This 11:30 edition (intended to be sent out at 10:30) of today's newsletter will continue with the theme of Thanking God and Showing Gratitude. It will take up the theme of thanking others and showing gratitude to them. This 11:30 edition will be informative in areas not covered in the 7:30 edition.
HAPPY AND BLESSED THANKSGIVING!
Thanking Others and Showing Them Gratitude
We can be mindful of, and thankful to, God as part of our thanking others and showing them gratitude.
As readers of this newsletter you can feel assured that you can earn gratitude from the editorial staff by
Talking to your friends and family about social justice and what it means to those of us who live or work in the Tri-Valley or elsewhere
Links of Interest on Social Justice Issues
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) will be held in France from November 30 to 11 December 2015. Click here to learn more about the Catholic Climate Covenant and the Church's role in COP21.
An informative talk about ISIS is planned by the Interfaith Interconnect Leadership Committee on December 6th, from 2-3:30 in Livermore. Click here to learn more.
Click here to read remarks made by U.S. Ambassador Sarah Mendelson at the recent U.N. General Assembly World Humanitarian Summit Briefing.
Sojournersenvisions a future in which Christians put their faith into action in the passionate pursuit of social justice, peace, and environmental stewardship, working in partnership with people of other perspectives, for the common good of communities, families and individuals. Click here to learn more.
For more information on the current crisis in Europe and other world events, click here to visit the website for the PBS Newshour.
Catholic Social Teaching and the Real World
Catholic Social Teaching has been greatly influenced by people's lived experience but also by the teaching of the people of ancient Israel and Greece, particularly by Aristotle whose work was carefully studied by St. Thomas Aquinas.
People's lived experience is the key to understanding the mores of the inhabitants of any region. Their lived experience is comes from being in their social and physical environment.
The people in the various countries of Europe are deeply divided amongst themselves:
generous vs fearful and
venturous vs traditional.
The generous are inclined to be welcoming to refugees from Syria and other parts of eastern Europe and Africa. The fearful are quite unaccustomed to foreigners who have different skin color and dress according to their own customs.
The venturous are usually young people who hang out in cafes and bars and tend to think of themselves as the new Europeans whose prospects in life are not limited by their country of origin, unlike those of their parents' generation.
What is happening in Europe is fascinating because they are rapidly reaching peaks in two struggles analogous to two continuing struggles in America that began before the US Constitution was signed
that between white people and black people
that between those living in America and the "foreigners" arriving on our shores -- which strangely has become a struggle between those wanting to defend themselves from "illegal immigrants" and those favoring "immigration reform
The Wider World
To be good citizens we need to be as informed about the world around us as our other obligations permit.
The PBS program Newshouris highly regarded: very informative, fair and not politically biased (in many people's view) and covering a wide variety of subjects, not just the latest "news" . It, of course, can be watched live or recorded. The newshour.pbs.org website allows you to watch newshour programs that were broadcast in the past or read transcripts of them on your computer. With a TV screen with HDMI cable connection the programs can be watched on your TV screen. Some programs like Washington Week (Fridays
and at 8:00? ) have additions on the website all week long.
The National Public Radio (NPR) network is also very informative and has a first-class website with spoken radio news rewritten for reading plus other independent news on a variety of subjects, e.g., "Fresh Air".
KQED is a good TV and radio station also with a website.
