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CALENDAR
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SEPTEMBER
September 17
Prison Reform in CT, St. Patrick-St. Anthony, Hartford, 7-8:30 pm. All are Welcome.
September 20
September 24
Watch Pope Francis address congress
September 26
Service Saturday: Give Drink to the Thirsty, Collinsville, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm
OCTOBER
October 3
The Light Offered by Faith: Organizing for Mission in CT, Holy Angels Church, Meriden, 9 am - 3 pm.
October 4
October 27
Aqua Turf, Plainville
October 31
NOVEMBER
November 5
DECEMBER
December 5
APRIL
April 20
"This Changes Everything" with Patrick Carolan, Holy Family Retreat Center
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Reserve Your Seat for Dinner Today!
| | Register now for the 47th Annual Social Justice Dinner and Awards night, Tuesday, October 27, 2015.
 The guest speaker for the evening will be Dr. Carolyn Woo, President & CEO of Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Dr. Woo will share her experiences, and insights on the importance and effectiveness of CRS work around the world.
The Joseph F. Donnelly Memorial Awards for distinguished work in the area of social justice will be presented to the Malta House of Care mobile medical clinic (group) and to Mrs. Nancy Kiely, from Corpus Christi Church in Wethersfield (individual). We congratulate them on their achievements.
Join us for an evening of celebration and inspiration, as we gather to strengthen one another to move forward in the important work of social justice.
You can now REGISTER ONLINE. |
| September Service Saturday: Farmington River Clean-up | | Youth groups and their leaders are invited to learn about the Corporal Works of Mercy this fall by participating in Service Saturdays. Three Saturdays have been scheduled to offer both learning about service and a hands-on service activity to increase awareness of the needs of the less fortunate, and our call as Catholics to respond.
Join us  on Saturday, September 26th at St. Patrick's in Collinsville to explore the the theme, Give Drink to the Thirsty,and participate in the Farmington River Watershed's River Clean-up.
A $10/person fee will cover the cost of materials; participants must bring their own lunch. Check out the next dates below, click here to download a flyer/registration form or REGISTER ONLINE.
Saturday, October 31 - Feed the Hungry
Saturday, December 5 - Heal the Sick
For more information contact Sarah (203) 777-7279 or Shawnee Baldwin (860) 242-5573.
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| Organizing for Mission in CT | | |
Set aside Saturday, October 3 for a day of reflection and action, "The Light Offered by Faith- Organizing for Mission in CT." The day, scheduled from 9 am - 3 pm at Holy Angels Church in Meriden, will explore the vision of Pope Francis, as expressed in his new encyclical, Laudato Si, and offer practical tools for strengthening ministry through relationship building.
Presenters will include: Kevin M. Johnson- Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Theology at Sacred Heart University & President of The Inner Room; Arturo Iriarte and Mary O'Brien - community organizers and staff, Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry.
The day is free and open to all; free-will donations accepted. Coffee and sign-in begin at 8:30, with the program starting promptly at 9 am. Lunch is included. RSVP by Sept. 26th to info.ocsjm.org,call 203-777-7279 or REGISTER ONLINE. |
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"There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature
without a renewal of humanity itself."
Pope Francis
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| Feast of Saint Francis: October 4th | | 
The Feast of St. Francis honors the patron saint of those who promote ecology. This is the saint from whom Pope Francis took his name. The Feast of St. Francis is a great opportunity to reflect on our role in creation and to encourage our neighbors to be better stewards.
The Catholic Climate Covenant has put together a program guide that includes:
- Short video
- Hands-on activities
- Advocacy
- Resources to take this work forward
By hosting a Feast of St. Francis event, you help spark a passion for climate solutions in your community. The Feast of St. Francis program guide is free of charge. This year's program guide is now available HERE. |
Urge Congress to Protect Poor and Vulnerable People
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Follow Pope Francis' Call to Take Action on Climate Change!
This summer, a group of young adults from the archdiocese learned about Catholics Confront Global Poverty and decided to take action! In late August, Claire, Adrian and Miriam visited Senator Murphy's office to advocate for current Catholics Confront Global Poverty issues of human trafficking, immigration reform, and climate change.
Our Holy Father has called on us all to take urgent action in the face of increasing changes to our global climate in his recent encyclical "Laudato Si [Praised Be]: On the Care of Our Common Home". As Catholics, we cannot sit idly by when we see in the world around us the effects of changing weather patterns on poor and vulnerable people. Farmers in the dry Sahel region of Africa have shared with Catholic Relief Services that they are experiencing a much shorter rainy season, making it more difficult to grow the food they need.
