich harvest" (12). The fields and the valleys "shout and sing for joy" (14).
We can join this song of joy when we enter into the labor pains of creation "as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies" (Rom 8:18). We groan with these labor pains as we strive to provide rich soil for the word of God in our hearts and in all our thoughts, words, and deeds. "Whoever has ears ought to hear" (Mt 13:9) what Jesus Christ confirms: God sows the Word abundantly. How do we cooperate with the sower's hand in our lives, in our nation, in our world?
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Immigration, Scripture, and Franciscan Values: FAN Webinar
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Thursday, July 14 - 3-4pm EDT
Register online
Join FAN Executive Director Patrick Carolan, and Todd Scribner from Migration and Refugee Services at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to learn more about the scriptural support for a Franciscan approach to immigration and to assess developments in current U.S. immigration policy. Patrick will report on his experiences presenting concerns to the United Nations special rapporteur for migration. Todd will explore the theme of migration as it finds expression in the Bible, with particular attention given to the way in which this Gospel message provides a foundation for the Church's moral teaching on this issue in the modern world. Both will address challenges and opportunities in current legislative proposals.
Read the USCCB resource on the U.S. as a nation of immigrants.
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Responding to the Word: Ask your Senators to support the DREAM Act
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Last Tuesday, June 28, the Senate held a hearing on the DREAM Act. Please urge the entire Senate to support DREAM and give thousands of deserving students a chance to be legal residents.
Call, and/or e-mail your senators now to encourage them to support S. 952, the DREAM Act of 2011. You can call their Washington office via the Capitol switchboard202-224-3121.
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More information on the DREAM Act:
S. 952, the DREAM Act of 2011, would authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children. Applicants must have entered the U.S. before age 16, they must have lived in the U.S. for at least five years prior to the DREAM Act becoming law, they must pass a criminal background check and the must not have turned 35 when the act becomes law. The DREAM Act is not an alternative to comprehensive immigration reform but a step in the right direction.
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Nurturing Seeds with GreenFaith: Webinar Recording
 Did you miss FAN's webinar with GreenFaith on June 20? A recording of the webinar is available online.
FAN invites all its members to consider engaging our partnership with GreenFaith through their Certification Program or Fellowship Program. You can learn more about this partnership on FAN's website.
You can also learn more about GreenFaith's Certification Program and Fellowship Program on GreenFaith's website and consider enrolling through FAN.
FAN and GreenFaith will host another info session webinar September 12 (8:30-9:30pm ET). Contact Stacey Kennealy (skennealy@greenfaith.org) to register.
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Bring eyes to see and ears to hear to...
Effective Action for Justice in the Spirit of Saints Francis & Clare
 The Franciscan Action Network (FAN) offers its national training on integrating powerful action for justice with Franciscan spirituality. Participants will wrestle with what it takes to create systemic change and will increase their ability to build and lead teams to achieve this change. The training infuses a deep spirituality with effective community organizing methods that have been honed over decades.
The program begins Tuesday, July 26 at 9 a.m. and finishes on Wednesday, July 27 at noon. Accommodations are not provided.
Hosted by:
St. Francis Capuchin Center, 1927 N. Fourth St., Milwaukee, WI 53212-3611
The St. Francis Capuchin Center is ONE MILE from the Milwaukee Hyatt, where the Franciscan Federation Annual Conference takes place July 27-30.
The cost for the training is $60, which includes lunch and dinner on Tuesday.
For more information or to register please contact Christy Elliott at elliott@franciscanaction.org.
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Proclaim Franciscan Values to Protect Human and Environmental Health!
"Safe Chemicals Act of 2011" (S. 847)
FAN members have shared their stories of exposure to toxic chemicals:
You can be agents of change by asking your Senators to support policy for safe chemicals. Our commitment to chemical policy reform reflects the Franciscan Values of care for creation, the dignity of the human person, a consistent ethic of life, and respect for the poor and vulnerable.
The "Safe Chemicals Act of 2011" (S. 847) would:
1) Require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify chemicals known to be toxic and to enforce their removal from products on the market, and...
2) Require new chemicals to be tested for safety before they reach the market.
You can send an email through FAN's Action Alert or use these talking points to call your Senators at the Capitol Switchboard (1-888-784-0527).
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God our Father,
your light of truth
guides us to the way of Christ.
May all who follow him
reject what is contrary to the gospel.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
[Opening Prayer for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time]
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