In the near-term, the U.S. Congress must provide $500 million in this year's appropriations as a down payment to the $3 billion pledge our nation has made to the Green Climate Fund over the next 4 years. The Green Climate Fund is an international effort to help developing nations adapt to climate changes and mitigate their effects. Take Action Now: Send a message to your members of Congress and urge them to fully fund President Obama's $500 million request for the Green Climate Fund in this year's appropriation
"The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all." Pope Francis (23) |
| Pope Francis to Address Congress | |
We are one week away from Pope Francis' visit to the US! On Thursday, September 24, Pope Francis will address a joint session of the U.  S. Congress.
You're invited to join the OCSJM staff's Watch Party at 9:20 am on Thursday, September 24th. We will be streaming the live address at our office and reflecting on his message. Live coverage of the Pope's visit will be available online here.
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| A Moment for Grace: A Prayer for Refugees | |
Over the past few days, the world is focusing with great intensity on the tragedy of refugees fleeing upheaval in Syria and other countries to Europe. But there is a much larger story playing out in the countries surrounding Syria and Iraq who have absorbed most of the 3.9 million refugees - more than half of them children. Studies indicate that more than 60% of Syrian refugee children are suffering fro m depression and 40% have full Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Catholic Relief Services is working with refugees, mostly women and children, who are largely hidden in the news but who are suffering the most from the civil war in Syria and the rise of ISIS. CRS is providing support to more than 700,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq. Programs to help children get beyond their trauma are among our key areas of focus.
We are responding to this latest phase of the crisis by scaling up our response in Europe. Working in partnership with the Church in Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia, we are providing living supplies such as food, shelter, sleeping bags and mats, hygiene packages, and clean water.
The Holy Father has called on every Catholic parish and religious community in Europe to take in one refugee family. How can Catholics in the U.S. also respond to the call to be a beacon of hope to the world?
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| St. Patrick-St. Anthony to Host Forum on Prison Reform in CT | |
 How Hyper-Incarceration is Hijacking the American Dream
When Governor Malloy visited a Hartford jail in July, he highlighted Connecticut's new "Second Chance" law. The same day President Obama became the first sitting president to visit a prison. While at the Reno Correctional Institution in Oklahoma, he expressed hopes that prison reform legislation would extend nation-wide. With these announcements, some people express opinions like, "Every dollar we spend on incarceration is worth it," or "If there's a second chance, how will the prison experience 'scare people straight'?"
On Thursday evening, September 17 from 7 - 8:30 pm, the Committees for Social Justice and Adult Faith Formation at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church in Hartford will host a presentation to help form responses to these and other questions and concerns about the effectiveness of the current criminal justice system. The evening event, a collaboration between the Office for Catholic Social Justice Ministry and St. Patrick-St. Anthony, will offer guest speakers from the Malta Justice Initiative, including testimony by a former inmate.
Beyond responding to opinions and concerns, the presentation is designed to offer practical guidelines for sentencing and prison reform that conform to Catholic social teaching. |
| Resources for the Fall | |
Inspired by the Laudato Si' encyclical, the Global Catholic Climate Movement invites Catholics to celebrate the "Season of Creation" worldwide, following the example of other Christian denominations and the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines. It begins September 1, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on October 4, Feast of St Francis. For a list of prayer, reflection, and action resources,
CRS Resources for the Start of the School Year If you are a teacher and looking for additional resources introducing the themes of Catholic social teaching through stories of CRS' work overseas, click here for lessons plans for grades 1-8.
End Hunger with Bread As the 2016 presidential election heats up, Bread for the World wants to make sure hunger and poverty are part of the national conversation. To that end, Bread, as part of the Circle of Protection coalition, has disseminated videos in which presidential candidates explain how they would work to address hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world as president. Read more about the campaign here, or go straight to the videos here.
A Year of Encounter with Pope Francis
Inspired by the urging of Pope Francis to "encounter" one another, especially those of us that society typically ignores, undervalues or "excludes," PICO, a faith-based community organizing network, has developed a 6-session study guide to both challenge and encourage you, your family, and friends as you seek to encounter and be transformed by your community across race, faith, gender, and economic class. The guide is intended for use in parishes, in all of their diversity, across the United States. Its goal is to start a conversation that leads participants into deeper relationship - with one another and with all people in a parish and community who feel the pain of exclusion. To review the sessions, which include a discussion process as well as videos and resources, click here. |
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